Nintendo is not beyond the reach of the law and neither are its suppliers.  Hitachi and Sharp both supply screens for the company’s popular DS handheld gaming console.  They have been accused of price fixing the displays and are under investigation by Japan’s Fair Trade Commission.

The Trade Commission investigated offices and outlets of Sharp and Hitachi display’s as well as Hitachi Ltd.  A spokesperson for Sharp confirmed an “on the spot” investigation took place but did not have further details.  The commission was unwilling to comment, no doubt to the on-going investigation.

The DS makes use of two three-inch screens, one being touch sensitive and the other displaying actual gameplay.  Sharp and Hitachi are suspected of fixing prices of the LCDs (liquid crystal displays) that Nintendo uses on its DS consoles.  Nintendo admits that both those companies are the only suppliers of the displays used on the DS.

According to Yahoo News, Nintendo is not aware of any violation in either company.  Neither did it reveal possible causes for the investigation being launched.  He said, she said, none of the company’s involved are being very forthcoming.  Now it’s going to be a waiting game until the investigation concludes.

The DS has proven to be far more popular than Sony’s competing PSP and has sold almost 65 million units since 2004.

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Related:

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Entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 11:02 am under Nintendo DS.

Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.