ELSPA confiscates over 2000 chips

Apr 14, 2008 06:25 GMT  ·  By

One of the most appreciated Wii games is, undoubtedly, Mario Kart Wii, just because it stars the short-legged plumber. If that's the case for you, too, you should know that only original Nintendo Wii consoles will be able to run the game - so, if you have a chipped one, you can say goodbye to it (and, most likely, to others).

This declaration has been made by a Nintendo rep, following the closing down of a Wii chipping factory in Leicestershire by ELSPA. According to them, Nintendo's console is the "nation's favorite", but because the Japanese company was not able to keep up with the demand for two Christmases in a row, the people in UK took the matter into their own hands and tried to solve the problem as soon as possible.

So, as a result of enquiries made by TSD and investigators from ELSPA, a home in Leicestershire was raided and proof about sophisticated counterfeiting apparatus was found there (including an industrial unit to churn out rogue console chips). More than 2000 counterfeit chips were confiscated and are going to be destroyed and the ELSPA estimates that this entire plot is worth millions of pounds. Still, as we've said in the beginning, the chipped Wii consoles are kind of useless, so try to keep everything legal if you really want to get the maximum possible experience.

A Nintendo insider said, "A chipped Wii might sound cool but it is useless. The latest Wii extravaganza, seeing Mario back in a racer at the front of the pack, Mario Kart Wii, would be useless on a chipped Wii. You'll never get the interaction or support when it all unravels. You'd have to be pretty stupid to think online gaming won't be easily log-able in such digital days! Chip it and you brick it, as we say around the office. There is only one real Wii experience - and it doesn't come chipped!"