The man who Nintendo sued for $1.6 MILLION

[@KongsNutz]

I just want to say to Thomas Games Docs, you did a decent job with the info that's actually out there. After 12 years certain things are hidden from the public but I think I'm safe to talk about them now.

[@Firstname137]

Hey bro, as a suggestion double check your paperwork before you say anything first. It would really suck if you said something that you felt was no big deal only to have Nintendo and their lawyers threaten or send you to court again. I don't know how Australian law works, but out here in the US I have heard of people getting sued for releasing info on their case after they agreed to not discuss it, even after a bunch of years. It wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo put a clause where it mentions that.

[@jes3d]

:D

[@jes3d]

it's easy to tell he actually spends alot of time researching and editing his videos, must of had taken some time. keep up the great work Thomas!

[@joshmcgootermier2301]

I hope that Ganon amiibi gets passed through your family for generations.

[@a_googIeuser]

@@joshmcgootermier2301 It's a regular figure, not a Amiibo.

[@Mari_Izu]

It wasn't a Ganon amiibo, it was a Ganondorf Statue that came with Wind Waker HD Limited Edition. Amiibos weren't a thing in 2013.

[@WWE_AEW]

The statue cost him 1.6 million dollars

[@stella9]

@@WWE_AEW he got it for most sales of nintendo games in the store, not because of the lawsuit

[@stella9]

@James Nnabuihe james burt himself said the statue doesn't have anything to do wih the lawsuit

[@Yukon_83]

????? Huh

[@maximillionroivas3893]

Actually, Amiibos were already a thing in 2011. Not technically Nintendo's Amiibos, but Skylanders' Toy-to-Life. Amiibos are the exact same thing. Just that Nintendo came out with their own a few years later.

[@mopbrothers]

Sounds like you’d be in less trouble cheating the IRS than pirating Nintendo.

[@fruitspunch8859]

that's prolly the message nintendo wanted to convey through this lawsuit 😆

[@steveescher1554]

My bro pirates one old wii game and nintendo launched an investigation and had our internet turned off and stuff. I have pirated sooo many games but only nintendo cares if a little kid pirates a really old game they no longer sell. They r the worst

[@paulgoogol2652]

Just don't mess with Disney...

[@ruthgar9753]

Look up the story of Al Capone. Yes, you can get away with cheating the IRS for a while (I'm not telling you or anyone else to do that, so please don't), but the second they get a whiff of evidence that you are or were cheating them, they'll be on you like a horde of bloodhounds until you have either A) paid back all of your back taxes and penalties, B) served whatever jail time is found by the courts to be necessary for your tax evasion, or C) BOTH!

[@A0142-m1j]

@@steveescher1554 it sounds terrible when you put it like that. But copyright law compells them to behave in ways that express a protective stance on their IP or else it would set a precedent that the IP can be exploit within fair usage or other figures.

[@mizzysparrots4874]

This is why I tell people on etsy to stop making Nintendo fan art products. They can and will go after you in time.

[@christins.1481]

There was a fan game a big time corporation went after but not because of the game, it was due to how much attention the product got. Forgot what corporation it was but they went after three people who made their own fan game for free, they weren't selling it, and it got WAY more attention than the actual game. So the three people were sued. Meanwhile, I bought a Dragon Ball patch off of Etsy and this person has been on there for years and sells probably 30 every year. That's it. Big corporations get mad big time if you take away their customers. There's one about gas. A big time gas chain was suing a small town gas station for selling their gas too cheap. Meanwhile, I got gas that was even cheaper than what that small town gas station was selling for. So take away business from a big corporation because you had a better idea and they'll get mad and sue you.

[@pancakepop680]

Oh man, that isn't going to happen.

[@mizzysparrots4874]

@@christins.1481 its hit and miss. When I started on etsy I made a Harry Potter bookmark for sale and I thought it was ok to do because it was nothing like anything in the book or movies or graphic art made by Harry Potter. But Warner Brothers still flagged my post as copyright infringement. And that's when I first started my shop and didn't have any sales yet. So no its not just about if a product gets attention. These huge companies have the man power to pay people to search for products related to their stuff and attack the artist. Also there was a daycare that had painted a Winnie the pooh in their wall in the infant nursery and Disney found out about it and sued them. Just because they can. Ridiculous

[@damien678]

@@mizzysparrots4874 when marvel's loki show came out there was a controversy with disney going after any and all works up for sale with the word loki in it. this included many that were very, very clearly not based on marvel's loki, at all. because he's a fucken god people still worship to this day ffs 😭 taking down shit people had up for ages too

