Nintendo has secured a substantial £3.4 million ($4.5 million) judgment against James Williams, known online as “Archbox”, due to his failure to address allegations of facilitating Nintendo Switch piracy. This legal victory follows Nintendo’s aggressive stance on copyright infringement in recent years.
In previous efforts to protect its intellectual property, Nintendo managed to imprison Switch pirate Gary Bowser and challenged emulator platform Yuzu in 2024. Their pursuit of Williams, the leading moderator of the r/SwitchPirates Reddit forum, was based on evidence collected from his online activities.
Legal documents filed a year ago indicated Nintendo’s intention to recover $4.5 million in damages, accusing Williams of organizing a network of unauthorized online shops distributing illegal copies of Nintendo Switch games. The court has now confirmed that Williams owes this amount to Nintendo.
Despite not responding directly to the lawsuit, Williams’ prior engagement with legal counsel to contest a Google subpoena implied he was aware of the ongoing legal matters. Nintendo’s claim included $150,000 per pirated game, naming 30 titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, combining to the total $4.5 million sought.
The judgment not only awarded this sum but also issued a permanent injunction, preventing Williams from further piracy-related activities. He is prohibited from distributing unlawful Nintendo games or encouraging similar conduct among others.
Interestingly, Nintendo was praised by the judge for choosing not to pursue damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or recover legal fees, which was characterized as a gesture of goodwill that justified the awarding of maximum statutory damages.
In a related anecdote, gaming industry veteran John Romero shared last month how id Software once cooperated with Taiwanese pirates to popularise their game Doom, providing a contrasting historical perspective on piracy and video games.
Reporting based on coverage first published by eurogamer.net.