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

In a groundbreaking move, Japanese law enforcement has taken action against video game piracy by arresting a 58-year-old man for modifying Nintendo Switch consoles. This arrest, reported by NTV News and translated by Automaton, marks the first time Japanese police have detained someone on charges related to altering gaming hardware to run pirated games. The suspect was apprehended on January 15, accused of violating the Trademark Act by welding modified parts onto the circuit boards of second-hand Switch consoles. These modifications enabled the consoles to play 27 illegally accessed games, which were then sold for around ¥28,000 ($180) each. The man has confessed to the charges and is under further investigation for potential additional violations.

Nintendo, a company that has been at the forefront of the battle against piracy, continues to face significant challenges. In May 2024, the gaming giant issued a takedown request for 8,500 copies of the Switch emulator Yuzu, following the emulator's removal two months earlier. Nintendo's lawsuit against Yuzu's creator, Tropic Haze, revealed that their flagship title, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, had been pirated over a million times before its official release in 2023. This underscores the scale of the piracy issue facing the industry.

Legal actions against piracy are intensifying. Nintendo has successfully pursued lawsuits against platforms like RomUniverse, resulting in damages of $2.1 million in 2021 and over $12 million in 2018. Additionally, Nintendo's efforts have blocked the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin from being released on the PC gaming platform Steam.

In a recent discussion, Koji Nishiura, Assistant Manager of Nintendo's Intellectual Property Division, shed light on the company's stance on emulators and piracy. He noted the complex legal landscape surrounding emulators, stating, "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 highlights Nintendo's ongoing commitment to protecting its intellectual property and combating piracy in all its forms.