Sharp, Hitachi accused of DS price fixing

Sharp and Hitachi have had their Japan offices raided today by Japan's anti-trust regulatory body after accusations that the companies were involved in fixing prices for the Nintendo DS hardware.

Nintendo out-sources many of the components in the Nintendo DS and DS Lite and Hitachi and Sharp are responsible for making the LCD screens used in the handheld.

This reliance on outside companies though obviously means that Nintendo is susceptible to price-fixing and the Japanese raid was organised after suspicions were raised.

None of the parties involved - Sharp, Hitachi, Nintendo or the regulators - have released an official statement yet.

So, what does this mean for customers? Probably not a lot. If Sharp and Hitachi are cleared of all charges then nothing will happen. If they are found guilty on the other hand then hardware prices will probably be lowered for Nintendo - though there's pretty much no chance that this would equal a lower price for customers.

Think that Sharp and Hitachi are guilty? How is it even possible to punish corporations of such a size? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.