nucleargaming

New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been a massive hit for Nintendo, with reports showing the classic platformer sold nearly 10.5 million units globally in its first two months of sale. The game has also been a popular one for illegal downloaders, too, with Nintendo saying copies of the game were available on the web as early as November 6, 2009, days before its official release.

However, it seems Nintendo has nabbed a pirate, today reaching a settlement against an individual in Australia for illegally copying and uploading New Super Mario Bros. Wii in November last year. Queenslander James Burt has been ordered to pay a damages bill to Nintendo of A$1.5 million ($1.3 million). Nintendo says this fee is to compensate the company for the loss of sales revenue caused by Burt’s actions.

A Nintendo Australia spokesperson reported that apart from the loss of revenue caused by piracy of the game, the fact that an Australian was the first to illegally upload the game could jeopardise the release timings of future Nintendo titles. Typically, Australians have had to wait days and sometimes months after other regions for Nintendo games to be released locally. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a rare occurrence where Australia received the game earlier than any other territory.

“Nintendo Australia is always pushing for games to be released here at the same time as the rest of the world, so we were pleased to get New Super Mario Bros. Wii before anyone else,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, due to the actions of this individual, future release dates may be affected for Australia, which is disappointing for us.”