Hacker Sentenced to Over Three Years in Prison in Nintendo Piracy Case

Back when the Nintendo Switch was fresh in the market, certain hacker groups found loopholes in the hardware for people to reverse-engineer and install unsigned code in their consoles, and a group of hackers called Team-Xecuter started selling software to facilitate the piracy. After months of a legal battle between the hacker group and Nintendo, it seems the console giant has come out victorious.

Nintendo recently confirmed via a press release that its ongoing case against one of Team-Xecuter’s leads, who is, ironically called, called Gary W. Bowser, has wrapped up, with the court sentencing Bowser to 40 months in prison. The press release reads:

“Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington imposed a 40-month sentence upon Gary W. Bowser, one of the leaders of the Team Xecuter criminal enterprise, which created and sold console-hacking software and devices used to play pirated Nintendo Switch games.

“Nintendo appreciates the hard work and tireless efforts of federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to curb illegal activities on a global scale that cause serious harm to Nintendo and the video game industry. In particular, Nintendo would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their significant contribution and assistance.”

Given Nintendo’s reputation, it’s no surprise that things have gone the way they have. The Japanese company has been proactive in its efforts to protect its IP, and has usually cracked down on pirates and hackers hard. The ironically named Bowser is just the latest in a long line of pirates that Nintendo has locked in its crosshairs.