Nintendo CEO Urges South Korean President to Combat Software Piracy

The CEO of Nintendo Korea, Mineo Koda, has appealed to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to take action against rampant software piracy in the country. Nintendo, the world's largest maker of hand-held game players, has seen its DS and Wii game machines become a huge hit in South Korea, but the company is struggling to make profits due to widespread piracy. Koda estimates that over 100 Nintendo-related software products are being pirated, making it challenging to sell legitimate copies.

Key Takeaways:

• Nintendo Korea's CEO, Mineo Koda, has requested President Lee Myung-bak to implement measures to eradicate software piracy in South Korea.
• The company is struggling to make profits due to widespread software piracy, which has resulted in the sale of over 100 Nintendo-related software products being affected.
• The software piracy rate in South Korea fell to 23.4% in 2023, down 1.6% from the previous year, according to a report by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Source: Yonhap).
• Nintendo has been a huge success in South Korea, with its DS and Wii game machines becoming popular among consumers.
• The company is banking on selling game titles to make profits, but cheaper pirated games are making it impossible for the console makers to generate profits.
• Koda believes that software piracy is making it impossible to have a healthy business in South Korea.
• Nintendo is not alone in facing this issue, as other game-console makers such as Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are also being affected by software piracy.

Statistics:

• Software piracy rate in South Korea: 23.4% in 2023 (Source: Yonhap)
• Decrease in software piracy rate: 1.6% from the previous year (Source: Yonhap)
• Number of Nintendo-related software products affected by piracy: over 100

Sources:

• Yonhap: Ministry of Culture and Tourism report on software piracy rate in South Korea (2023)