Nintendo Expands Anti-Piracy Efforts: Subreddits and Modders Targeted
Nintendo’s aggressive stance on piracy is escalating, with new court filings revealing plans to identify and pursue individuals involved in alleged piracy networks. This includes members of the SwitchPirates subreddit, a community of over 200,000 members moderated by James Williams (Archbox), a Switch modder under legal scrutiny.
Nintendo’s filing in federal court seeks permission to subpoena major tech companies, including:
Domain registrars: NameCheap, GoDaddy, Tucows
Cloud services: Cloudflare, Google
Developer platforms: GitHub
Community platforms: Reddit, Discord
These subpoenas aim to unmask collaborators who supported Archbox’s Pirate Shops operation, potentially implicating subreddit moderators and other prominent contributors.
Nintendo alleges that Archbox used multiple accounts to manage and promote piracy within the SwitchPirates subreddit. The company believes other users also played a significant role in facilitating illegal activity, such as sharing tools, software, or knowledge critical to piracy.
Once identified, Nintendo plans to pursue copyright infringement claims against these individuals.
Nintendo’s efforts against piracy have ramped up in recent years, with key actions in 2023 including:
Shutting down popular Switch emulators Yuzu and Ryujinx, likely to protect its upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 from early emulation attempts.
Legal actions against distributors of modified Switch consoles and pirated software.
These steps highlight Nintendo's proactive approach to safeguarding its intellectual property as it transitions to the next generation of hardware.
Nintendo’s targeting of platforms like Reddit marks a significant escalation in its anti-piracy measures, extending beyond direct modders to online communities and infrastructure. This move could have chilling effects on online discussions about modding and emulation, even when conducted for legitimate purposes.
If the court grants Nintendo’s subpoena requests, we could see the beginning of a new wave of legal actions against online piracy communities. Members of the SwitchPirates subreddit and other implicated platforms may face lawsuits or cease-and-desist orders.
