WASHINGTON — Federal customs agents yesterday raided more than 30 businesses and homes in 16 states including Hawai'i, looking for devices that allow pirated video games to play on Wiis, PlayStation 2s and Xboxes.

The investigation into the alleged sale and distribution of illegal modification chips for the popular consoles and others included 32 search warrants in 16 states, said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE declined to release the names of those targeted but said they are allegedly responsible for importing, installing, selling and distributing foreign-made devices smuggled into the U.S.

Attempts to contact Wayne Wills, Hawai'i ICE special agent-in-charge, were unsuccessful yesterday.

Illegal chips and other devices used on gaming consoles violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Sales of counterfeit or illegally obtained games costs the industry about $3 billion a year globally, not including Internet piracy, estimates the Entertainment Software Association trade group.

Piracy losses for Nintendo and its game developers and publishers likely totaled $762 million last year alone, said Jodi Daugherty, senior director of anti-piracy at Redmond, Wash.-based Nintendo America.

Yesterday's federal raids came after a yearlong investigation conducted by ICE's Office of the Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Cleveland, which coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio and the Department of Justice's Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section. ICE said it also received assistance from companies and industry trade groups.

The raids were conducted in California, Florida, Hawai'i, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.