Idk how this is even a thing but apparently there is an organized crime for selling fake retro games/consoles. It is so big that a whole ring was worth 50 million Euros by selling fake retro games which had the Italian police had to come in and shut it down.
A video game trafficking ring has been smashed by police in Italy, after fake vintage consoles and games worth almost 50 million euros ($55.5 million) were seized.
Among the counterfeit games were popular titles from the 1980s and 90s, including Mario Bros., Street Fighter and Star Wars.
The pirated consoles were imitations of the iconic devices produced by Nintendo, Sega and Atari and did not meet strict safety standards.
New versions of video games and gaming consoles that were released decades ago have recently soared in popularity and command high prices, in a cultural trend known as “retrogaming”.
Around 12,000 consoles holding over 47 million pirated video games were seized by police, Alessandro Langella, head of the economic crime unit for Turin’s financial police, told the AFP news agency.
The haul had an estimated value of 47.5 million euros ($52.5 million), Mr Langella said, a figure which includes the value of the consoles and hundreds of licenses for the pirated programs.
Yeah over 50 million Euros from their plan of buying knock offs from China and selling them to Retro Game collectors thinking it was legit.
They were “all from China” and were imported to be sold in specialised shops or online, Mr Langella said.
Like with anything made in China these devices violated all sorts of safety rules that the EU imposes to ensure that appliances are safe. So these Chinese knocks all have to be destroyed by the police.
All the devices were fitted with non-certified batteries and electrical circuits and did not meet EU technical or safety standards.
The seized games have been destroyed.
Nine Italian nationals have been arrested and charged with trading in counterfeited goods.
If found guilty, they face up to eight years in prison.
I don’t really blame if organized crime is coming from Retro gaming since that is something that can be exploited in the rise of nostalgia millennials and Zoomers who think they are trendy by owning a vintage console. There is a market and these guys know what to do in order to scam people into buying faulty goods.
We are a point where a single NES cartridge can be worth millions so if the Mafia is running some counterfeit ring on vintage games then that is what going to happen since all the traditional things are no longer as big they used to be.
On TikTok, #retrogaming has amassed more than 170 million posts.
The phenomenon is “experiencing a phase of strong popularity and commercial expansion,” Mr Langella said.
Old games and second-hand consoles are in high demand, with a working Super Nintendo system with games for sale online at between £100 ($131) – £275 depending on condition.
In 2021, a sealed copy of video game Super Mario 64 sold at auction for more than $1.5m, shattering records.
Remember to always find a local store before resorting to online. It will make the difference between an old cartridge or system or buying some Chinese knockoff junk that will explode in a week.
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