Nintendo takes its animosity towards Bowsers (though not all Bowsers) one step further. Polygon found out that Nintendo had sued Gary Bowser, a leader of the Switch Team Xecuter hacking group, for allegedly infringing copyright by making and selling hacks. Law enforcement officers have already arrested Bowser in the fall, but the company hopes the trial will punish the leader for both copyright infringement and two trafficking charges.
Much of the process focuses on Bowser running an “international pirate ring” and distributing SX Core, SX Lite and SX Pro switch-oriented hacking tools. While some critics have argued that bootlegs are useful for keeping games, Team Xecuter has sold the SX suite for profit – which hurts its chances.
If successful, Nintendo would shut down Bowser’s operations and claim $ 2,500 in damages for each trafficked device, plus $ 150,000 for copyright infringement. It is safe to say that financial sanctions would incapacitate the Xecuter Team, even if it remained in business.
The trial reflects Nintendo’s history of countering hacks and any other tools that could allow piracy. It is not at all surprising that the company would be so aggressive. Nintendo is even more dependent on software sales than rivals such as Microsoft and Sony, as its sales successes are often linked to the latest games in franchises such as Mario or Zelda. Although piracy is really detrimental to Nintendo’s results, such processes show its position clearly and could discourage bootleggers.
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