Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser will pay £7.5million fine to settle lawsuit

Hacker Gary Bowser will pay $10million (£7.5million) in order to settle the lawsuit filed against him by Nintendo of America.

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As reported by Eurogamer, the final judgment in the video game piracy civil lawsuit against Gary Bower was filed last night (December 6) and the hacker will have to pay Nintendo $10million.

This follows Bowser’s guilty plea at the end of October in the federal criminal case against him. At the time, the hacker pled guilty to two charges and offered to pay Nintendo $4.5million (£3.2million). However, Bowser may possibly face up to 10 years of jail time on top of the $4.5million he was ordered to pay.

In 2020, Gary Bowser was arrested alongside one other Team Xecuter member for allegedly selling “illegal devices” that allowed users to play pirated video games on consoles like the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.

NEW: Gary Bowser agrees to pay Nintendo $10 million in video game piracy civil lawsuit. This follows Bowser's guilty plea in October in the federal criminal case against him (where he agreed pay Nintendo $4.5 million in restitution.) https://t.co/zohn0SPHnH pic.twitter.com/KMJro3l8Zw

— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) December 6, 2021

Bowser was reportedly charged with 11 felony counts, though pled guilty to two counts – Trafficking in Circumvention Devices, and Conspiracy to Circumvent Technological Measures and to Traffic in Circumvention Devices – in return for the other charges being dropped.

Bowser was in charge of Maxconsole.com, where he marketed the devices for Nintendo consoles and other platforms, while also providing customer support to buyers.

Nintendo has reportedly been after the hacker for years after finding out about his video game piracy.

Elsewhere, Nintendo has lost its court appeal against The Norwegian Consumer Council after it refused to allow cancellations or refunds on Nintendo eShop pre-orders, a result that could have far-reaching ramifications across Europe.

Customers pre-ordering a digital game on Nintendo eShop face significant restrictions on cancelling their orders. The ruling ordered Nintendo to “stop the practice of requiring consumers to waive the right to cancel their pre-order within 14 days”, although how far that will reach remains to be seen.

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