A Federal Court has ordered an Australian citizen to pay Nintendo $1.5 million in damages after illegally copying and uploading to the internet the first game file of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

The file was first made available for illegal download worldwide on November 6, 2009, a week ahead of its official release in Australia.

The $1.5 million in damages awarded to the platform holder will compensate it for the loss of sales revenue caused by the individual’s actions, Nintendo said.

Sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii topped ten million units worldwide in just eight weeks.

“Nintendo has been working to combat piracy for approximately 20 years,” the company said in a statement. “Piracy is a significant threat to Nintendo’s business, as well as over 1,400 game development companies working to provide unique and innovative games for the Nintendo platform.

“Fewer sales of Nintendo’s hardware and software systems means fewer resources that Nintendo, its licensees, developers and publishers have to create and market new video game products which is ultimately to the detriment of video game enthusiasts. When there is a decrease in game development, there is also a decrease in the number of jobs in the industry. The existence of piracy jeopardises the strength of the video game industry overall.”