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The U.S. government suggested to a federal judge on Thursday that Nintendo hacker and modder Gary Bowser receive five years in prison after he pled guilty to two charges involving the selling and creation of mod chips that could allow people to play pirated games on their Nintendo Switch.
As spotted by Eurogamer, new court documents filed yesterday show that the prosecution detail the recommended prison sentence, arguing that Bowser is the “public face” of Team Xecuter, which it describes as a “criminal enterprise” that “for almost a decade…flaunted vulnerabilities found in video game consoles and undermined the integrity of those systems and video game users’ experiences.” Court documents estimate that the group’s activities and products led to losses exceeding $65 million for video game companies like Nintendo.
In the court documents, U.S. federal lawyers say the five-year sentence is appropriate given the “nature and circumstances of the offense” and a desire for the sentence to “reflect the seriousness” of Bowser’s crimes while also offering “just punishment.” The U.S. government further suggested that Bowser be monitored for three years following prison time. Bowser also faces a federal fine of $4.5 million.
Bowser’s defense argued against this large amount of prison time, instead suggesting a shorter 19-month stint. His lawyers made the argument that the U.S. government is trying to use Bowser to “send a message” and that he is facing the “full brunt” of the federal government simply because others involved may not face any charges.
Read the full article on Kotaku
