As one of the pioneers of video games and the reason why the industry still exists to this day, Nintendo is recognised for many things, such as its colourful and memorable mascots and iconic games. However, like all companies, Nintendo has a disgusting underbelly that has even alienated some of its fans who had loved the company wholeheartedly.
Nintendo is like that assh*le boyfriend that your female friend swears is alright once you get to know him; they want loyalty but aren’t exactly making it easier for their clientele and are in fact doing everything so you’d hate them more. Why, you may ask? To put it simply, Nintendo is as insanely cruel to hackers as they are to their consumers.
They’ve received loads of negative PR, but to add to that pile is the story of a poor man whom they sued for hacking Nintendo Switch games. Gary Bowser (yes, that’s his name) found himself in hot water for hacking the portable console and then selling famous and large titles to willing customers. Something of note moving forward is that Gary Bowser is related to Team Xecuter, a notorious console hacking group, and is, by all accounts, a criminal. However, Nintendo wants to make an example out of him in case there are people who want to follow in his footsteps.
After serving time in a US federal prison for 40 months, Nintendo wants this man to pay for damages. In a court order, Gary Bowser needs to pay the company US$14.5 million (RM64.7 million) in damages. He explained in an interview that he was able to make some money while in federal prison and work some odd jobs behind bars, though not necessarily enough to cover the cost of living as he is still in prison. However, Nintendo has already taken 25% to 30% of his monthly income, amounting to a total of US$175 (RM780), which is virtually nothing.
Though this man is a criminal, Nintendo has gone to a needlessly cruel extreme to punish him for a crime for which he has already served prison time. And the reason why we say for life is that, unless you are Jeff Bezos, you will not be able to make that amount of money just to pay off a debt. It would have been understandable if they targeted the collective group of hackers, making them ALL pay for the millions of dollars worth of damages, but they targeted ONE man, further tarnishing their family-friendly image.
Source: Wealthy Peeps, Flickr, Pexels