[@mizzysparrots4874]

@@damien678 wow thats complete bullshit and unfair. What sucks with etsy is they automatically take the side of the person who flags the post and remove the post without you stating your side. Many times the flag is incorrect. That happened to me too. There was a guy who created a painting of the Billy character from Hocus Pocus. He went around and flagged posts that used the keyword Billy and also posts about hocus pocus. He flagged one thing I had that wasn't remotely close to his. I emailed etsy to explain what he's doing and to explain that HE DOESNT OWN COPYRIGHTS TO DISNEY CHARACTERS and they didn't care. My post is forever gone and it had nothing to do with his post.

[@MINE_OK]

“He lived with his parents and was a real gaming fan” True chad.

[@postindierock5063]

No, his name is James.

[@louisejohnson6057]

No, he'd be a "neckbeard". A Chad is a good looking guy with some money, and not a lot of intellect.

[@MINE_OK]

@@louisejohnson6057 So true! It’s almost like that was the joke!

[@louisejohnson6057]

@@MINE_OK If that was the joke you were trying to tell, you told it badly.

[@MINE_OK]

@@louisejohnson6057 sorry man

[@fattiger6957]

The reason Nintendo goes so hard on individuals for things like this is to set examples and as a deterrent. They want these stories to get out to scare the hell out of people even thinking about pirating.

[@naejimba]

Sure, and I could scare the hell out of other people and prevent them from even thinking about fucking with me if I killed someone... but that would be insane and over the top to do so, and people would be right to say I was a piece of shit for doing it. So yeah... fuck Nintendo. There is nothing that can possibly justify what they did.

[@JugularJohn]

@@JordanISmith yes, but this was a time where the game hasn’t been released yet, and 50K people were already downloading and playing it for free. And would definitely increase more if Nintendo didn’t take action. Nintendo loses profits if this happens. This case was perfectly justified, unlike the other items Nintendo hates its fans emulating old games that don’t make profit anymore.

[@cbalan777]

@@JordanISmith It's gonna be a hard life if you think you should get stuff just cause you want it.

[@AspectCave]

sintendo

[@Rooster_Ric]

@@naejimba He paid nothing. He claimed bankruptcy. Any large corporation would do the same thing, and worse if they could. Nintendo is surprisingly ethical, although the bar for ethics in the corporate world is extremely low.

[@PrimmsHoodCinema]

He could've just uploaded a video to prove he had it lol. He didnt have to upload the whole game 😭😭

[@benitosierrajr3958]

I actually have to agree, James Burt did not had to upload the ENTIRE game, which got into this fiasco with Nintendo, James Burt has no one to blame but himself.

[@ethantunnell8009]

@@benitosierrajr3958 I do wonder if there was another Pirate out there who pirated those Games to sell to the Supermarket early if you think of it on a larger Scale, but yes Jame Burt was in the wrong for piracy on uploading the video Game to his Computer for his Streamers to play for free.

[@jaylenc6513]

Piracy does not make you an All Star

[@varietygamer95]

Hell, I think just a picture would have sufficed

[@harrisonwells2908]

Come on mahn if i got spiderman NWH bluray or hd version before release then i wouldnt just flex it like putting a small clip on youtube or somewhere.i would want and love to share it with my friends, internet friends my telegram channel etc.

[@Dhakadice]

In a just world, the retailer chain who sold him the copy ahead of release would be sued. NOT James Burt himself, NOT the clerk who made the honest mistake of thinking something that's on the shelves is actually for sale, PERHAPS the store manager who decided to put an unreleased game on the shelves ahead of launch but definitely the company who hired said store manager. If someone at a big company screws up major but accidentally, the company gets sued, the employee might get fired (sometimes not) and the expenses may even be covered by an insurance company.

[@BlitzGaming654]

This is very one sided, you are forgetting James dumped the entire game, on the fing internet, I would agree with you if he had not done that, but has the saying goes fuck around and find out.

[@DJJD669]

This never would have happened if he would have used today's sponsor, Nord VPN!

[@SouthoftheHill]

Oh lord have mercy, this is scary accurate.

[@BarneyTheDinosaur99]

Damn, it really was a missed opportunity

[@MrEvilpanda69]

Also it’s co sponsor Raid Shadow Legends

[@MoyToy84]

You can't use Nord for illegal practices, it's in the Terms of Service. You'd still get sued.

