Switch Pirate Ordered to Pay Nintendo $4.5 Million

Ever wondered what happens when you cross Nintendo? Ask James Williams, a Switch user who just got hit with a $4.5 million bill. A court awarded Nintendo that amount in damages after Williams allegedly hosted pirated games online. He didn't respond to the lawsuit filed in 2024, so Nintendo won by default. Ouch.

But that's not all. Nintendo also won a permanent injunction against Williams. He must "immediately disable access to all online 'shops' that he operates or otherwise controls which have offered to the public extensive libraries of pirated Nintendo Switch games for download," according to Aftermath. He's also ordered to shut down any social media accounts connected to piracy, including Instagram, X, Reddit, and TikTok. And he can't distribute, advertise, or sell anything related to pirating Nintendo games. Basically, his piracy days are over.

How did Nintendo track him down? Apparently, Williams sent a Switch console in for repair. According to Game File, Nintendo was looking for a Reddit user known as Archbox, who posted about living near Phoenix, AZ. When his shipping address popped up in Nintendo's customer service system, it became pretty easy for the company's lawyers to serve him legal papers. Talk about a paper trail.

The default judgment was already set when Williams cut off communication with Nintendo in 2024. Yesterday's final ruling just made it official. Nintendo itself proposed the $4.5 million figure. In a court filing reported by Polygon in 2025, the company said, "Here, the amount of money sufficient to remedy NOA's injury would be extremely difficult to quantify; but it is indisputable that such amount would be large. Therefore, the money at stake by this Motion is nowhere near an amount that would compensate NOA for the seriousness of Defendants' conduct." So yeah, Nintendo thinks even $4.5 million isn't enough.

If that number rings a bell, it's because infamous Switch pirate Gary Bowser was ordered to pay $4.5 million in 2021. That was later upped to $10 million, which Bowser expects to pay back for the rest of his working life. Nintendo isn't playing around when it comes to piracy.

This lawsuit has been making headlines since 2024, and it's just the latest in Nintendo's legal crusade. The company also recently won a legal battle against Mig Switch cards in the Netherlands, saying the decision will benefit "many video game developers globally." Clearly, Nintendo is serious about protecting its games.

What do you think about this ruling? Is $4.5 million enough to deter pirates, or is it just a drop in the bucket for Nintendo? Let us know in the comments!