Nintendo Reveals How They Caught a a Potential Pirate and Modchip Seller, Who Happened to Send Hardware in for Repairs

If you ever wondered how the “Nintendo Ninjas” do their work at finding hackers, modders, and pirates, well, wonder no more, as Nintendo has revealed in a recent court case how they managed to find someone who was not only selling mod chips to circumvent Nintendo Switch’s hardware to play pirated games but also selling copies of those pirated games directly to customers. 

Nintendo Used Reddit and Linked the Pirate to Someone Who Sent Their Switch in for Repairs

In July, it was revealed that Nintendo was suing Reddit’s SwitchPirates moderator ‘Archbox,’ over selling pirated Switch games, violating their digital copyrights. ‘Archbox, ‘ whose real name is allegedly James Williams, apparently helped operate a store that sold modded chips, MiGs (empty cartridges that can have games loaded to them and play like the real thing), and pirated games. As one would expect, this didn’t sit too well with Nintendo, which prompted them to begin an investigation into the matter. 

It wasn’t long after this that William would soon get a knock on his door from FedEx, with a delivery that required a signature. Little did he know, he was signing a cease-and-desist letter sent directly from Nintendo. But how did they find out that James William was the same (allegedly) person as Archbox? Well, the methods weren’t all that hard, as the court fillings, shared by GameFile, revealed they used his digital footprint to track that Archbox had been living in Arizona. 

“The firm zeroed in on someone called Archbox and noticed online postings that suggested Archbox lived near Phoenix, Arizona, and had attended Midwestern University. ” Stephen Totilo of Gamefile wrote, “One particularly useful post: In 2015, a Reddit user called “Archbox” who had posted to a “SwitchPirates” community using a turtle avatar had posted to the r/phoenix subreddit stating that “Midwestern University has an optometry clinic that is very good. You get examined by a student and then by the doctor.”

With a potential location found, Nintendo eventually discovered a name that belonged to James William. To make matters worse for James, Nintendo managed to pinpoint his exact address, thanks to the fact he had sent in two hardware repair requests using two email addresses that helped Nintendo ID William as Archbox. 

Despite supposedly emailing Nintendo to say that he’d comply with demands and requests within his control, William eventually cut communication with the company and even failed to plead his case with the court by the deadline. This resulted in the case entering a “default,” though it does not mean that Nintendo has won yet. They still need to prove that James William is indeed Archbox in court, while William will have to explain the reason for the default and plead his case against Nintendo. Even if he no-shows, Nintendo still needs to argue in court that William is Archbox and has caused damages, though they’ll have a much easier time convincing the judge if he does not show. 

Whatever the results are, it just goes to show that if you are going to be doing something illegal, then you probably shouldn’t be posting very specific details online. That, and it’s probably not the wisest to be sending your email and address to the company that can be used to tie you back. 

More Nintendo Reading

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• Nintendo President Says They Still Plan to Announce the Switch’s Successor by the End of March 2025
• Nintendo Stock Rises Over 2% Amid Switch 2 Announcement Rumors

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