Nintendo is suing Google, Discord, Reddit and others to crack down on Switch pirates

Nintendo is going after more unauthorized Switch shops and modders, and has asked a US district court to subpoena the business records of various firms to identify alleged pirates.

As reported Game fileNintendo is specifically targeting a subreddit called SwitchPirates, which boasts more than 190,000 members.

This is a continuation Nintendo’s lawsuit against James “Archbox” Williams on various alleged piracy charges, which the company won in absentia after Williams failed to appear in court.

“Because Mr. Williams has chosen not to participate in this action, (Nintendo of America) is unable to provide him with disclosure or take his deposition,” Nintendo said. court file. “Accordingly, without third-party identification, NOA will not be able to establish the identities of the unnamed individuals who worked with Mr. Williams in operating pirated stores or otherwise providing pirated Nintendo games to the public. As noted below, NOA has identified a number of third parties who may have information that will assist NOA in identifying some of these unnamed individuals.”

Nintendo asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to subpoena companies including Cloudflare, Discord, Github, Google and Reddit to identify people who allegedly participated in the piracy along with Williams.

“Defendant (James Williams) was the primary moderator of the SwitchPirates community called ‘Archbox’, which had over 190,000 members,” the court document continued. “Nintendo has reason to believe that other accounts active in the SwitchPirates community may also have been controlled by the Defendant or reflect other individuals who worked with the Defendant.”

Nintendo has also sued Internet domain name firms Go Daddy, Name Cheap and Tucows.

“The purpose of all requested subpoenas is to obtain relevant information necessary for (Nintendo of America) to pursue infringement claims,” ​​the firm added.

At the beginning of this year Switch emulator Ryujinx has stopped working after a request from Nintendoand the platform owner also issued a copyright warning to a YouTube channel that describes retro handheld emulators.

Nintendo also filed a lawsuit against streamer Jesse “Every Game Guru” Keigin to stream gameplay of ten pirated games for release in November.

The company also participates lawsuit against developer Palworld Pocketpairwhich she filed in September. The The studio was accused of violating three patentsas well as potential injunctive relief and at least $65,000 in punitive damages.