Nintendo Tops EU Customs' 2001 Haul of Fake Toys

Fake Nintendo products made up 48 percent of all toys and games seized, or about 750,000 items. No breakdown of the category was available, but an EU official said it included games consoles. Neither Microsoft Corp. nor Sony Corp , Nintendo's big rivals in the games console market, were listed as having significant numbers of imitations in the same category. The EU's Director of Customs Policy, Alexander Wiedow, said the counterfeiters' choice of brand was motivated by profit alone. "They are looking at what has the best profit margin and what is easiest to sell," he said. Seizures of electrical equipment, the category dominated by fake Nokia products, more than tripled in 2001. But the number of toys and games, including the Nintendo products, fell by 77 percent from 2000.