Nintendo is doing everything in its power to stop the public from playing pirated games on the Switch console.
This involves sending a steady stream of cease and desist letters and takedown notices. If those don’t work, Nintendo is prepared to go to court as well.
Nintendo Sues r/SwitchPirates Mod
In July, Nintendo filed a lawsuit at a Washington federal court against Arizona-resident J. Williams, known online as ‘Archbox’. Nintendo accused Archbox of being involved in several ‘pirate shops’ through which copies of unauthorized games are distributed.
“Defendant is the operator, overseer, and driving force behind several Pirate Shops, through which Defendant has offered massive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games,” the complaint read.
Nintendo specifically named ‘Jack-in-the-Shop’, ‘Turtle in the Shop’ and ‘NekoDrive’, which were shut down following a cease and desist letter Nintendo sent in March. A fourth shop, LiberaShop, remained on Telegram, but shut down soon after the complaint was filed.
In addition to running these pirate shops, the defendant allegedly helped people to obtain and use circumvention software, so they could play pirated games. Nintendo says that this activity was boosted through the SwitchPirates subreddit, where Archbox was a moderator.
“Defendant became a leading (if not the primary) moderator of the SwitchPirates Reddit community, which he helped grow to nearly 190,000 members,” the complaint read.
According to Nintendo, the moderator used Reddit to direct people to pirate shops, show them how to download and install circumvention software, and guide them on playing pirated Nintendo Switch games.
Nintendo Seeks Info From Reddit, Discord, Google, and Others
After filing the lawsuit, Nintendo had trouble serving the defendant, but it eventually managed to do so in August. However, Mr. Williams didn’t file an answer to the complaint, which led to an entry of default earlier this month.
In the absence of a defense, Nintendo can now request a default judgment, ideally based on additional evidence not yet in its possession. As a result, Nintendo is requesting a subpoena to obtain information from Reddit, Discord, Google, GitHub, Namecheap and other third party services.
These companies may hold evidence to strengthen the claims against Mr. Williams and may be able to help identify additional defendants, including members of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit who were also involved in the pirate shops.
“[W]ithout third party discovery it will be impossible for [Nintendo] to ascertain the identity of the unnamed individuals who worked with Mr. Williams in operating the Pirate Shops or otherwise making available to the public pirated Nintendo games,” the company writes.
Nintendo says that it’s looking for limited information that can help to identify account holders and payment streams, as well as traffic and access statistics for the pirate shops.
Identifying More Reddit Users?
In addition to revealing the owners of various accounts, some companies can likely provide more detailed information. GitHub, for example, may know how often ‘circumvention’ software was downloaded, and Google can share Gmail data and traffic statistics for the files it stored.
Reddit may also hold key information, as the SwitchPirates subreddit plays a central role in the accusations. Nintendo believes that the defendant was a moderator there and may have controlled other user handles, or collaborated with other potential defendants.
Through the requested subpoenas, Nintendo hopes to get more clarity and potentially identify any additional defendants.
“Reddit is therefore likely to be in possession of information that will aid in preparation of Nintendo’s anticipated motion for a default judgment against Defendant, and that will assist in identifying any other individuals appropriate to name in an amended complaint.
“Reddit is also expected to have information pertaining to the growth of, and traffic to, the SwitchPirates subreddit during the relevant period of Defendant’s activities,” Nintendo adds.
At the time of writing, the court has yet to grant the motion. If Nintendo is allowed to proceed, it’s possible that additionally defendants will eventually be added to the lawsuit.
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A copy of Nintendo’s ex parte motion for leave to take limited early discovery is available here (pdf)
