Nintendo shows its intuition, just like master detective Pikachu. It has now been revealed how the Japanese company managed to find out who was behind the account “Archbox,” which sold pirated software for the Nintendo Switch.
What did the person do? In July 2024, it became known that Nintendo had filed a lawsuit against James “Archbox” W., the main moderator of the Reddit “SwitchPirates” (via torrentfreak).
He was accused of operating several shops that offered pirated Nintendo games. Additionally, the man allegedly helped customers bypass Nintendo’s security measures and play the games.
The lawsuit states that “Archbox” referred to himself as a pirate, claiming that “Nintendo doesn’t pay $50 for a game.”
As the magazine Eurogamer reports, the man was sued for millions of dollars in damages.
Nintendo likes to sue people, even the creators of PalWorld:
9-year-old reddit post doomed pirates
This is how Nintendo found him: It has now been revealed how Nintendo determined the identity of the man known only by his Reddit name Archbox.
Nintendo had hired the law firm Mitchell Silbergberg & Knupp in 2023 to investigate such shops selling pirated copies (via gamefiles).
They discovered that Reddit user Archbox had posted a message in 2015 in a subreddit about the US city of Phoenix regarding an eye clinic. He had been examined there and recommended the clinic.
Apparently, this 9-year-old information was sufficient for the lawyers to identify the man and connect him to two Nintendo accounts.
In February 2024, the law firm had already identified two email addresses for the person and was able to find the individual in Nintendo’s system who had contacted customer service regarding repair orders, thus obtaining his address.
They then sent a repaired item to his address, apparently to check if he still lived there. Two days later, a cease and desist letter arrived via FedEx, followed by the lawsuit.
What has come of it? According to Nintendo, the man did not appear in court and ceased communication. The deadlines have now passed. And the judge has ruled in favor of Nintendo. Once again, it is true: Don’t mess with Mario: Indecent versions of Nintendo characters are at risk because someone asks the boss the wrong question
