Nintendo Aims Red Shell at 200,000-Member SwitchPirates Subreddit

[DogOfViolence]

Nintendo has the 200,000-member SwitchPirates subreddit within its crosshairs after telling a federal court it wants to subpoena the platform to identify members who worked with an alleged Switch pirate.


Earlier this month, it was revealed that Nintendo tracked down an alleged Switch pirate using a combination of Reddit posts and repair orders. As reported by Game File, Nintendo sued James “Archbox” Williams, from Surprise, Arizona, for allegedly violating its digital copyrights by selling pirated copies of Switch games. The pirate shops Archbox was allegedly involved with include Jack-in-the-Shop, Turtle in the Shop, and NekoDrive, which all shut down following a cease-and-desist Nintendo sent in March.

Now, as Game File reports, Nintendo has told a federal court in Washington State that it believes other members of the SwitchPirates subreddit had a role to play in the pirate shops. Nintendo wants permission to subpoena business records from a number of platforms, including Reddit, Discord, and Google to help identify Williams’ alleged associates. The upshot of all this is to pursue infringement claims, Nintendo stressed.


“Nintendo has reason to believe that other accounts active in the SwitchPirates community may also have been controlled by Defendant, or else reflect other individuals who have worked alongside Defendant,” lawyers representing Nintendo said in its note to the court.

Nintendo ended up with a default judgment in its favor after Williams failed to plead his case to the court in time, but it’s clear the company behind Mario will continue its war on pirates. As for users of the SwitchPirates subreddit, many remain defiant, but some fear for its future.

“It was a good run soldiers, goodbye,” posted darkkef. “Time to put all those hours of watching LegalEagle in action lol.”

All new posts on r/SwitchPirates now require moderator approval before becoming visible on the subreddit. Examples of disallowed questions include ‘how do I hack my Switch?,' 'Which tinfoil shops work?’ and ‘Will I get banned if...?’


Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for ReedPop.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].