Tag: Legal - Page 2
News Nintendo Of Europe "Has Decided To Wind Down Operations" In Russia
Update: Will "maintain a minimal presence" in the country
Update [Fri 14th Apr, 2023 11:45 BST]: Nintendo of Europe has provided a statement to Eurogamer saying that following its suspension of the eShop and officially shipping products to Russia in 2022, it "has decided to wind down operations of its Russian subsidiary". Noting the current...
News Yuji Naka Appears To Admit Guilt Over Insider Trading Case
Trial now in session at Tokyo District Court
Yuki Naka, the former head of Sonic Team, is now standing trial at the Tokyo District Court over charges of insider trading after an investigation at Square Enix. The creator had allegedly invested in development companies based on information gained prior to it being made publically available, thus...
News Arrest Made In Japan After Nintendo Executive Receives Death Threats
"Die Nintendo!"
Video game companies have to deal with a lot of things behind the scenes, and one story that's recently come to light isn't pleasant at all. According to a translation by Nintendo Everything, Japanese media outlet Kyoto Shimbun reports the arrest of a "36-year-old female permatemp on suspicion of intimidation" on 9th February 2023...
News Nintendo Wins "Switch Joy-Con Drift" Class Action Lawsuit
Drift? What drift?
Remember a story we ran about some parents in the US who were trying to get their kids to sue Nintendo over "Joy-Con drift" in a class action lawsuit? Well, it seems the video game giant has come out on top. In November last year, a federal judge ruled in favour of Nintendo in the 'Sanchez et. al. v. Nintendo of America' case...
News Yuji Naka Has Now Been Formally Indicted Over Insider Trading Offenses
Developer was previously arrested twice
Update [Wed 28th Dec, 2022 12:15 GMT]: Following on from the arrests of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, the two have now been formally indicted over alleged insider trading offenses. As reported by NHK (thanks, VGC), the two were charged for conducting insider...
News Cooking Mama IP Holder Sues Planet Entertainment For Sale Of Cooking Mama: Cookstar
Mama is not happy!
Remember the ongoing dispute between Cooking Mama: Cookstar publisher Planet Entertainment and the series' rights holder Office Create dating back to 2020? Well, in an update, Planet has now been sued by Office Create. There was actually a fallout between the two parties before the game's release in 2020, but Planet Entertainment...
News UK Government Warns It "Will Not Hesitate To Consider Legislation" Against Loot Boxes
"Video games companies and platforms must do more"
Loot boxes have long been a contentious topic of conversation in the gaming industry, and the UK government has warned companies that restrictive legislation may be enforced in the future if the culture surrounding these purchases doesn't change. The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport...
News Nintendo Is Suing The Fashion Retailer That Used To Run Its Russian Store
"World of Nintendo" turned from prime e-store to landing page
Nintendo’s Russian branch has filed a claim to the Moscow Court of Arbitration against KupiVip, a retailer which operated Nintendo’s now-defunct flagship online store in the country. The company submitted claims totalling around 963,500 rubles (approx. $16,800), according to the...
News "What Do I Care?" - Nintendo Hacking Mastermind Defiant As Colleague Bowser Is Jailed
Max Louarn remains unapologetic
In the wake of Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser being sentenced to three years in jail for his contribution to Team Xecuter's hacking efforts, the mastermind behind the whole operation remains seemingly defiant and unapologetic. Max Louarn, alleged leader of Team Xecuter, has a long history with hacking and apparently...
News Nintendo Admits It Released A New Model Of The Switch To Fight Piracy
A "direct result" of hackers "attacking... technological protection measures"
Last year, Nintendo was successful in securing a jail term for Team Xecutor member Gary Bowser, who was accused of causing the Japanese company to lose millions of dollars via the piracy-enabling devices and software he sold. Court documents are now available which fill...
News Gary Bowser Jail Term Intended To "Send A Message" To Other Switch Hackers
"This is a very significant moment for us"
Team Xecutor member Gary Bowser was recently jailed for three years and fined almost $15 million for his part in a business which enabled Switch owners to hack their systems and play pirated games, and recently-unearthed court documents – dug up by Axios (thanks,
News Now Parents Are Getting Their Kids To Sue Nintendo Over Joy-Con Drift
Lawyer, leave those kids alone?
Another class-action lawsuit against Nintendo over Joy-Con drift is being proposed in North America, but this case hinges on the question of whether or not two kids can sue the Japanese giant. Lawyers for families suing Nintendo in the case 'Sanchez et. al. v. Nintendo of America' claim that an arbitrator has ruled...
