Japanese police have made a landmark arrest, apprehending a 58-year-old man for allegedly modifying Nintendo Switch consoles to run pirated games. This marks the first time someone has been arrested in Japan for this specific hardware modification offense. According to NTV News, the man was arrested on January 15th for violating the Trademark Act. He allegedly welded modified parts onto the circuit boards of secondhand Switch consoles, enabling them to play 27 illegally obtained games. These modified consoles were then sold for approximately ¥28,000 ($180) each. The suspect has confessed to the charges, and further investigations are underway to determine if additional violations occurred.
This arrest highlights the ongoing battle against video game piracy. Nintendo, for example, has aggressively pursued legal action against piracy, including a May 2024 takedown request targeting 8,500 copies of the Switch emulator Yuzu, following the emulator's shutdown two months prior. Their initial lawsuit against creator Tropic Haze cited the unauthorized distribution of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, claiming over one million pirated copies circulated before the game's official release.
This is not an isolated incident. Nintendo has successfully pursued legal action against various piracy entities, including RomUniverse, resulting in multi-million dollar damage awards in 2018 and 2021. Furthermore, Nintendo's efforts extended to blocking the popular GameCube and Wii emulator, Dolphin, from Steam.
Koji Nishiura, Nintendo's Assistant Manager of the Intellectual Property Division, recently shed light on the company'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. The arrest of the 58-year-old man underscores the increasing legal pressure on those involved in the modification and distribution of pirated game consoles.
