Nintendo prevails in legal case against a streamer who broadcasted pirated games ahead of their official release

Nintendo has won a legal battle against a Switch game pirate who streamed pirated games before their official release.

Last November, Nintendo took legal action against streamer Jesse "Every Game Guru" Keighin, alleging he repeatedly streamed leaked games over 50 times since 2022. Among the titles were Mario & Luigi: Brothership and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, both not officially released when streamed.

The company accused Keighin of ignoring numerous takedown requests on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Kick. Nintendo claimed he used illegally modified hardware and emulators to showcase the leaked games and provided his audience with links to emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx. In response to the notices, Keighin reportedly sent a letter claiming he had multiple alternative streaming channels and would continue his activities.

Keighin failed to appear in court, resulting in him being ordered to pay $17,500 in damages.

According to TorrentFreak, Nintendo described Keighin's actions as "trafficking" illegal devices for cracking games, leading to significant financial losses due to reduced game sales.

The court granted Nintendo an injunction against Keighin but did not extend this to unnamed "third parties" nor demand the seizure of devices used, calling the request vague due to lacking specific details on the parties or devices involved.

In a related matter, Nintendo of America launched a lawsuit against Redditor James C. Williams, known as 'Archbox', requesting $4.5 million in damages. The company claims Williams pirated Switch games and facilitated their spread online while distributing software for circumventing protections.