Nintendo Wins $4.5 Million Lawsuit Against Reddit Moderator Who Pirated Switch Games
Nintendo’s fight against piracy has not slowed down with the arrival of Nintendo Switch 2. In fact, it has become tougher in legal terms, with serious consequences for those who break the rules.
In addition to removing repositories of pirated games, the company wants to see those involved taken to court and, more importantly, made to pay large sums for their actions.
As much as the $4.5 million Nintendo demanded from a Reddit moderator, who has now been ordered to pay that amount.
Nintendo Scores Another Victory in Its Fight Against Piracy
TorrentFreak reports that the federal court for the Western District of Washington has ruled in Nintendo’s favor in its case against James Williams for distributing “thousands, if not hundreds” of pirated Nintendo Switch games.
The ruling comes after Williams failed to respond to the lawsuit filed by Nintendo in 2024. The company then asked the federal court for the Western District of Washington for a default judgment.
Nintendo accused Williams of taking part, since 2019, in several pirate shops that offered large collections of Nintendo Switch games for free download.
Archbox also played a major role as a moderator of a Reddit community dedicated to Switch piracy, which grew to around 190,000 members.
According to the lawsuit, Williams posted thousands of messages in that community and even asked for Nintendo eShop gift cards to buy games that could later end up in these pirate shops.
Although the lawsuit referred to hundreds or even thousands of affected games, Nintendo decided to focus its claim on 30 specific titles from its catalog, including The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Nintendo asked for $150,000 for each of the 30 games, making a total of $4.5 million. The judge agreed, and Williams was ordered to pay the full $4.5 million. But this amount, is not the only consequence for him. The ruling also places a permanent ban on distributing pirated Nintendo games and software designed to bypass the company’s protections.
Williams will also not be allowed to encourage other people to download this type of content. At the time of writing, he has not publicly commented or said how he plans to pay the $4.5 million. As more information about the case develops, we’ll make sure to let you guys know here at MP1st.
