Italy’s financial police said Friday they have dismantled a ring trafficking counterfeit vintage video game consoles from China containing some of the most popular titles of the 1980s and 90s.
Police in Turin said “around 12,000 consoles on which more than 47 million pirated video games were illegally stored, for an estimated value of more than 47.5 million euros ($52.5 million),” were seized across the country.
“These games featured well-known characters from the world of video games from the 1980s and 1990s, all protected by copyright, part of the phenomenon of so-called ‘retrogaming’, which is experiencing a phase of strong popularity and commercial expansion,” a police statement said.
“The unlicensed consoles had distinctive shapes and features similar to the iconic ‘retro consoles'” brought out by official producers in recent years, it said.
The consoles, which did not meet European technical and safety standards, were imported from China to be sold online or in specialised stores.
Police arrested nine Italians who are being charged with trading in counterfeited goods.
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