Nintendo has won its lawsuit against James Williams. Williams was accused of distributing hacked Switch games and served as one of the moderators of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit on Reddit. According to the gaming media outlet Aftermath, the case concluded with a default judgment, indicating that Williams never appeared in court to defend himself. Due to his failure to respond, the court fully granted Nintendo's claim, ordering a compensation amount of $4.5 million. Additionally, court documents state that Williams must shut down all websites he operates that distribute resources for hacked Switch consoles.
Nintendo has always been ruthless in cracking down on pirated versions. In 2024, Nintendo filed its first lawsuit against Williams as part of a large-scale campaign against activities involving hacked original Switch consoles. Nintendo also sued Ryan Daly, owner of the Modded Hardware website, which specialized in selling modified original Switch consoles, modding kits, and flashcards. Initially, Nintendo reached a settlement with Daly: he agreed to cease illegal operations, and Nintendo would drop the lawsuit. However, the settlement ultimately fell through, and the case went to court. Daly was eventually ordered to pay Nintendo $2 million in damages and surrender all hardware used for console modification.
Once again, Nintendo has secured a massive settlement that would crush an individual, this time against Williams. If only the Red Giant showed the same decisiveness when dealing with corporations and institutions capable of bearing such costs.