The Wii can do a lot. But some people may want their Wii to do more, like play pirated games.
In Fukuoka, two men were recently arrested for violating Japanese trademark law and apparently selling modded Wiis.
According to Fukuoka police, between November 2009 and last month, 32-year-old Tomonori Sato and his 28-year-old brother apparently sold 500 modded Wiis for ¥15 million or US$190,000. The police arrested them buying three modded Wiis for ¥90,000 or US$1,100—meaning that each modded Wii went for ¥30,000. Expensive!
Altering the internal programming violates Japanese copyright law, something that Japanese police do not fuck around with. In the past few years, copyright law enforcement has been stepped up with the police even going after individuals selling customized figures.
改造Ｗｉｉ：販売で商標法違反容疑…会社社長ら２人逮捕 [毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) via オレ的ゲーム情報 via ANN]
(Top photo: Junko Kimura | Getty)