Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million in damages from a notorious Switch Pirate

The head 'Switch Pirate' of Nintendo Pirates community of 190,000 members is being sued for distributing and profiting off of illegal copies of games.

Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million in damages from a notorious Switch Pirate
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TL;DR: Nintendo is suing James Williams, aka Archbox, for $4.5 million over operating pirate shops distributing illegal Nintendo Switch game copies via jailbroken consoles. The lawsuit highlights significant damage to Nintendo's business, intellectual property, and creators, emphasizing the company's strict stance against piracy and unauthorized hardware modifications.

Over the years, Nintendo has shown no interest in bringing its games to other platforms. The company is also not a fan of the emulation scene and has gone to great lengths to shut down emulator projects, as well as sue those who host or store ROMs or illegal copies of their games. It's even taken action against those who modify or tamper with Nintendo hardware to create, for example, a 'jailbroken' Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million in damages from a notorious Switch Pirate 2
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Nintendo doesn't even like fan edits, community projects, or anything that utilizes their IP. That said, Nintendo of America's (NOA) latest copyright infringement lawsuit feels a little different. The defendant is 'Archbox,' a moderator and main Switch Pirate of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit. According to a new report and filing (via Nintendo Everything), the company is seeking $4.5 million in damages because the defendant ignored a legal cease-and-desist order and then failed to appear in court.

Based on the filing, it appears that Archbox, whose real name is James Williams, was profiting from jailbroken Switch consoles. Apparently, he offered pro-level subscriptions via donation for an online storefront that would allow users to download and install pirated copies of Nintendo Switch games directly to their jailbroken consoles. The tools and steps required to create a jailbroken Switch were also distributed.

According to the filing (PDF warning), "Williams has been either directly or indirectly the owner, manager, operator, creator, administrator, supplier, and/or overseer of several online Pirate Shops, and has worked to actively promote these Pirate Shops to communities consisting of many thousands of individuals."

Apparently, the community of Nintendo Pirates grew to nearly 190,000 members, and the donations included purchasing Nintendo eShop Gift Cards for Williams, which were then used to buy games legally that were subsequently uploaded and distributed illegally on these Pirate Shops.

"These activities have substantially damaged NOA's overall business and intellectual property rights," the lawsuit claims. "As well as the business and intellectual property rights of NOA's development and publishing partners, and further has caused harm to the many artists, game designers, programmers and others whose livelihoods depend upon the sale of authorized Nintendo products."

The $4.5 million figure Nintendo is asking for would be a 'default judgment,' that is, an order made against the defendant without a hearing - commonly due to defendants failing to show up to court or comply with legal proceedings.