Nintendo Sues Reddit Mod Archbox for $4.5M Over Switch Piracy — Says Sum Is Nowhere Near Enough
Nintendo has filed a lawsuit seeking $4.5 million in damages against James “Archbox” Williams, an alleged leader of a large Switch piracy community on Reddit. The company says Williams copied, distributed, and promoted piracy and that the figure is a conservative estimate of harm.
Case summary
Nintendo brought the motion in early October against James “Archbox” Williams. The suit targets alleged activity connected to a Switch piracy subreddit, which the company notes has more than 238,000 subscribers. For background, Nintendo points to activity on the subreddit, describing it as a place where users can find piracy resources.
Allegations against Williams
Nintendo’s filing alleges Williams created, operated, supported, and promoted piracy websites that allowed users to download extensive libraries of Nintendo Switch games. According to the company, Williams sent thousands of messages on Reddit directing users to piracy sites and sometimes offered technical support for modding Switch consoles.
In addition, Nintendo says Williams solicited “donations” of Nintendo eShop gift cards in exchange for his support, and that he helped facilitate access to pirated games across a wide audience.
Damages and Nintendo’s argument
Nintendo is seeking $4.5 million in damages. The company says the amount is not meant to represent exact lost sales. Rather, Nintendo states it chose that figure after looking at similar cases and awards, and calls the number a conservative estimate.
In the filing Nintendo quotes: “Here, the amount of money sufficient to remedy NOA’s injury would be extremely difficult to quantify; but it is indisputable that such amount would be large,” and adds, “Therefore, the money at stake by this Motion is nowhere near an amount that would compensate NOA for the seriousness of Defendants’ conduct.”
Moreover, Nintendo says it did not seek statutory damages for DMCA anti-trafficking violations or recover attorneys’ fees in this action, stating that it has “elected not to seek statutory damages for Williams’ DMCA anti-trafficking violations, even though such damages could be several million dollars,” and that as “a further gesture of reasonableness, NOA also has elected not to pursue recovery of its attorneys’ fees and costs, to which it is entitled.”
Timeline and Nintendo’s outreach
Nintendo says it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Williams in March 2024 urging him to “shut down his pirate shops.” At first, the company reports, Williams seemed receptive. Later, Nintendo alleges, Williams denied involvement with any piracy shop and became “combative,” and then deleted posts that could imply culpability.
The company’s motion and supporting documents are available in the court filing linked by Nintendo.
Read Nintendo’s motion and related court documents.
Broader context and past actions
The Switch has faced piracy and pre-release leaks for years, including high-profile leaks of Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda entries. As a result, Nintendo has pursued multiple legal actions against websites, sellers of flash cartridges, and others it says facilitate piracy.
For example, Nintendo has previously taken legal action against people who tried to livestream pirated games, and against those selling or sharing flash cartridges and similar devices. More on those efforts is available in reporting such as this coverage of live streams and these reports about flash cartridges.
Some past cases have resulted in multi-million-dollar awards and criminal penalties. One high-profile case involved Gary Bowser; reporting on that matter is available from The Guardian. Other related coverage includes reporting by Kotaku on livestream and hardware cases: livestream piracy cases and flash cartridge and emulator-related cases.
Previously, Nintendo has said it experienced significant losses attributed to piracy in investigations that at times involved law enforcement. For more context on enforcement and earlier suits, see this reporting on cooperation with authorities and alleged sales losses.
