Japan Arrests First Alleged Nintendo Switch Modder in New Era of Video Game Piracy

In a groundbreaking move against video game piracy, Japanese authorities have arrested a 58-year-old man for the first time for modifying Nintendo Switch hardware. The arrest, which took place on January 15, was based on suspicions of violating the Trademark Act. The man allegedly modified second-hand Switch consoles by welding parts to their circuit boards, enabling them to run pirated games. These modified consoles were loaded with 27 illegally accessed games and sold for ¥28,000 (approximately $180) each. The suspect has confessed to the charges and is under further investigation for potential additional violations.

Nintendo has been at the forefront of combating piracy, as evidenced by their legal actions. In May 2024, the company issued a takedown request for 8,500 copies of the Switch emulator Yuzu, following the emulator's removal two months earlier. This was in response to their lawsuit against Tropic Haze, the creators of Yuzu, which highlighted the piracy of their flagship game, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was illegally downloaded over a million times before its official release in 2023.

Nintendo's legal efforts extend beyond this case. In 2021, the game file-sharing website RomUniverse was ordered to pay $2.1 million in damages to Nintendo, while a similar lawsuit in 2018 resulted in over $12 million in damages. Additionally, Nintendo successfully blocked the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin from being released on the PC gaming platform Steam.

This week, insights into Nintendo's anti-piracy strategy were shared by Koji Nishiura, Assistant Manager of the Intellectual Property Division at Nintendo. Nishiura discussed the complex legal status of emulators, noting, "To begin with, are emulators illegal or not? This is a point often debated. While you can’t immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, it can become illegal depending on how it’s used." This statement underscores Nintendo's ongoing battle against piracy and the nuanced approach required to address the issue effectively.