Pokemon Fan Arrested for Selling Modified Games

Modding and piracy has seen a greater crackdown in Japan, and this is especially true after the [...]

Modding and piracy has seen a greater crackdown in Japan, and this is especially true after the Unfair Competition Prevention Act was strengthened to better combat unlawful modding and distribution last year. According to a report from Yomiuri Shimbun (via Anime News Network), a man from the Nigata prefecture in Japan has been arrested for modding and reselling the 3DS Pokemon games.

According to the report, an officer worker in his 30s had been selling modded Nintendo 3DS video games which involved taking the data from a Pokemon game he bought second hand, and overwriting another game's data.

Then, he would take the modded Pokemon game and sell it online. Reportedly selling these modded games for 10,000 yen (about $92 USD), the man admitted his guilt upon his arrest and said he couldn't stop it because this process was earning him money. Ordered to pay a fine of 300,000 yen (about $2,782 USD), the police are now investigating the store where this man originally bought the device he used to mod the games.

The past few years has seen an increase of litigation against piracy crimes in Japan, and this is also true of those who sell pirated manga and anime as well. Practices such as scanning are now being monitored with greater scrutiny, and it's certainly the same for video games. Especially Pokemon games.

If you haven't kept up with the current run of the anime, it has officially kicked off the much anticipated Alolan League arc as of the most recent episode. Pokemon the Series: Sun and Moon is described as such, "What starts as a summer vacation in the tropical Alola region turns into the next exciting chapter in Ash Ketchum's quest to become a Pokémon Master! There's plenty for Ash and Pikachu to explore in this sunny new region, with exciting new Pokémon to discover and interesting people to learn from along the way—including the cool Professor Kukui and the fun-loving Samson Oak.

More new faces will help guide Ash's Alolan adventure, in the form of a group of skilled Trainers—Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles—and a mysterious research assistant called Lillie. Frequent foes Team Rocket have also made the trip to Alola, looking to swipe some high-powered new Pokémon. But they have some heavy competition on the villainy front: the ruffians of Team Skull, who delight in causing chaos and may have more sinister intentions..."

via ANN

0comments