It's not enough of a coincidence that the CEO of Nintendo of America is called Doug Bowser is it? The world had to go one step further and decide to also decree that an individual who is being sued by Nintendo should be called Bowser, too. But while the name is a pretty funny situation, the lawsuit isn't.
As reported by Polygon, the 'leader' of hacking group Team Xecuter is being sued along with another team member for creating and selling hacks. Gary Bowser and Max Louarn are both being taken to court by the gaming giant after creating an "international pirate ring" as Nintendo calls it.
The hacks that Team Xecuter have been selling (SX OS) apparently allow for individuals to use their Switches with pirated games and bypass the security measures the console has. This, according to Nintendo's lawsuit, allows the Nintendo Switch to be "used for massive intellectual property theft and infringement".
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Nintendo is known for having a no-nonsense approach to its property. It's fiercely protective of any intellectual property it has a hand in, arguably to its detriment and fan annoyance. It goes after unlicensed remakes of old games, any person who may even sound vaguely affiliated to their products, and they'll also get involved to prevent any modded versions of their games appearing at competitions.
Here, however, this is perhaps one of the occasions that seem more understandable as Nintendo and other developers are potentially not getting paid from the SX OS mod which is bad for business. Nintendo is looking to have damages paid - $2,500 for each trafficked device and another $150,000 for every copyright violation. Right now Nintendo is looking to charge Bowser with two trafficking charges and one copyright violation it seems.
Gary Bowser and Max Louarn have already been previously arrested in October 2020, according to The Verge, for making these tools, but this specific lawsuit is new. Before the arrests took place, Nintendo had also filed two other lawsuits against the individuals. It's obvious, from this case, that Nintendo does not take this piracy situation lightly.
Featured Image Credit: NintendoTopics: Nintendo Switch, News