The European Commission imposed a 149 million euros (18 billion yen) fine Wednesday on Nintendo Co., saying a 30-month probe confirmed that the GameCube maker engaged in unfair trade practices during the 1990s in violation of European Union antitrust rules.
The commission, the executive body of the 15-member union, also imposed 18.7 million euros (2.26 billion yen) in fines on seven official distributors of Nintendo products, including Itochu Corp., for taking part in "a cartel-like arrangement" with the aim of partitioning the single European market.
Itochu, fined 4.5 million euros (545 million yen), imported Nintendo products to Greece until 1997 through its Greek affiliate.
In Japan, a spokesman for Kyoto-based Nintendo said the company will file an appeal against the fine, which it contends is too high. The fine is the fourth-largest ever imposed by the EU on an individual firm for a single infringement.