News Activision Blizzard Hit With New Harassment And Discrimination Lawsuit
"700 reported incidents occurring under CEO Robert Kotick’s watch"
Activision Blizzard has been hit with a fresh lawsuit that claims the company's "frat boy" environment has allowed 700 reported incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination. The suit has been filed by Attorney Lisa Bloom in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of a...
News Report Claims Russia Has "Effectively Legalised Piracy" To Overcome Western Sanctions
A blind eye could be turned to video game piracy in the country
A new report is claiming that Russia is seeking to change its laws on piracy in an attempt to overcome the growing problem of foreign companies boycotting the nation in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Nintendo, Sony and
"I will stop him breathing"
A senior developer at Microsoft has been sentenced to a one-year community corrections order with a requirement that he perform 100 hours of unpaid work after he was found guilty of unlawfully assaulting his son after the 7-year-old refused to stop playing on his Nintendo Switch. 41-year-old Nicholas Lester, the court...
News Take A Look Inside The Tiny Apartment Of The Man Who Owes Nintendo $14 Million
"Mr. Bowser lived a modest life in a modest apartment"
Last week, former Team Xecutor member Gary Bowser was sentenced to more than three years in prison in addition to paying Nintendo a combined total of $14,500,000 for damages related to piracy. However, images taken at his home in the Dominican Republic (thanks, Vice) show he was leading an...
News Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Sentenced To Three Years In Jail
On top of $15m in fines
Gary Bowser, the leader of Switch hacking group Team Xecuter, has been sentenced to 40 months in jail for piracy. The official charges are "Conspiracy to Circumvent Technological Measures and to Traffic in Circumvention Devices" and "Trafficking in Circumvention Devices", both of which are federal felonies in the United...
News US Government Wants Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Locked Up For Five Years
"To provide just punishment"
Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser – who, as part of the infamous Team Xecuter, distributed hardware and software that allowed people to run pirated games on their Switch consoles – should serve five years in jail, the US government is arguing. The proposed sentence is found in court documents relating to Bower's ongoing...
BT, Virgin, Sky, TalkTalk and others must now block ROM-sharing sites
Nintendo has obtained a UK High Court injunction against six internet service providers in an effort to stop Switch games from being downloaded illegally. The injunction means that six UK-based ISPs – BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media – must now block access to...
News Ouch! Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Hit With Additional $10 Million Fine
He's already $4.5 million down and facing possible jail time
Remember Gary Bowser? He shares his name with Mario's greatest foe (and Nintendo of America's current president), but he's been something of an enemy of Nintendo in general over the past few years. Bowser is a member of Team Xecutor, one of the world's most "notorious videogame piracy...
News Switch Hacking Group Leader Gary Bowser Agrees To Pay Nintendo $4.5 Million
Bowser pleads guilty on two charges
No, thankfully this Bowser wasn't to blame... A member of Team Xecuter, a piracy group known for exploiting vulnerabilities in video game consoles as well as marketing and selling Nintendo hacks, has agreed to waive his right to be tried before a jury and has pleaded guilty to two charges. Gary Bowser, who was...
News Nintendo's Lawyers Strike Again, This Time Against A Mario NFT Gambling Game
Project rep fights back against "Nintendo simps"
Here we see a visual representation of Nintendo fighting off copyright infringement cases on a daily basis. An unofficial game project which used Super Mario assets to promote an NFT-based gambling platform has attracted the attention of Nintendo, so we all know what happens next. As reported by...
News Hand-Drawn Game Guide Kickstarter Taken Down Following "Legal Trouble"
Update #2: "We did not receive a cease and desist"
Cor, look at 'em Update #2: Phillip Summers has taken to Twitter to clarify some reporting around the cancellation of the Hand-Drawn Game Guide Kickstarter campaign. He states that "the party involved has been polite and I'm hopeful something can get worked out. They have every right to act as they...
News Take-Two Files Lawsuit Against Creators Of The GTA Reverse Engineering Project
Allows Grand Theft Auto 3 to be played on Switch
There have rumours recently about a Grand Theft Auto Trilogy remaster coming to the Nintendo Switch either later this year or at some point in 2022. Today's GTA news is a tad different. Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive is now taking legal action against the 14 programmers behind...
News Castlevania Netflix Producer Files Lawsuit After Being Excluded From Spin-Off Series
Trouble is brewing...
There appears to be some drama surrounding Netflix's successful animated series Castlevania (again). Following on from the controversy tied to the show's creator Warren Ellis - who was removed from the project last year due to various allegations, the producer Adi Shankar is now making headlines. Shankar seemingly won't be...
