Nintendo has won a lawsuit against a website selling Nintendo Switch hacks and will be awarded $2 million in damages. This is the latest entry in the gaming giant's long history of legal battles.
Piracy is a constant issue all gaming companies have to deal with. When a new console is released, hackers are often quick to find ways of pirating software for it. The hackers then sell their hacks anonymously in the hopes of avoiding legal consequences. Nintendo has dealt with this for years and the Switch is the latest target.
A report by Gamasutra says that Nintendo is moving toward the conclusion in a lawsuit levied against the retailer Uberchips, which was selling a hack that allowed the piracy of Nintendo Switch games. The proposed final settlement will award Nintendo $2 million and a permanent injunction ordering Uberchips to destroy any digital files or physical devices that infringe on any of Nintendo's copyrights. Uberchips will also not be able to sell similar products in the future. While it's said that both parties have settled on the terms, the agreement has yet to be signed by a judge.
Currently, Nintendo is engaged in eight other lawsuits against similar retailers, which are all apart of Team-Xecuter, a group that has been around since the 1990s. Uberchips was the only operator from Team-Xecuter that Nintendo knew of, which is why the company was able to succeed with the most recent lawsuit. The other eight sites, however, are suspected to be operating from foreign sites, making it difficult for Nintendo to identify them.
While it is understandable that a company would like to profit off of the things they spent millions of dollars to create, there comes a point when a product belongs to the consumer. Nintendo has been a particularly litigious company in the past, known for taking down fan projects as readily as it goes after hackers.
However, a line has to be drawn when it comes to actually enabling piracy. In the case of hacking consoles, the player should be allowed to make changes to the hardware and software so long as it does not give them access to things they did not pay for, particularly games. With digital game sales now the norm, pirated games are even easier to come by, meaning these lawsuits are likely to continue apace. In all likelihood, there will be rise in cases similar to the one between Nintendo and Uberchips. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how laws will adapt and be interpreted when it comes to console hacking.
Source: Gamasutra