Nintendo isn’t new to the courtroom drama, and they’ve just added two more lawsuits to their busy schedule. On Tuesday, reports surfaced about Nintendo targeting two different parties: one involves a company allegedly selling modded Switch consoles, and the other targets a subreddit moderator who apparently helped people play pirated games.
According to TorrentFreak, Nintendo has filed complaints in the U.S. District Court in Washington. The first lawsuit is against Modded Hardware and its owner, Ryan “Homebrew Homie” Daly. Nintendo claims Daly was selling mod chips, modded Switch consoles, and a memory card that enables pirated games. The suit states that this has caused Nintendo “substantial and irreparable” harm, and they are seeking damages for copyright infringement and “trafficking in circumvention devices.”
Nintendo’s complaint says, “Defendant’s products and services not only deprive Nintendo and its licensees of revenue from the sales of lawful copies of Nintendo games but also foster and encourage the illegal distribution of pirated Nintendo content.” They argue that selling this hardware supports the thriving market for pirated games.
The suit also mentions that Nintendo had previously warned Daly twice—once in March and again just before filing the lawsuit on June 28. Despite the warnings, Daly continued his business.
The second lawsuit targets James Williams, also known as Archbox online, who is allegedly linked to “pirate shops” selling large collections of pirated Nintendo Switch games. Williams is also a moderator for the subreddit r/SwitchPirates, where he reportedly provided users with advice on playing illegal game copies.
The complaint details that Williams’ posts included directions to these Pirate Shops and technical advice on using circumvention software to play pirated games.
In response to the lawsuit, another subreddit moderator named Vhirsion posted a now-deleted message emphasizing that the community does not support piracy and operates under the assumption that all content shared is legally acquired. They stated, “We do not allow any discussions or activities that involve illegal activity.”
This isn’t Nintendo’s first rodeo. Back in March, they won a $2.4 million lawsuit against the Switch emulator maker Yuzu, which led to its shutdown. And in 2020, a member of Team Xecuter, a group known for selling console hacking hardware, was arrested, served time in prison, and was released in 2023.
Nintendo continues its fight against piracy with these new lawsuits, proving they’re serious about protecting their intellectual property.
