Gary W. Bowser, Leader of the Xecuter Group, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for selling hacking tools for the Nintendo Switch hardware. The US District Court UU for the Western District of Washington issued the sentence, only a few months after Bowser accepted to pay $ 4.5 million in damage to the company. Bowser and Xecuter sold access to SX OS software along with the necessary tools to install it. The software allowed users to download ROM online, upload them on a memory card and then use them on the Nintendo Switch console.

"Nintendo appreciates the arduous work and the tireless efforts of federal prosecutors and the forces of order to stop illegal activities on a global scale that cause serious damage to Nintendo and the videogame industry. In particular, Nintendo wishes to thank the Federal Office of Research (HSI), National Security Research (HSI) of the Department of National Security, US Fiscal Office. UU For the Western District of Washington, the Computer Crime section and intellectual property of the US Department of Justice UU and the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice for its important contribution and assistance, "the company said in a release.

Bowser and Xecuter sold piracy tools for Nintendo platforms since 2013 and offered the possibility of downloading software on systems such as DS, Wii and 3DS. In an attempt to hide the true purpose of the software and piracy tools, Xecuter presented them as a way to play homemade games. However, the true intention was to give access to shared software and illegally obtained. In fact, operating software not only allowed users to access shared software, but also allowed them to copy and share games they had bought legally, allowing other users to access these games. In turn, that could have created a greater incentive for more users to buy Xecuter tools.

Nintendo has fought for a long time against piracy in the videogame industry and clearly sees this as a victory, according to the press release. It would be impossible for the company to stop all piracy on the switch platform, but Bowser's sentence shows what can happen with those who try to profit with pirated software!

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