[@JohnnyDollar720]

@@MoyToy84 Way to kill the joke dude

[@JustATempest]

Here in the US the easiest solution to get away from large fines that you couldn't realistically pay back is to file for bankruptcy.

[@StevieLeigh]

Australian here, believe you can do that here too and that may have been what he did

[@Flappybirdys]

Then your credit scored gets ruined and you will not be able to get any loans anymore such as for buying a house.

[@JustATempest]

@@Flappybirdys it depends on the type of bankruptcy and even the worst, chapter 7, only stays on your credit report for 10 years. Depending on the size of the fine. It's easier to go bankrupt and wait 10 years.

[@Flappybirdys]

@@JustATempest oh I see. Yeah that is true, a lot of people probably won’t be able to save 1 million in 10 years so it would be a good option for some people.

[@marklawson5542]

@@Flappybirdys unless he just saving up his own money for a house? That'll actually be cheaper, without the interest of paying loans back!😂 Bankruptcy for suit, piggybank for house 😂

[@custardgannet4836]

Wow Nintendo trolling him with the Ganon figurine is insane, he's known as the King of thieves after all.

[@marinedragon]

What's interesting is that it's a statue of Ganondorf from Wind Waker. Of all the versions of Ganondorf, this one seems to be at least slightly remorseful over some of the actions he did in the past.

[@schmebulock4567]

In case you didn't see James Burt's comment here, he said: "The Ganon statue (not amiibo) was unrelated to the Nintendo dispute and was from EB Games for a promo of the most Nintendo purchases in the local area which I didn't know initially (ikr)" So they probably didn't know who he was when they decided to give him a statue of Ganondorf. A coincidence but a nice one. ^^

[@kabob21]

Nintendo had nothing to do with it. His local EBGames just gave it out to their biggest Nintendo product customer during a promotion period.

[@RyuDouro]

I love that how soon as he got it he had to share it online, again.

[@ironkinggaming_]

They should have given wario

[@communistpootisbirb]

So nobodys gonna ask how he managed to get enough money to pay ~$1 million USD?

[@mikatu]

Who said he paid anything? That was the sentence of the court, it doesn't mean he is going to pay it. Most of these cases are just for show. In the end they are not going to pay anything because they don't have the money anyway. They just sign a document saying if they do it again they will need to pay it.

[@belavet]

He didn't. He came on this video comments (as well as reddit and on his own channel) to say he filed for bankruptcy and owed nothing. This was just to set an example, which is silly in its own right because it most definitely did less than nothing to the pirate scene lol.

[@8irdhous3]

Exactly my thoughts

[@dr.floridamanphd]

@@belavet, good thing Australia allows you to discharge legal judgements in bankruptcy court. You can’t do that in the US anymore.

[@commentposted4528]

Perhaps I wasn't the only one misled by 7:02 saying he had paid his dues.

[@KirboyIGuess]

"Nintendo was able to employ the use of sophisticated technological forensics to identify the individual responsible for illegally copying the file and making it available for further distribution" Translation: "We took it down and found the guy lol"

[@KongsNutz]

They traced the credit card back to the only copy bought 2 weeks before release. They didn't use anything that magical haha

[@JoaoPedro-ki7ct]

@@KongsNutz So they wouldn't have traced you if you had used cash instead? Originally I thought they found you because they got your IP and asked the internet service provider for your private information.

[@h2dfives799]

@@JoaoPedro-ki7ct nowadays they could trace you with a cash sale, your face is recorded when you go out thousands of times a day and you don't even know it. Although wearing a maskight help. Si incognito

[@JoaoPedro-ki7ct]

@@h2dfives799 That sucks

[@kenrickkahn]

@@h2dfives799 Sorry to break it to you but as soon as you step outside cameras are always in our faces if you like it or not.. It been that way since the 1980s and it's nothing we can do about it..

[@squatopia2199]

I remember when Super Paper Mario was coming out on the Wii, I found it at Gamestop three weeks before its release date. They noticed it was too early, but they let me buy it anyways because my Grandma was insistent and I was like 9yrs old. Good thing I was too young to post about it.

[@laultimarebanada]

Your grandma is an angel dude, did you enjoy the game?

[@Rumboats]

Hella cool grandma

[@kwizzeh]

When I had an EB near by, they did this all the time with games since I was a frequent customer/window shopper. Sometimes I'd arrive on the day of a shipment, see them unpacking merch and ask if I could purchase the title, usually with decent success lol.

