Now Nintendo warns importers over Advance Wars 2

Nintendo of Europe continues to warn retailers of potential legal action over the importing of Game Boy Advance titles, with the firm now targeting those selling US versions of Advance Wars 2.

Earlier this year, the company issued legal threats to a number of retailers who were selling import versions of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire ahead of the UK launch last Friday.

The company now claims that the day one success of the new Pokemon games - which sold over half a million units across Europe last weekend - proves that this approach was successful. "The first day sales of Pokemon prove that not letting the situation spiral out of control pays off," Nintendo UK general manager Andy Williams told UK trade magazine MCV this week.

Following on from this action, Nintendo has now issued cease and desist letters to retailers selling import copies of Advance Wars 2 - which is not due to arrive in Europe until autumn, despite being released in the USA in late June.

"If importing is left alone it could spiral out of control and harm sales," explains Williams. "As well as having a knock-on effect on the European launch, it harms legitimate sales for retailers who are abiding by the rules."

The Game Boy Advance is more prone to importing than any other console, since Nintendo opted not to put any form of region protection on the hardware. Of course, the ideal solution to this problem would be for Nintendo to release games in a timely fashion in Europe rather than making European consumers wait for several months after the US launch of the software, but we suppose that's not as much fun as chasing small indie retailers who are trying their best to serve a hardcore market around with legal threats.

MCV