A US District Judge has awarded Nintendo a default judgment of $4.5 million (£3.4 million) against James Williams, a former Reddit moderator known online as 'Archbox,' who failed to respond to a lawsuit concerning alleged Nintendo Switch piracy.
Nintendo pursued Williams, identified as a primary moderator for the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, after previously taking action against Switch pirate Gary Bowser and targeting the Yuzu emulator. Court documents revealed last year that Nintendo sought $4.5 million from Williams, accusing him of facilitating a network that offered pirated Nintendo Switch games for download.
The judge noted that Williams was likely aware of the lawsuit despite his lack of response, citing his prior hiring of a lawyer to object to a Google subpoena. Nintendo requested $150,000 for each of the 30 games Williams allegedly facilitated the piracy of, including titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, totaling the full $4.5 million.
In the ruling, the judge stated that "Williams' egregious infringement activities merit substantial punishment here." A permanent injunction was also issued, prohibiting Williams from distributing any pirated Nintendo games and from encouraging others to do so. The court recognized Nintendo's decision not to seek separate DMCA damages or attorneys' fees as a "gesture of reasonableness" that supported awarding the maximum copyright damages.