Nintendo is back in the legal ring, and this time, they’re swinging at some pretty familiar targets: Switch modders and the folks behind pirated game distribution.
Well, it seems they’re not letting up anytime soon. According to recent reports, Nintendo has filed a pair of lawsuits against individuals they believe are facilitating piracy on the Switch. One lawsuit targets the owner of a company called Modded Hardware, which allegedly sold modded Switches, mod chips, and a memory card that allows users to play pirated games. The other lawsuit is against a moderator of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, who is said to have provided advice on how to use “pirate shops” to download and install pirated games.
According to TorrentFreak, who got their hands on the complaints filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, Nintendo isn’t taking this lightly. They’re claiming Daly’s actions have caused “substantial and irreparable” damage, seeking damages for copyright infringement and other concerns like “trafficking in circumvention devices.”
Nintendo’s attorney minced no words in saying that, in addition to depriving Nintendo and its licensees of revenue, Daly’s products promote the illegal distribution of pirated content. They pointed out how these sales keep the pirated game market alive. Nintendo had reportedly warned Daly two times before taking action—once in March and then again before filing the lawsuit on June 28—but Daly didn’t back down.
The lawsuit’s full particulars mention that Williams has shared messages that link to these pirate shops, he has given technical guidance, and he guided other members of his community on how to download and install the circumvention software to play pirated games. Once the lawsuit was filed, a statement came out from a subreddit moderator (now deleted), Vhirsion, which stated to bring into focus the disapproval from their end of the community regarding piracy and mentioned that they trust their members as they only share info on content bought by them legally.
This isn’t Nintendo’s first rodeo regarding legal battles over piracy and modding. They came out victorious in a $2.4 million lawsuit against the makers of the Switch emulator Yuzu, which led to its demise in March. Of course, it didn’t just stop there. In 2020, a Team Xecuter member well-known for hardware that hacks consoles was arrested and served time until their release in 2023.
So, what does this mean for the average Switch owner? Well, if you’re thinking about modding your console, you might want to tread carefully. While installing custom firmware itself isn’t illegal in the US, using it to play pirated games definitely is. And Nintendo has shown they’re willing to go after individuals and companies they believe are involved in this kind of activity.
In short, it can be seen that Nintendo is making an effort to boost its anti-piracy protection for its intellectual property. As technological developments continue to make their way into gaming, it seems the company is more serious than ever about trying to make their games and consoles honest, hence ensuring everyone is on a level playing field.