Anyone who knows Nintendo will have heard of the name Bowser. Not just because the current Nintendo USA President and Chief Operating Officer is called Doug Bowser. Nor is it because Mario's most iconic enemy is that spiked king of the Koopas and frequent Princess Peach kidnapper, who's simply called Bowser.
Gamers and the wider gaming world know you don't screw with Nintendo, especially when it comes to its no-nonsense stance on piracy. While there's sure to be an argument that these gaming giants make enough money to let the odd bit of emulation slip through the net, the fact that the FBI recently seized a network of ROM sites that cost the likes of Nintendo $170 million in just three months shows how big of a problem it is.
Even though the House that Mario built has always been diligent in its tackling of copyright and piracy, it's seemingly stepped up its game. After taking Palworld to court over accusations it 'copied' Pokemon, there have been recent incidents involving MIG Switch game cards, and one YouTuber is potentially facing jail time for playing retro consoles.
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For those who don't think Nintendo is serious, just ask Gary Bowser about the company's stance on piracy. Bowser was arrested in the Dominican Republic in September 2020 due to his connections to Team Xecuter, a hacking group that made mod chips, cartridges, and was known for jailbreaking game console software.
Charged with fraud thanks to his Team Xecuter connections, Bowser was also slapped with a civil suit from Nintendo while in custody. As well as being sentenced to 40 months in jail, he was ordered to pay $14.5 million.
Speaking to The Guardian, after he was released from jail early, Bowser explained how he was merely a 'middleman' who was only paid a couple of hundred dollars a month to update the site: "I started becoming a middleman in between the people doing the development work, and the people actually owning the mod chips, playing the games.
"I would get feedback from the testers, and then I would send it to the developers … I can handle people, and that’s why I ended up getting more involved."
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Saying that he just kept people informed on what they could buy and what was coming next, Bowser continued: "The sentence was like a message to other people that [are] still out there, that if they get caught … [they’ll] serve hard time."
He claims he could've fought the allegations, but with it costing time and money, he decided to take a guilty plea. Now, he has to send Nintendo 25-30% of any money left over after he's paid for necessities like rent and utilities.
Speaking in February 2024, Bowser said it 'could be worse', and although he was struggling to find long-term employment outside of the odd bit of coding, the outlet noted how he could prove valuable to a cybersecurity company that would welcome his expertise. Still, he's legally not allowed to touch modern gaming hardware.
Although Boswer has set up a GoFundMe that has raised $16,342 CAD for his cause, he'll likely keep paying Nintendo that massive sum that he'll never pay off for the rest of his life.