[@ponyhelena2300]

Nah it didn't happen. Enjoy the likes on your comment

[@jwr2904]

In that case I believe it would be GameStop that would've been in trouble for breaking street date. If you had ripped the game and uploaded it, then you'd be in trouble

[@lemymatair]

The morale of the story is don’t listen to people on the internet to do a thing that will get you trouble they will not help you in the good way at all.

[@KryyssTV]

The bottom line is that it's the individual who decides to create peer pressure not the peers themselves. Words by themselves are harmless, it's the person that hears or reads them who forges those words into weapons. In any event, getting files off of the disc or cartridge isn't a simple process so cannot be done on a whim. James' dad is clearly the kind of person who doesn't believe in a person taking responsibility for their own actions and goes through life blaming others for his own bad decisions.

[@keithflippers4429]

@@KryyssTV not true words last longer then wounds

[@KryyssTV]

@@keithflippers4429 You misunderstood. I said people choose to weaponise the words of others so that they can be hurt by them. I didn't say that those words cause no harm, but I will say that how seriously those words cut into them is that person's choice too.

[@paperstackwell]

Don’t tell me what to do person on the internet

[@KryyssTV]

@@paperstackwell ...says one person on the internet to another. Oh the irony!

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

Why didn’t he just record himself playing the game to prove he owned the game? Just share the video files. KZbin existed back then with 11 minute restrictions.

[@danamoore1788]

I may be a little vague. But it may not have been as simple as it is today to do such a video?

[@EmmettXIV]

Way better way, legal and he would've got tons more exposure and credit. Just set up a camcorder and make a 10 min video

[@noobmaster1368]

Well either that he was a idiot or he did not have a camera and didn't want to bother getting one

[@getgle]

Nintendo would've still sued him because they are a petty and pathetic company

[@AA-rr9ly]

Nah he probably uploaded the data intentionally and not just ‘to prove he had the game’

[@Backstromer1235]

He could’ve just recorded footage of the game on a camera and uploaded it to youtube and provide a link to the forum. He could’ve looked cool and not get sued

[@bradleywhais7779]

They would sue him for copyright infringement. When someone streams a game, they are technically breaking copyright law, but the companies ignore it cause it is free review/advertising.

[@Backstromer1235]

@@bradleywhais7779 well then wouldn’t Nintendo not sue him if they’re getting a free advertisement/review

[@korytoombs886]

@@bradleywhais7779 You're allowed to use a small portion of a work as fair use.

[@RrraverCrow]

@@bradleywhais7779 Except it’s not copyright infringement.

[@caleb_artzs2533]

@inovade yes

[@eljaminlatour6633]

Yeah, peer pressure is one of the many successful ways to persuade someone, especially to do things wrong, which kind of hurts.

[@digojez]

Imma be honest, it's actually sad that non of the people who ask for the copy got hold accountable for their action.

[@sleppo0491]

@@digojez Or the people who actually cracked the copy protection.

[@Vyse195]

Peer pressure may me do a few dumb things back in junior high, but never cost me more than a lunch detention.

[@thorjhonson1721]

A 24 yo being peered pressure on online forums sounds pretty lame 🤷

[@digojez]

@@thorjhonson1721 peer pressuring other peoples is even lamer

[@manusoftar]

The question that still remains is, why the hell was the freaking game for sale on that supermarket so early??, who put it on sale that early??, why would this guy upload the contests instead of just a picture of him holding the game box and disc in his hand to prove he did actually purchased it early??

[@coolyeh1017]

Most stores, espeically in the past get the physical games early. Usually it is planned that most stores get them early in case of delays, logistical issues and so forth. If everything goes smoothly the store should get the game close to two to three weeks early and they sit in the back until an authorized release time. As for James, it seemed to me he wanted friends and people to acknowledge him. We know that in the internet, parasocial relationships can form, they effectively peer pressured a guy into releasing the game. Plus even if he took a picture, there will be people pressuring him that wasn't enough.

[@RealYummyB]

Hey I work at target. We get stuff a lot early. Every now and then the boxes will have what we call a “street date”, which means we can’t sell or put the product out until the date it says on the box. This happens with electronics, books, Toys, games, etc…. Like the guy above me said, delays and shit happen. This is safer Another thing that happens though is employees don’t check street dates. The amount of times I’ve had to pull items off the shelf because employees don’t check is ridiculous.

[@manusoftar]

@@coolyeh1017 Nah, back in the day, photoshop was not that normal, so a picture of him with the box and the disc of the game would be more than enough proof and if those morons wouldn't believe you is their problem... Still I think Nintendo should have sued the store that released the game early, as, if they didn't do that nothing of this would have happened.

