A Reddit user named James C. Williams has been hit with a staggering $4.5 million fine for allegedly pirating Nintendo games and sharing access to them online. U.S. District Court in Washington ruled in Nintendo’s favor after Williams failed to contest the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment. This fine represents maximum statutory damages—$150,000 for each of the 30 identified games—with evidence suggesting he may have bootlegged even more.
Williams, using the handle “archbox,” reportedly ran “Pirate Shops” that offered unauthorized copies of Nintendo titles and provided technical support for users to run these games. He also solicited donations for the official Nintendo eShop to fund further piracy. In addition to the fine, Williams is permanently barred from distributing pirated games and promoting circumvention software.
Nintendo has a history of aggressively combating piracy and has secured substantial damages in similar cases. Now, the company must work to locate Williams to enforce the court’s order.
