Italian police have dismantled a retro game counterfeiting ring, seizing fake consoles and pirated games with an estimated combined worth of over $50 million. While details on the matter are limited, the seized goods reportedly infringed on Nintendo, Sega, and Atari's intellectual property, among others.
According to a 2023 study conducted by the Video Game History Foundation, only 13% of games published before 2010 are currently available for purchase through legitimate means. The older a given title is, the less likely it is to still be retailing in any shape of form. This state of affairs gave rise to the popularity of all-in-one retro consoles, which are essentially emulators that come bundled with numerous classic games. With few exceptions, these products are typically never properly licensed and therefore considered bootleg materials.
A retro gamer comes away from a few garage sales with incredible finds, spending very little money on an impressive collection.
One Italian operation specializing in the trafficking of such products has been dismantled by Turin authorities in mid-September 2024, AFP news agency reports (via France 24). Alessandro Langella, a Turin financial police official heading its economic crime unit, said that the action resulted in the authorities...
