UPDATE: The original story has been debunked. Thanks to bossjimbob!
Apparently, this statement was fabricated.
http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=24816
"ELSPA would certainly never presume to comment about America or anywhere else outside of the UK," added the spokesperson.
The report, said ELSPA, is a hatchet job consisting of facts from an article from Singapore, false quotes and a genuine conversation with Hillier on the availability of the R4 cartridge in the UK.
"The quotes from The Sunday Post were ascribed to his name from another article which originates from a website in Singapore. This, it appears, is where The Sunday Post first found out about the supposed R4 situation and for some reason unknown to John have quoted him on what this article said."
The spokesperson also stated that Nintendo views the reported facts in The Sunday Post article as completely false.
"As far as Nintendo are concerned, the facts are completely spurious."
--original blog being left of for posterity--
Original article here. (edit: link has now changed to a story on food labeling O_O)
Usually when an organization of content or software creators gets together and starts handing out number about how their industry is affected by piracy, they're normally not challenged by folks. People don't normally challenge how they arrive at their numbers (but it happens), and seldom call them on errors (to be charitable). Companies like to argue piracy (and some of them do consider Fair Use "piracy") is a rampaging epidemic and use it as an excuse to encourage the inclusion of DRM into anything possible, the more draconian and limiting, the better (arguably to protect profit-fat but antiquidated business and distribution models in industries full of middle-men). Most of us will look at their numbers and either ignore them or wonder how on earth anyone stays in business if things are really so bad.
Which is why Nintendo's statement is so interesting.
On Thursday this week the ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) claimed that the Nintendo DS was suffering from a piracy epidemic; 90% of DS owners were pirates! The picture painted by them was one of nearly every American DS owner having dozens and dozens of pirated games in their collection would chill anybody in government (who's receiving any tax money) to game developers and publishers (who depend on game sales for their livelihood).
And Nintendo's official statement today?
"While the R4 and other game copying devices are available and cause Nintendo concern, they have not reached the mass market as indicated," the rep said in an e-mail.
More interesting was the last sentence in that story:
"The ELSPA had yet to reply to Next-Gen's multiple requests for clarification of Hillier's statements."
While I can completely and total sympathize with companies doing their best to stem actual piracy (indeed, some beloved developers I know of went bankrupt as a result), I am getting very much tired of the various associations crying "Wolf" every chance they get. Nintendo's honesty in this matter is incredibly refreshing, and something that anti-piracy advocates need to use instead of gross hyperbole. The ELSPA got caught and reprimanded by a significant company in the industry they claim to be protecting.
This is not acceptable behavior (unless you work at FOX News).
Its hard to take piracy seriously when numbers are exaggerated, your industry rakes in record profits, and you go around suing people nearly at random for excessive damages. Hopefully the gaming industry will find a way to both address the real problems of piracy without going absolutely insane like the movie, music and even DRM industries. Consumer choices, needs and life**** have been changing; all content providers and platform holders need to adapt rather than force us to stay in last generation.