Nintendo Piracy Judgment
Nintendo Wins $4.5 Million Default Judgment Against Switch Piracy Operator
Anonymous
Key Points
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Nintendo’s complaint alleged that Williams solicited eShop gift cards and Switch games as “donations” so the games could be copied and distributed through pirate shops.
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US District Judge Lauren King wrote that Williams promoted shops offering pirated game files and circumvention software, encouraged others to contribute games, and assisted in distributing them despite knowing the activity violated copyright law.
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A separate case against Modded Hardware owner Ryan Daly ended with a $2 million payment to Nintendo and an order to surrender hardware used to modify consoles; the parties’ initial agreement to halt the activity did not resolve the dispute.
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The r/SwitchPirates subreddit remains active, though Williams no longer appears to be listed as one of its moderators.
Nintendo won a $4.5 million default judgment against James Williams, known online as Archbox, for running pirate shops that distributed illegally copied Nintendo Switch games. TechSpot reported that Williams, a moderator of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, failed to respond to Nintendo's 2024 lawsuit, leaving the court no choice but to accept the company's claims as uncontested. The award comes to $150,000 per game across 30 copyrighted titles, and a judge permanently barred Williams from distributing pirated games or operating related online shops.
The case is part of Nintendo's aggressive crackdown on Switch piracy. Tom's Hardware noted that Williams allegedly solicited eShop gift cards and physical games as donations so he could copy them and distribute them through unauthorized pirate shops. Judge Lauren King wrote that Williams promoted the shops and encouraged others to contribute games despite knowing the activity violated copyright law.
How Nintendo Tracked Down the Pirate Moderator
Nintendo identified Williams by matching his Reddit persona to its internal database of console repairs. When someone had sent a Switch in for hardware fixes, the serial number linked back to Williams' online identity as Archbox. Nintendo sent him a cease-and-desist letter in March 2024, and Williams initially agreed to comply before cutting off all communication.
Williams Ignored the Lawsuit and Lost by Default
Nintendo filed its federal lawsuit in June 2024 in Washington's federal district court. Men's Journal reported that Williams received the summons in August 2024 but never filed a response. Even though he hired a lawyer to challenge a Google subpoena, he ignored the main lawsuit itself. By failing to defend himself, Williams allowed the court to accept Nintendo's allegations as true.
In September 2026, Judge Lauren King granted Nintendo's motion for a default judgment. The court ordered Williams to immediately shut down all online pirate shops he operated and disable related social media accounts. King noted that Williams' "egregious infringement activities" deserved "substantial punishment" because he knew what he was doing violated copyright law.
Nintendo's Broader War Against Switch Piracy
This judgment fits into a larger Nintendo enforcement strategy. In 2024, the company settled with the creators of the Yuzu Switch emulator for $2.4 million. In September 2025, a separate court in the same Washington federal district ordered Ryan Daly, who ran a console-modding shop, to pay Nintendo $2 million and surrender his hardware. In 2022, Gary Bowser from the hacking group Team-Xecuter was ordered to pay $14.5 million in restitution alongside prison time.
Collecting Millions From Individual Pirates Stays Nearly Impossible
While Nintendo won a massive judgment, actually collecting $4.5 million from Williams will likely prove difficult. Industry observers note that Nintendo treats these lawsuits primarily as public warnings rather than expected sources of payment. The real victory comes from the permanent injunction that legally requires Williams to stop all piracy activity and removes him from his moderator role on r/SwitchPirates, the 190,000-member subreddit dedicated to Switch hacking.
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