GRIN<----is garbage and your math is bad..Dont Forget To factor in the following suit!
Nintendo Sued by Parents Alleging Pokemon Game Illegal Gambling
San Diego, Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co., a top maker
of video games, is being sued by four parents for promoting a
form of illegal gambling using trading cards featuring characters
from its popular Pokemon games.
The parents, who have a total of five children who play with
the cards, sued Nintendo in U.S. District Court in San Diego
seeking class-action status. The plaintiffs also sued 4Kids
Entertainment Inc., Nintendo's U.S. licensing agent, and Wizards
of the Coast Inc., the closely held maker of the cards.
Pokemon has been a blockbuster hit among children since
coming to the U.S. last year, with video games, animated TV
shows, trading cards and a movie set for release by year's end.
The suit says Nintendo's U.S. revenue from Pokemon-related
products is expected to total $1 billion this year, with
$225 million for Wizards of the Coast and $50 million for 4Kids
Entertainment.
``Many children are interested in Pokemon in a fanatical way
to the point of obsession,' the suit says.
The suit, which was brought under the federal RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, alleges the
trading game is illegal gambling because only through chance can
players acquire premium cards which are randomly inserted in
packs. The cards can be used to win the game, and the odds of
finding one in a pack are one in 33, according to the wrapping on
the packs, the suit said.
``The defendants have created a game that can allegedly be
played using the trading cards in which the powerful cards which
increase the players' chance of winning are the `chase' or
`premium' cards, necessitating the purchase of multiple packages
of cards,' the suit says.
The premium cards can have a resale value of more than $70
each, compared to $3 to $10 for an unopened pack of 11 cards, the
suit says.
The suit, filed Friday, seeks unspecified compensatory
damages on behalf of all consumers who've purchased the trading
cards and related merchandise since late last year. |