News Court Orders Popular ROM Website To "Destroy" All Of Its Unauthorised Nintendo Games
Don't mess with Mario!
You might recall an ongoing legal battle between Nintendo and the website RomUniverse. Although the Japanese video game giant won, it more recently voiced concerns about its possible return after the founder, Matthew Storman, refused to rule out a comeback. While California's federal court previously decided against giving...
News Five Years Later, Nintendo's Lawsuit Against 'White Cat Project' Has Finally Been Settled
Nintendo initially asked for $40m in damages
Colopl's White Cat Project In a new statement (Japanese), Nintendo has confirmed that its patent infringement lawsuit filed against Colopl and its 'White Cat Project' mobile game has now been settled, with Colopl agreeing to pay an undisclosed figure. If you need a quick catch up, the case can be traced...
News Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Hacker Arrested For Selling Modified Save Data
Was sold online as the "ultimate save data"
We've heard in the past about crackdowns on street sales of modded Nintendo hardware and games, but this story is slightly different. Back in April, Tokyo-based Chinese national Ichimin Sho posted an advertisement on a Japanese e-commerce site selling "ultimate save data" for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of...
News Nintendo Fears A Popular ROM Website Could Make A Comeback
Asks court to reconsider decision
Nintendo has voiced concerns over the website RomUniverse making a possible return in the future. The company's legal representation recently spoke to the founder of the website, Matthew Storman, who apparently hasn't ruled out a comeback - even after being ordered to pay Nintendo $2.1 million in damages earlier...
News Sword And Shield Leakers Required To Pay The Pokémon Company $150K Each
A lawsuit dating back to 2019 has been settled
In 2019, The Pokémon Company International filed a lawsuit against two individuals who leaked images of Pokémon Sword and Shield from an unreleased strategy guide prior to the new games' official release. It seems justice has finally been served - with both defendants ordered to pay The Pokémon...
News Capcom Facing $12 Million Lawsuit For Allegedly Using Artist's Photos Without Permission
Evidence supposedly uncovered in recent data leak
If Capcom hadn't already suffered enough from last November's data leak, it's now facing a $12 million lawsuit. Designer Judy A. Juracek took action on Friday in a Connecticut court within the United States, alleging Capcom used copyrighted photos from her 1996 book Surfaces without her permission...
News Nintendo Wins $2.1 Million In Lawsuit Against ROM Website
Another one bites the dust
Back in September 2019, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the game download portal website, RomUniverse. The site reportedly facilitated massive online copyright infringement of many popular Nintendo titles. It also profited by selling paid premium accounts - lifting the cap on the number of games users could download. The...
News "As You Can See, I'm Not A Switch Player" Admits Epic Games' Tim Sweeney
"Now the world knows"
Epic Games and Apple are currently exchanging blows in court, as you'll no doubt be aware. Fortnite maker Epic is asserting that Apple's App Store is essentially a money-grabbing monopoly and is harming the games industry, and to prove the point, Epic founder Tim Sweeney produced a Switch console during the trial. Why would...
Random Want To Develop For Nintendo Switch? Better Make Sure You're Not A Yakuza, Then
We hope you don't plan to use "threat or violence in connection with transactions"
Remember all that fuss between Epic Games and Apple regarding Fortnite on the App Store? Well, the court trial involving these two giants is currently underway, and as part of the legal proceedings, Nintendo has kindly provided its own publisher contract. While much...
News Nintendo Scores Another Victory In Its War Against Switch Piracy
So long, Winmart
Back in 2020, Nintendo took legal action against Le Hoang Minh – a Vietnamese citizen trading on Amazon under the name Winmart – to prevent the sale of RCM Loaders, which use special software to hack the console and permit the running of unlicensed code, as well as pirated games. It has now been confirmed that Nintendo has...
News Nintendo Is Suing A Reported "Leader" Of The Notorious Piracy Group Team Xecuter
So long, Gary Bowser
Nintendo appears to be fed up with Bowser and has decided to take some action. No, this isn't about Mario's archenemy or the current Nintendo of America president, Doug - we're talking about Gary Bowser, one of the supposed leaders of the "notorious" piracy group, Team Xecuter. As you might recall, Bowser - a 51-year-old...
News Nintendo May Have Issued A Copyright Claim To Take Down Some Raunchy Bowser Art
NSFW DMCA
It's safe to say that this news piece is really going to stretch the boundaries of what is possible to talk about on a family-friendly website, but before we begin: this article will not actually feature the image in question, but it's probably not safe to read at work, either. Then again, why are you reading about video games at work? Get...
