Nintendo fans may not think it’s possible to calculate how much damage Bowser has caused over the years. But after pleading guilty to his crimes, Bowser owes Nintendo a whopping $ 4.5 million.
You might expect Bowser to pay that hefty tax in coins, shells, or Hammer Bros. services. But we’re not talking about the Bowser who has been terrorizing Mario for decades. Instead, the man in question is Gary Bowser, who was arrested last year for hacking Nintendo Switch consoles. And while his last name is a hell of a coincidence, this case is no laughing matter.
Bowser was the alleged leader of a hacking group called Team Xecuter that operated from 2013 to August 19, 2020. They “developed, manufactured, marketed and sold a variety of evasion devices that allowed the company’s customers to play pirated versions. of copyrighted video games, commonly referred to as ‘ROMs’, “according to a plea agreement obtained by TorrentFreak and filed with the US Western District Court of Washington on October 28, 2001.
While Bowser pleaded guilty to charges of “Conspiracy to circumvent technology measures and trafficking in circumventing devices” and “Trafficking in circumventing devices”, the US Department of Justice has agreed to dismiss further charges against him. . However, he will face two potential five-year prison sentences for his crimes and will be forced to pay only $ 4.5 million to Nintendo. The other defendants in the case will be charged separately.
If you think Bowser’s punishment looks serious, the hacker group’s financial damage to Nintendo could reach $ 150 million. “The firm has generated at least tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of its evasion devices,” the legal document says, although Bowser claims it earned no more than $ 320,000 for his share in the deal.
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