Nintendo Intensifies Anti-Piracy Efforts with Subpoenas for Google, Discord, and Reddit

In a bid to combat unauthorized Switch sales and modifications, Nintendo has requested a US District Court to issue subpoenas for business records from several companies to identify alleged pirates. The SwitchPirates subreddit, boasting over 190,000 members, is a primary target. This move is an extension of Nintendo's lawsuit against James 'Archbox' Williams, who was found guilty by default of various piracy charges after failing to appear in court. Nintendo stated that without third-party discovery, it would be impossible to identify individuals who worked with Williams in operating pirate shops or distributing pirated games. The company has asked the US District Court for the Western District of Washington to subpoena Cloudflare, Discord, Github, Google, and Reddit to uncover the identities of individuals who allegedly engaged in piracy-related activities alongside Williams. Nintendo has also subpoenaed domain firms Go Daddy, Name Cheap, and Tucows. The purpose of these subpoenas is to gather relevant information necessary for pursuing infringement claims. This development is the latest in Nintendo's efforts to curb piracy, following the shutdown of Switch emulator Ryujinx and the issuance of a copyright strike against a YouTube channel reviewing retro handheld emulators. The company has also filed lawsuits against streamer Jesse 'Every Game Guru' Keighin for broadcasting pirated titles and against Palworld developer Pocketpair for alleged patent infringement.