Italian Authorities Investigate Retro Reviewer for ‘Promoting’ Anbernic Consoles; Could Face Three-Year Jail Term for Copyright Issues

Alright, let’s dive into this wild ride about Francesco Salicini and his YouTube channel, Once Were Nerd. It’s like something out of a movie, really. The guy is under the microscope in Italy—yeah, the actual Italian authorities are sniffing around—because apparently, he might be promoting piracy. Why? Because he’s been giving some screen time to these Anbernic game consoles. If that doesn’t sound edgy enough, hang tight.

So, Anbernic is like this brand that’s super into retro gaming consoles, right? They’re the kind of consoles that give you all those nostalgic vibes, because they can play those classic Nintendo and Sony games. But, uh-oh, here’s the kicker: a bunch of these consoles come stocked with microSD cards jam-packed with copyrighted games. We’re talking serious old-school fun, but it smacks of piracy. Salicini’s over here saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I just review the hardware! Nobody’s slipping me cash under the table.” No affiliate links either, he insists. Interesting angle, huh?

Anyway—wait, where was I? Oh, right. So, Salicini finds himself entangled in Article 171 ter of Italy’s Copyright Law. It sounds legit scary, doesn’t it? He could be staring down a €15,000 fine (or around $17,000 for my dollar folks) and maybe even a three-year stint in jail. Yeah, it’s that serious. So like, the Guardia di Finanza, or the Financial Police if you prefer, swooped in and snagged over 30 consoles from this guy, not just Anbernic ones, but a few others too like TrimUI and Powkiddy. And they didn’t stop there—his phone and chat logs are all in the evidence pile now. Talk about intense.

It might take six months—or, who knows, a bit longer—before they decide if this dude’s truly in hot water or if they’ll just let it slide. In the meantime, he’s walking on eggshells over his content, because bam, his channel could get yanked even if he’s innocent. Yeah, it’s wild how that risk just hangs there.

Here’s a twist for you: Nintendo’s got a bit of a reputation for being fiercely protective. They’re like, “You touch our games, you deal with us,” and they mean it. They’re notorious for shutting down emulators and stuff—imagine them behind this case. Maybe it’s them or Sony pulling these strings? It just adds another layer to this crazy saga.

Then there’s this bigger debate happening. It’s like, on one side, game studios want total control—like they’re holding on to these games from 50 years ago with an iron grip. But the hardware’s kind of on its last legs. Without emulators, those games could just vanish. So there’s like this tug-of-war between preserving gaming history and the rights of developers. It’s kind of sad thinking those games might just disappear, right?

Anyway, if you want the freshest updates from Tom’s Hardware, you better make sure you’re following them on Google News. Click that little button and let the news roll in. It’s a wild world out there in tech land.