News Germany Is Considering An 18+ Rating On Video Games With Loot Boxes
Pending approval from the Bundesrat
There's a good chance you've seen the controversies surrounding Loot Boxes. We've discussed them on numerous occasions, and there's been a longstanding debate over whether they're seen as gambling. Shockingly, publishers tend to
With $26.5m ready for extra claims
After reaching a settlement following a class-action lawsuit in connection with random loot boxes, Epic Games has revealed that it will be awarding in-game currency to affected players of both Fortnite and Rocket League. According to details on a settlement website for the case, the lawsuit alleges that "Epic...
News Nintendo Demands More Damages In Colopl Lawsuit, Now Suing For A Cool $47 Million
White Cat Project developer is accused of infringing six patents
You may recall that back in 2018, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against mobile games developer Colopl for around 4.4 billion yen ($41.7 million). It's not going away anytime soon – having entered multiple hearings – and now, Nintendo has raised that figure to 4.95 billion yen ($46.9...
News Cyberpunk 2077 And Witcher 3 Source Code Reportedly Being Auctioned After CD Projekt Hack
CD Projekt have refused to meet ransom demands
CD Projekt RED made the news again this week, confirming it had been targeted by a ransomware attack. Gaining access to a large swathe of employee data, this anonymous hacker also threatened to release The Witcher 3, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales and
News It's "Plausible" The CD Projekt Server Hack Was An Inside Job, Claims Digital Privacy Expert
"They run a real risk that those games will be leaked online"
Earlier today, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red revealed that it had become the target of a ransomware attack. The studio posted the news online, publicly sharing a ransom note said to be left by a hacker which claimed that the source code for some of its top...
News Don't Buy Devil Engine, Say Game's Artist And Musician
The saga isn't over yet
Devil Engine is a fine shooter, but it's sadly been overshadowed by legal shenanigans which have been rumbling on for quite some time now – shenanigans which have delayed the release of the game's update, Devil Engine Ignition. Protoculture Games (AKA Tristan Chapman) – the developer of Devil Engine – claimed in July...
News Several Huge Games Publishers Were Fined £7 Million For Geo-Blocking Sales
Someone get Phoenix Wright on the case
The EU is cracking down on sales practices that disadvantage customers, according to a report by BBC News. Six publishers have been fined €7.8 million (£6.9 million) for restricting cross-border sales, including Valve, Bandai Namco, Capcom, ZeniMax, Focus Home, and Koch Media. The practice, known as...
News Nintendo To Face Another Class Action Lawsuit For Switch "Joy-Con Drift"
But hey, it's the first of 2021
It's now been nearly four years since the Nintendo Switch was released and it seems "Joy-Con drift" issues persist. In the latest development, Lambert Avocat Inc. - a law firm located in Quebec, Canada, has filed a Joy-Con drift class action suit application on 15th January 2021. It's now waiting for a judge to...
News Dangen And Protoculture Settle Devil Engine Dispute, But There's More Trouble Ahead
Developer no longer has the rights to the art and music in the game
Update: It doesn't look like things are quite sorted yet, as Thomas and Joseph Bailey – the artist and musician of Devil Engine – have issued their own statement, saying that Tristan Chapman (lead developer and designer of the game) no longer has the right to use the art and...
News Nintendo Issues Mass DMCA Takedown, 379 Fan-Made Games Forcibly Removed
Nintendo's legal team strikes again
A total of 379 fan-made games have been removed from gaming website and hosting service Game Jolt after Nintendo of America issued a mass DMCA takedown. As reported by TorrentFreak, Nintendo of America's legal team sent DMCA notices to the offending site in December. The warning, which has been published online...
News Tokyo's Unofficial Mario Kart Service Loses Supreme Court Appeal
Sealing Nintendo's win
Remember that knock-off Mario Kart service operating in Tokyo? Since 2017, it's been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with Nintendo, but it looks like its days are finally numbered. In January of this year, the go-kart firm was ordered to pay the video game giant 50 million yen for violating its IP rights. It appealed this...
"Controller modification isn’t the issue, use of copyright is"
Last year, popular YouTuber Desmond “Etika” Amofah tragically took his own life, so artist and content creator CptnAlex – who produces a wide range of customised shells and other items relating to Nintendo – decided to produce the ‘Etikon’ to raise money for JED Foundation,...
News Nintendo Hacker Who Stole "Confidential Information" Sentenced To Three Years In Prison
Was also in possession of explicit videos and images of minors
A 21-year-old man named Ryan Hernandez has been sentenced to three years in prison for his "computer hacking scheme" and "possession of child pornography" found on his digital devices. In 2016, Hernandez used phishing techniques to steal the credentials of a Nintendo employee - allowing...
