The European Commission has imposed a fine of 167.8 million euro on Nintendo and seven of it's official distributors from preventing exports to high-priced countries from low-priced countries. Prices of games and consoles are different from one European country to another during the period investigated.

It is reported that the UK is up to 65% cheaper than Germany and than Netherlands. John Menzies Plc, Nintendo's UK distributors, have been fined 8.64 million euro.

Nintendo and it's distributors joined together to prevent export from one country to another. Traders who ignored this were punished with smaller shipments or a complete boycott.

The EU's Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said: "Every year, millions of European families spend large amounts of money on video games. They have the right to buy the games and consoles at the lowest price the market can possibly offer and we will not tolerate collusive behaviour intended to keep prices artificially high".