Someone in Australia pirated New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a week before it was even available in that country, and was summarily caught and taken to court. That court has since awarded Nintendo $1.5 million dollars in damages to compensate for loss of revenue.

What did Nintendo have to say on the matter? “Fewer sales of Nintendo’s hardware and software systems means fewer resources that Nintendo, its licensees, developers and publishers have to create and market new video game products which is ultimately to the detriment of video game enthusiasts. When there is a decrease in game development, there is also a decrease in the number of jobs in the industry. The existence of piracy jeopardizes the strength of the video game industry overall.”

Source: Destructoid