Nintendo of America won a legal victory that awarded it $4.5 million in damages from a lawsuit filed against an individual accused of selling pirated versions of games for the Switch console. The ruling came by default, as the defendant did not respond to the legal action initiated in 2024.
The target of the lawsuit was James Williams, known online by the pseudonym Archbox. According to the company, this man was allegedly the operator, supervisor, and driving force behind several sites that offered extensive libraries of Switch games illegally for download.
Williams also served as a moderator for the Reddit community r/SwitchPirates, a space dedicated to discussing console piracy. Although that subreddit remains active, specialized sources noted that he is currently not listed among the moderators.
Nintendo, which typically deploys its legal team aggressively in such cases, had relatively less work this time. The absence of a response from the defendant allowed the court to rule in favor of the company without the need for a lengthy trial.
The order to disable the sites
In addition to the monetary compensation, the ruling includes a clear order: Williams must immediately disable access to all online stores he operates or controls that offered the public extensive catalogs of pirated Nintendo Switch games.
The company argued in its lawsuit that the defendant was behind several of these platforms, which it referred to as “Pirate Shops.” The court decision aims to cut off the illegal distribution of titles protected by copyright from the Japanese firm.
