Read this over at the Neowin forums and now it is an article on the front page.

In a “haven’t they got anything better to do” case, New York FBI agents have seized a haul of more than 60,000 pirated games… originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Yes, that’s right, the console of choice – for some – 15 years ago. Pirates were marketing a “Power Play” system, which contained dozens of games originally popular on the NES.

Four Chinese nationals were arrested in the crackdown, trying to sell the machines, containing games like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt and Baseball. Ah, the classics. Prosecutors say the defendants agreed to sell the machines to FBI agents who were willing to distribute the games in Manhattan and the Midwest.

It’s claimed the group had imported as many as 280,000 pirate versions in four months last year. Nintendo told the FBI that individuals and companies copy the video games and sell the pirated versions throughout the world, costing the company millions of dollars in lost revenue annually – despite the fact they don’t make the machines (or, most likely, actually sell the games) any more. Could it be to do with the fact that some of the “classic” titles are getting a rebirth on new handheld machines? Surely not.

Source #1: Newsday | Source #2: GamesIndustry