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

Japanese police have made a landmark arrest, apprehending a 58-year-old man for modifying Nintendo Switch consoles to play pirated games. This marks the first time someone has been arrested in Japan for this specific hardware modification offense, highlighting a new phase in the fight against video game piracy.

The man, arrested on January 15th, allegedly welded modified parts onto the circuit boards of used Switch consoles, enabling them to run pirated software. He then sold these modified consoles for approximately $180 each, pre-loaded with 27 illegally obtained games. He has confessed to the charges, and further investigations are underway to determine the full extent of his activities.

This arrest underscores the ongoing battle between video game companies and piracy. Nintendo, in particular, has been aggressively pursuing legal action against piracy. A notable example includes a May 2024 takedown request targeting 8,500 copies of the Switch emulator Yuzu, following the emulator's shutdown two months prior. Nintendo's initial lawsuit against Yuzu's creator, Tropic Haze, cited the unauthorized distribution of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—pirated a million times before its official release—as a key concern.

This recent arrest follows a pattern of successful legal action against piracy. Previous cases include lawsuits against RomUniverse, a game file-sharing website, resulting in multi-million dollar damages awarded to Nintendo in 2018 and 2021. Nintendo also successfully blocked the release of the GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin on Steam.

Recently, Koji Nishiura, Nintendo's Assistant Manager of the Intellectual Property Division, shed light on Nintendo's approach to piracy and emulation. He clarified that while emulators themselves aren't inherently illegal, their use can become illegal depending on the context, particularly when used to facilitate software piracy. This nuanced perspective underscores the complexities of combating modern piracy.