A Nintendo hacker was released from prison last year and must pay the Japanese company for the rest of his life.
Gary Bowser (who is related in name only to Bowser, the bad guy from the Mario universe!) was a member of a hacker group called Team-Xecuter. In 2013, this gang began creating and selling solutions to run illegal ROMs (game copies) on big N consoles, such as the 3DS and Switch. Although Bowser has already been released from service, he told The Guardian that his case is intended to serve as a deterrent to others. He believes the prison was a warning message to other people still at large. If they are caught, they will also find themselves behind bars for a long time.
Bowser was jailed in September 2020 and rearranged in 2021 for eleven offences. But instead of going to trial, he pleaded guilty to two charges and offered to pay Nintendo $4.5 million. For this reason, he has to pay some of his remaining income to meet his needs to the large N. In this regard, he told The Guardian newspaper that he pays the Japanese company what he can, but it is not a lot of money. In another civil case, Nintendo was ordered to pay an additional $10 million (!) for its participation in the sale of console modifications. According to the US government, Team-Xecuter generated tens of millions of dollars in sales, causing up to $150 million in damages to the group.
The saddest part about it is that Bowser will have to pay something to Nintendo for the rest of his life. It can also be said that this is a deterrent example, but it is terrible for a Japanese company to resort to such a thing. If someone does not have money, it will be difficult for them to get what they believe is theirs. $14.5 million is no small amount (5.16 billion forints, let's taste it a little). Of course, it doesn't matter that this is just a pittance for Nintendo.
