King of the Koopas remains in fine legal standing, but someone with his namesake is headed to the courtroom.
Over the years, Nintendo has supplied Mario with all sorts of power-ups. Super Mario Bros. had the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, and its sequels quickly added to his arsenal with tanooki suits, flying capes, and more. And yet, no matter how many times Mario “defeats” the bad guy, he always comes back.
▼ Sometimes he even gets marquee-billing, like in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
So it makes a certain sense that this time, when Nintendo wants to stop Bowser’s evil ambitions once and for all, they’re not calling in the plumber, but instead their lawyers, as Nintendo is officially suing Bowser.
We should clarify, though, that Nintendo isn’t brining the legal fight to the fictional character it owns, but to one Gary Bowser, said to be the leader of hacking group Team Xecuter. This isn’t a case of Nintendo picking on some small, for-fun fan game ROM hackers either, as their issue with Team Xecuter is that the group sells device that allow buyers to bypass security systems built into the Switch, allowing it to play pirated games (Bowser also sold simmilar devices for the 3DS). Nintendo of America is now suing Bowser and his associate Max Louarn via a lawsuit filed in Seattle. According to Polygon, the company is seeking damages of “$2,500 for each trafficked device, as well as $150,000 for each copyright violation.”
Team Xecuter’s alleged for-profit sales of the devices make it hard to see them as mere gaming historians promoting preservation, and Twitter reactions in Japan have been less than sympathetic towards the hackers.
“Once Nintendo’s lawyers have you in their sights, you’re finished.”
“For a guy named Bowser, he’s not any smarter than a grunt Koopa Troopa.”
“Will they punish him by swinging an axe to cut the rope on a bridge and drop him into a pit of lava?”
“Mario should testify for the prosecution.”
“It’s his job to restore the peace when Bowser is getting out of line, after all.”
However, despite all the talk of Mario, it should not be forgotten that Nintendo of America’s current president is a man named Doug Bowser, meaning that the upcoming legal battle is actually one of Bowser vs. Bowser. Who knows, maybe the lawsuit will inspire Nintendo to take a page out of the Ace Attorney playbook and make a Super Mario spinoff where the mother of the Koopalings comes back and you play through the ensuing custody battle.
Sources: Livedoor News/Gigazine via Hachima Kiko, Polygon, Twitter/@livedoornews
Top image: YouTube/Nintendo
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