[@richard35791]

@@manusoftar ITS NOT THAT UNCOMMON, POKEMON BDSP 1.0 SOFTWARE LEAKED 10 DAYS BEFORE OFFICIAL RELEASE, AND ALREADY PLAYED BY THOUSAND PEOPLE AT THAT TIME

[@joyconboyasmr6499]

I dont get why they didnt press charges on the store

[@BoykaBoykovPlay]

Copyright is one of the dumbest things invented.

[@veggiet2009]

I initially read the title "The man who sued Nintendo for $..." Needless to say I was expecting quite a different video

[@andyt2186]

Same tho, and I read it twice and didn’t realis until I read it a third time when you said it

[@samuelteece6599]

LOL same

[@ChaosKingFlash]

I came in with the exact same expectations until I read the title again

[@jkharu2760]

Same

[@jkharu2760]

Same

[@pigeonpower4163]

If I had a coin for every time a huge company sued an ordinary man for 1.6 million dollars, I would have two coins. Which isn't a lot but I think it's weird that it happened twice

[@PurpleStickman]

Roblox?

[@aryan-gi1hw]

what's the second one?

[@pigeonpower4163]

@@aryan-gi1hw Ruben Sim

[@jwr2904]

Don't upload something you don't own and it won't happen

[@BizVlogs]

@@jwr2904 You the time of person that side with the cops when they m*rder a black dude for driving 1 mph over the speed limit.

[@sliderx1897]

Just because he happened to find the game a week early doesnt mean he was the first person ever to buy the game. If the game was stocked on the shelf they most likely sold other copies

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

How on earth could Nintendo force him to not comment on the case? I doubt that could happen here in Europe.

[@BLACULA-Skeewoah]

What are you talking about, NDA's exist here in Europe too

[@johnnymartinjohansen]

@@BLACULA-Skeewoah Rubbish. You can't take someone to court here, then force them to sign an NDA. Only, yes ONLY, the court/judge can force that upon you, NEVER the one who sues, unless it's part of a settlement, and that's not forced.

[@BLACULA-Skeewoah]

@@johnnymartinjohansen yeah, the key word you are using here is "forced" my scandanavian friend 😊.... But NDA's can be sentenced under the law too, instead of forced... They're often used in employment contracts or in this case; as part of the settlement to ensure Nintendo doesn't use his information in a public setting and to ensure that there's no further disparagement between both parties!

[@ThomasGameDocs]

hey, sorry for disappearing for a bit! I needed a bit of a breather, but I'm glad to be back on www dot youtube dot com

[@jes3d]

yay, love you!

[@Augustyand]

Welcome back

[@Bored_Barbarian]

Welcome back! :3

[@the_meadow]

Good to have you back, no need to apologise for the break

[@PurPurDot]

And it’s not another voice video *:0*

[@eduardog3000]

2:42 "According to James's father" His father is Shigeru Miyamoto?!

[@jacke_RS]

So does Nintendo expect someone who pirates games to have millions in their bank? How did he pay that?

[@caniseeyourco-]

@@100toonlink "the good ending"

[@theknightswhosay]

He didn’t. He just filed for bankruptcy

[@God-uv4nq]

No. Nintendo is an evil company owned by Satan to ruin the lives of everything they touch. How do I know? The Nintendo CEO chair drama, Oh and Satan was spotted there, that too.

[@DrMewFoxov]

Slowly, over time

[@fruitspunch8859]

no, but that's a deserved punishment for him and a warning for pirates. the lawsuit wasn't to get money from him but to set an example.

[@joshc8599]

The reason Nintendo goes so hard on individuals for things like this is to set examples and as a deterrent. but James could of never had to pay the fees. all he had to do, since this was civil court was to file for chapter 7. and the debt is wiped.

[@cesaravegah3787]

Yup, is as you wrote, is no the money, is about making an exemple from him.

[@edwardk12687]

Australia isn't like that. Sadly it's not like the US where you can just file and call it the quits

[@justruthie5365]

Not sure that's true. Not all debt can be cleared through bankruptcy. Like student loans can't be.

[@KasdenW1995]

And why SEGA still does what Nintendon't! SEGA allows for fangames. They even allowed Christian Whitehead to SELL his.

[@lukealadeen7836]

Nope in Oz you can't do that. You have to pay

[@sayakadisliker2201]

Let us all appreciate how supportive James' father was. He stuck by his son even though it was clear he was guilty.

[@kabob21]

Lmao, you expected his parents to abandon him instead over a copyright violation?

