Some stories just write themselves in this biz – but every so often you get the impression companies are trying to set things up on purpose for a catchy headline. Such was the feeling I got when Nintendo hired a bloke with the surname Bowser to run things in the wake of Reggie’s departure. A simple coincidence, you might argue, and I’d agree were it not for the fact they milked that sucker drier than a particularly fruitful afternoon outing in Moo Moo Meadows. From lampshade-hanging throughout his debut E3, to his office being meticulously decked out with statuettes of Mario‘s reptilian foe, it felt like a ginormous in-joke that had spiralled really far out of control, especially in the wake of SEGA designating an Ivo at the helm. I at least take solace in the fact that Activision might struggle to find someone named Cortex in the CV pile.
Well, turns out the same not-quite-happenstance has come around again, albeit in a drastically different context. Another pillock named Bowser has become enmeshed with Nintendo, but this time he’s on the opposite side of the corporate battleground: as Kotaku reports, Gary (for ’tis his name) has pleaded guilty to the company levelling piracy charges against him.
Bowser backstory
Bowser – ugh, this is going to get confusing – was a member of Team Xecuter, an elite group of hackers who’ve busied themselves for the greater portion of the last decade creating proprietary devices and software to run pirated games. The group was, as you’d expect, the target of much ire from industry giants. Nintendo was a key opposer to their endeavour. It reached the point where even the US Department of Justice became involved, and constructed a pretty-much ironclad case against Bowser and his, well, minions. God damn, this is hard.
Eventually, Bowser was tracked down in his Coney Island disco palace the Dominican Republic, and he’s been banged up in the US ever since. Now, after a lengthy legal pursuit, he’s finally caved and is not contesting the charges in the face of essentially incontrovertible evidence. “Despite initially claiming he was innocent,“ states the report, “Bowser has since changed his mind and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to circumvent technological measures and trafficking in circumvention devices, which both carry maximum prison sentences of five years.”
Bowser, Nintendo, and their zero tolerance policy
The whole affair was serious business, with serious folks in serious positions making some serious statements about it. “Imagine if something you invented was stolen from you and then marketed and sold to customers around the world. That is exactly what Team-Xecutor was doing,” says Raymond Duda of the FBI. “This is a perfect example of why the FBI has made the prevention of the theft of intellectual property a priority. These arrests should send a message to would-be pirates that the FBI does not consider these crimes to be a game.”
If nothing else, this continues Nintendo’s long-standing zero tolerance policy towards piracy and the unauthorised use of their IPs. Though some may chastise them for it, they are of course totally within their legal rights to do so. I’ll just have to keep my next awesome Zelda fanfic on the down-low; wouldn’t want them swiping my idea for a Midna x Ganon storyline.
Do you feel for Bowser in this scenario? Let us know!
Via, Kotaku.
