Enlarge / It’s-a me, the long arm of the law. (credit: Aurich Lawson / Nintendo / Getty Images)
Nintendo says a prominent member of the notorious Team Xecuter hacking group— known for the “SX OS” line of Switch hacking devices —should serve 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to piracy-related charges in November .
The significant sentence for Gary “GaryOPA” Bowser “would send a message that there are consequences for participating in a sustained effort to undermine the video game industry, ” according to Nintendo. But Bowser’s defense is arguing for a shorter 19-month sentence that reflects the fact that he “was not the leader, was not in control of the particular [TeamXecuter] enterprise, and was not the manufacturer of the devices. ”
Team Deterrence-ecuter
Bowser—a 52-year-old Canadian citizen who has been arrested within the Dominican Republic and deported to the US in 2020 —was the “public voice and principal salesperson” for Team Xecuter, according to Nintendo, promoting Switch hacking devices through sites such as maxconsole. com plus illegal ROM downloads through websites like rom-bank. com. While Group Xecuter “attempted to hide its illegal activity under the homebrew enthusiast umbrella, ” Bowser admitted inside his November plea that typically the “predominant and primary design associated with the enterprise’s products was to allow purchasers to play pirated ROMs. ”
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