ALBAWABA - Nintendo recently made headlines after filing a lawsuit against a Reddit moderator for pirating its games via unauthorized shops. In return, the Japanese video game giant is seeking $4.5 million against him.
According to Oatmeal Dome, the moderator in question is James Williams (known online as Archbox), who has handled several piracy websites since 2019, offered customers hardware hacks, and sold modified Switch consoles that included pirated games.
The documents claim that "Since 2019, 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."
Why did Nintendo sue a Reddit mod for $4.5 million?
Nintendo stated that Williams allegedly failed to comply with the company several times after it sent him a cease-and-desist order in March 2024 and warned him again in May 2024. Nintendo then filed a lawsuit against Williams in June 2024, and the court decided in favor of the company.
The company said, "When NOA requested that Defendant confirm in writing that he would comply with NOA's demands, he became combative and uncooperative."
According to Eurogamer, NOA also accused Williams of deleting or hiding evidence linked to the case, including social media posts.
(The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom/ Nintendo)
Williams didn't hire a lawyer to defend himself or attempt to reduce the compensation, which raised eyebrows among fellow Reddit users and gamers.
Nintendo is no stranger to its battle against piracy. Most recently, the company's legal team, known for its aggressiveness towards piracy, has been targeting ROM sites and also sued the popular Switch Emulator, Yuzu. Yuzu was shut down in March 2024, and its developers were forced to pay the Japanese video game giant $2.4 million as compensation.
This came due to 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,' which leaked early on piracy websites, allowing gamers to play it early on Yuzu.
The company would also continue its efforts by taking down fan games such as 'Pokémon MMO Pokenet' and 'Super Mario 64 HD.'
