Man Arrested for Selling Modified Switch Consoles with Pirated Games

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Summary

  • Modding consoles for piracy is illegal in Japan.
  • A man was arrested for altering and selling Nintendo Switch systems.
  • There have been previous cases of arrests for modifying games in Japan.

As a passionate gaming enthusiast, I recently discovered that a fellow aficionado, hailing from Japan, has been apprehended for tinkering with my beloved Nintendo Switch consoles. This is part of a broader effort to curb individuals who modify these devices, along with their associated games, and subsequently attempt to peddle them in the open marketplace.

Modifying console systems is a widespread pastime that dates back almost as long as the consoles themselves. From employing basic tools like GameShark on the original PlayStation to jailbreaking devices for unauthorized gameplay, enthusiasts and inventors have been devising means to customize their hardware for decades. Japan has historically not viewed these activities lightly, and another console modder is now facing imprisonment due to this.

As a gamer myself, I’ve just learned that a fellow named Fumihiro Otobe, aged 58, has been nabbed in Japan for breaking the law by tweaking and peddling customized Nintendo Switch consoles. The story goes that he was tinkering with these devices at their core, altering their circuit boards. By welding custom components onto them, he managed to create a setup where unauthorized games could be played on the console. Each sale included 27 of these pirated games! Interestingly, he was using pre-owned Switch consoles for this and selling them for about $180 USD. It’s said that this is the first time an arrest like this, concerning the Switch, has been made.

Game Pirating is Taken Seriously in Japan

Modifying systems for personal use may not cause much trouble, but selling these modified systems can lead to legal complications. For instance, instances have occurred where individuals have been taken into custody for altering Pokemon games by adding creatures that hadn’t been legitimately captured. This isn’t a recent phenomenon; as far back as 2020, a 44-year-old was arrested in Japan for customizing a PlayStation 3 to duplicate games, allowing the original discs to be returned or resold afterward.

Currently, the investigation into the Switch modder’s case is ongoing. Despite this, he has confessed to the crime, expressing that he believed others would find him impressive for performing such actions. The punishment he receives is yet to be determined, as it will depend on the number of systems he modified and distributed. Excluding those he had previously sold, four units were found in his home, which have since been confiscated.

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2025-01-17 04:05