Surprise! Nintendo Tracked Down Alleged Switch Pirate in Arizona via Reddit Posts and Repair Orders

Nintendo tracked down an alleged Switch pirate using a combination of Reddit posts and repair orders, a new lawsuit has revealed.

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.

According to the lawsuit, Nintendo hired a law firm called Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp to investigate online pirate video game stores and found a user called Archbox it traced to Arizona. It then spotted a Reddit user called Archbox (Archbox was a moderator of r/SwitchPirates). Based on their posts, the law firm was able to identify Archbox as James Williams. Williams, it turns out, had various Nintendo accounts associated with email addresses, which were tied to repair orders.

Yes, Williams, an alleged Switch pirate, actually made two repair orders with Nintendo tied to a Surprise, Arizona shipping address.

As you’d expect, cease-and-desists followed — one of which came just two days after Nintendo sent him one of his repaired items. 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.

“Defendant became a leading (if not the primary) moderator of the SwitchPirates Reddit community, which he helped grow to nearly 190,000 members,” Nintendo’s initial complaint reads, as reported by Torrent Freak. “Since 2019, Defendant has posted thousands of comments and messages to the SwitchPirates Reddit Group.

“Defendant’s posts have included, by way of example, messages directing users to the Pirate Shops […]; and offering technical advice and encouragement to other users about how to use the Pirate Shops, how to download and install Circumvention Software, and how to play pirated copies of Nintendo Switch games.”

Nintendo now has a default judgment in their favor after Williams failed to plead his case to the court in time.

Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images.

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].