Nintendo wants a US court to hit a former r/SwitchPirates moderator with $4.5 million in damages. The firm says the user, “Archbox” (James Williams), copied and shared Nintendo Switch games and promoted the tools to play them. Nintendo has filed for a default judgment after he didn’t respond to the case. The court will hear it on 24 October.
What Nintendo is asking for — and why it’s $4.5m
Nintendo’s filing focuses on 30 first-party games. Under US law, statutory damages can go up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. Multiply that by 30 and you get $4.5 million.
- Nintendo says Williams distributed or helped distribute “thousands, if not hundreds of thousands” of copies.
- It is not pursuing extra statutory damages for trafficking in circumvention tools in this motion.
- The company is also seeking a permanent injunction.
The motion argues willfulness, quoting past posts attributed to Williams, and narrows the ask to those 30 titles rather than trying to price every alleged copy shared.
Who is “Archbox” and what is r/SwitchPirates?
Nintendo says Williams was a leading moderator of the r/SwitchPirates subreddit, which grew to around 190,000 members. The filing claims he posted thousands of messages, solicited Nintendo eShop gift cards, and used them to buy games that were then pirated.
- Alleged role: moderator and promoter for a large piracy community.
- Alleged asks: donations via eShop gift cards.
- Alleged activities: copying and distributing Switch games, and sharing means to play them.
Nintendo links Williams to multiple “Pirate Shops” and a spin-off called “Missing Dumps” aimed at filling gaps in the library by buying titles that hadn’t yet been pirated.
The “Pirate Shops” allegation
According to Nintendo, Williams ran or helped run several “Pirate Shops” since 2019 and promoted them to large communities. Some had “Pro” tiers for those who donated eShop gift cards, offering access to extra games not publicly listed.
- Timeframe: activity alleged from 2019 onwards.
- Scale: multiple sites, “extensive libraries” of games.
- Monetisation angle: access tiers tied to gift-card donations, per the complaint.
Nintendo also alleges he helped distribute and promote circumvention software and mirror links to dodge takedowns.
How the case got here
Nintendo says it contacted Williams in March 2024 to shut everything down. It claims he acknowledged wrongdoing but then became “combative” and didn’t comply. The company filed suit in June 2024. After a brief contact from his lawyer in January 2025, Nintendo says it heard nothing further, so it’s now asking for a default judgment.
- March 2024: cease-and-desist and negotiations, per Nintendo.
- June 2024: lawsuit filed in the Western District of Washington.
- 24 October 2025: hearing on Nintendo’s default-judgment motion.
A default judgment would mean the court rules without the defendant contesting the claims. Other outlets have also reported the same $4.5m figure and default-judgment request.
Why this matters (again)
Nintendo’s tough stance on piracy isn’t new. This case follows a string of actions against modchip sellers and ROM distributors.
- Expect tighter pressure on communities hosting ROMs and firmware tools.
- The 30-game focus shows Nintendo’s strategy: keep the claim simple, argue willfulness, seek injunctions.
- For players in the UAE, none of this changes legal access: buy digital via the regional eShop or retail carts.
Nintendo recently settled a separate modchip case for $2m, with a hardware ban for the seller — a sign the company is pushing for both damages and ongoing restrictions.
