// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
Reddit mod ordered to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in Switch piracy lawsuit
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Nintendo accused James ‘archbox’ Williams of operating Switch ‘pirate shops.’
Nintendo accused James ‘archbox’ Williams of operating Switch ‘pirate shops.’
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Nintendo won its $4.5 million lawsuit against James Williams, a Reddit moderator accused of distributing pirated Switch games, as reported earlier by Aftermath. In a default judgment issued on Wednesday, a Washington federal judge also ordered Williams to shut down the online stores allegedly housing libraries of pirated Switch games.
Nintendo sued Williams, also known as “archbox” online, in 2024. In its complaint, the gaming giant claimed Williams became a “leading moderator” of the r/SwitchPirates community, where he allegedly solicited “donations” of Nintendo eShop gift cards and copies of Switch games “to be copied and distributed” on online pirate stores. Last October, Nintendo asked the court for a $4.5 million default judgment after Williams didn’t respond to the lawsuit.
“NOA [Nintendo of America] has demonstrated that Williams promoted online shops offering pirated Nintendo game files and circumvention software, encouraged others to contribute pirated Nintendo games to his pirate shops, and assisted others in distributing pirated Nintendo Switch games, even though he knew such activity violated copyright laws,” US District Judge Lauren King writes in the order.