A European court Thursday lowered the fines levied against Japanese video game maker Nintendo (7974.OK) and its distributors for preventing parallel trade in its computer gaming consoles and game cartridges.

The fine, imposed by the European Commission in 2002, was reduced to EUR119 million from EUR167.8 million.

Parallel trade is the practice of trading goods from lower-cost countries into companies which already have a higher-priced supply from the manufacturer.

-By Mike Gordon, Dow Jones Newswires; +352 691 180 766; mgordon.dowjones@gmail.com