Hacking Nintendo can be costly. (Photo: Ekaterina_Minaeva/Shutterstock)
A Nintendo hacker has been released from prison for good behavior. But his action would hurt him for the rest of his life – especially financially.
In February 2022, a man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his involvement in the sale and development of hardware capable of hacking the Nintendo Switch console. In addition, he is said to have been the head of the hacker group Team Xecuter.
Now the man with the aptly named name as Mario’s enemy is free. Gary Bowser will be returning home to Canada from prison, as Nintendo everything mentioned. But he probably won’t be able to leave the Nintendo story behind. Bowser was ordered to pay $10 million, which he almost certainly couldn’t afford.
It is estimated that Bowser made $320,000 working for Team Xecuter over the course of seven years. He also worked during his time in prison, but due to low wages he was only able to pay back $175. So Bowser has to reckon with Nintendo claiming 25 to 30 percent of his income for the rest of his working life.
Editor’s recommendations
But what did Bowser actually do that Nintendo could ask him for so much money? Bowser has been involved in developing and selling hardware used to hack video game consoles such as the Switch. This allowed users to bypass the console’s security measures and eventually play for free. He also ran Team Xecuter’s websites and built online libraries of pirated video games for his clients.
US Attorney Nick Brown explained At that timeThe piracy program has caused losses of more than $65 million to video game companies.
7 games no one expected on Nintendo Switch
“Prone to fits of apathy. Zombie ninja. Entrepreneur. Organizer. Evil travel aficionado. Coffee practitioner. Beer lover.”