Video Game Piracy Enters New Era as Japan Arrests Its First Alleged Modder of Nintendo Switch Consoles

In a groundbreaking move against video game piracy, Japanese authorities have arrested a 58-year-old man on January 15, marking the first time such an arrest has been made for modifying Nintendo Switch hardware. As reported by NTV News and translated by Automaton, the individual is suspected of violating the Trademark Act by altering Switch consoles to play pirated games and then selling these modified units.

The suspect allegedly modified second-hand Switch consoles by welding new parts to their circuit boards, enabling them to run 27 illegally accessed games. These modified consoles were sold for ¥28,000 (approximately $180) each. The man has confessed to the charges and is under further investigation for potential additional violations, according to police statements.

Nintendo, a company long embroiled in the fight against piracy, has taken significant legal steps to curb this issue. In May 2024, Nintendo issued a takedown request for 8,500 copies of the Switch emulator Yuzu, following the emulator's removal two months earlier. This action came after Nintendo's lawsuit against Tropic Haze, the creators of Yuzu, which highlighted that their $70 game, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, had been pirated over one million times before its official release in 2023.

Nintendo's legal efforts extend beyond emulators. The company successfully sued the game file sharing site RomUniverse, resulting in damages of $2.1 million in 2021 and over $12 million in 2018. Additionally, Nintendo blocked the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin from being released on the PC gaming platform Steam.

This week, Koji Nishiura, Assistant Manager of Nintendo's Intellectual Property Division, shed light on the company's stance on piracy and emulation. He noted, "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 complexities surrounding the legality of emulation technologies.