Reddit Moderator Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million for Pirating Nintendo Games

A Reddit user is facing a $4.5 million fine for pirating Nintendo games and sharing access to them

As IGN reports, a US District Court in Washington state ruled in favor of Nintendo after the company sued Arizona resident James C. Williams for running several “Pirate Shops” that focused on giving users a way to run unauthorized Nintendo titles.

The court arrived at the default judgment after Williams failed to appear and contest any of Nintendo’s claims. As a result, Williams was ordered to pay $4.5 million, the maximum statutory damages that Nintendo sought, or $150,000 for each of the 30 games he pirated, although the company says he bootlegged far more.  

“Due to Williams’ refusal to participate in the lawsuit and [Nintendo of America’s] inability to conduct discovery, ‘the amount of money sufficient to remedy NOA’s injury would be extremely difficult to quantify; but it is indisputable that such amount would be large,’” the court wrote, finding the $4.5 million reasonable. 

Williams used the online handle “archbox,” and allegedly helped distribute “thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of unauthorized copies,” since 2019 which filed its lawsuit two years ago

On Reddit, Williams became a moderator on r/SwitchPirates, where he advertised his pirate shops, including Jits.cc/Jack-in-the-Shop, Turtle in the Shop, LiberaShop, and Neko / NekoDrive. Williams also offered technical advice on running the pirated Nintendo Switch titles, including how to use his “circumvention software.” In return, his shops “solicited monetary or gift card donations” for the official Nintendo eShop so that he could pirate more games.

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As part of the court order, Williams is permanently barred from running his online pirate shops, distributing bootlegged Nintendo games, or engaging in any conduct to encourage others to “download or obtain the Circumvention Software” for Nintendo titles. His archbox account has already been suspended on Reddit.

Nintendo is well-known for taking a hard line against video game piracy, frequently suing to shut down infringement and winning court orders that require other pirates to pay millions in damages. As IGN notes, the company will now need to locate Williams and get him to pay up.

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Michael Kan
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.

Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

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