Modded Nintendo Switch Sale Ends Badly

Nintendo has taken an important step in the fight against pirated games. A 58-year-old man living in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, has been arrested for selling modded Nintendo Switch consoles. This incident is notable as it is the first time a modded Switch sale in Japan has resulted in an arrest. The suspect was selling second-hand Switch devices with pirated games that he modded for 28,000 yen (about $180). Each console came with 27 pirated games pre-loaded.

Nintendo’s Legal Fight

Nintendo usually resorts to civil lawsuits in its legal fight against pirated games. However, this arrest signals that it will take a tougher stance against pirated games. The company’s chief patent attorney Koji Nishiura emphasized at the Tokyo eSports Festival that emulators are technically legal, but distributing copyrighted games through emulators is illegal. Nishiura said that the use of emulation often crosses legal boundaries and leads to the spread of pirated content.

In this context, modding and distributing pirated games violate Japan’s copyright laws. Nintendo has previously filed legal threats against Switch emulators Yuzu and Ryujinx, but those cases have not gone to court. This new arrest shows that the company is taking a more aggressive approach to pirated games.

While Nintendo acknowledges the legal limitations of emulation, it continues to oppose the distribution of pirated games. The company says that its upcoming Switch 2 console will offer a more secure system against pirated games. While it has been announced that the new console will come with a larger screen and improved graphics, an official release date has not yet been announced.

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