[@escapetherace1943]

@@kabob21 mine would but they're the evil authoritative type

[@thetalk3155]

@@kabob21 my dad would disown me

[@KingMickey]

@@kabob21 you can hold them responsible for their stupid decisions without abandoning them.

[@jackcullen69]

Epic wingman dad

[@1337pianoman]

I wouldn't want to go against Nintendo's legal team, but I imagine it'd be pretty difficult to prove loss of sales from piracy. And how can they pin it all on one person? Surely every individual who downloaded it is responsible for a portion of the damages? And what about the people that cracked the copy protection? Could Nintendo go and sue each of them for over a million dollars? And if the law bizarrely attaches more weight to the original breach, that would be the shop that released it early no?

[@ceresbane]

The answer is simple, Australia's laws are a clown show.

[@ignasia7230]

Given the game was released for free online before it was released officially, while there's no way to prove each downloader would have paid for the game officially, as it's impossible to prove a negative, it's feasible as an argument to suggest as such because it was no longer necessary for them to consider paying. It's impossible to go after individual downloaders, as it creates an issue in the legal code related to the right to make copies of anything for your own usage, whether you own the thing or not. The entire copymachine industry, tape recorder industry, cd/dvd/blu ray recorders, etc. would be put into jeopardy fighting to maintain their right to exist, as well as customers their right to make copies, as well as professors and teachers the right to make copies of books and magazines for classes, as well as researchers from every field imaginable the right to make copies of anything from any source regardless of ownership. While there has been some luck going after people who have downloaded content, essentially it's not illegal to do so. Only to distribute with intention to cause harm and deny profitability/compensation for their work. This is still tricky as common law requires one to actually have removed said item from the individual who rightfully owns it, and digital copyright laws border on unconstitutionality and are constantly abused by companies, they're so grey and open to interpretation it's a very muddy legal ground to tread upon. It's why Nintendo/Sony/MS have had a hard time going after ROM sites, given they hand out games for free, and for games that are not made available in their original form for their original system in any capacity to where any of those companies, and third party companies can claim loss. However most sites shut down at a C&D because while they can win in court, it's a costly venture. The exception is when said ROMS are for actively available systems. For this reason certain sites that used to offer hacks and cracks like GBAtemp, have a separate private forum that allows such sharing, but not a public forum anymore, as even manipulation or add-on content not sanctioned by the original creator while said original content is available is within the legal gray area, where it is technically legal and illegal at the same time. So in lieu of that the only guilty individual whose actions caused potential loss of profit and revenue for Nintendo, is the original uploader and copier of the game. Going after individual downloaders brings up the same legal mess that the music industry attempted and failed hard at in the early 00's after Napster was brought down. Sure they managed to get some kids and their families to pay multi-millions by using gray areas because Napster was both upload and download (whatever you had in your folders was automatically uploaded to other people and it was considered community goodwill to help "share" the wealth that you yourself collected). However the public ramifications were heavy. They still lost money because they looked like monsters making absurd claims of 10's to 100's of millions of dollars for a 14 year old as we also get into the other issue: it is VERY hard to build a case against a large number of people from different states, different counties, etc. There are bylaws even between US cities that have to be respected that make it a legal nightmare. It's not the same as say, going after a group of men robbing a bank, as all of those individuals were in the same town at the same time. There's also intent to do harm, which is MUCH harder to prove. Nevermind proving those downloaders also shared themselves, notwithstanding it's almost impossible to track down torrent files unless the original file itself has a tracker in it, in which you can track WHOSE computer has it, but not if they shared bits of the same game with other people who might have finished it from another source, or just never opened or triggered the tracker (or they had something check and remove it before so much as touching it). Cracking copy protection is NOT illegal. That would create a whole heck of havoc on EVERY security industry, EVERY tech maintenance worker that might have to hack a file because the owner forgot the password, or a folder. Nevermind there are whole industries built around breaking into older code. Making SPECIFIC laws related to this is also very tricky given the security industry. It's almost impossible as some are private firms, not just government affiliated. Nevermind the act of cracking in general is a necessary thing for some game companies and software companies to hack into their own code at times. ALL game companies in the 1980's, 90's and up through 2005 almost never used databases to hold onto code, and often when going back to older libraries, would find their finalized game discs missing, and any computers with their old dev kits long since destroyed. There was little concept, except for very popular games, for preservation for future releases in newer consoles, let alone remakes and remasters. That didn't happen until around the late 90's, and even then, Nintendo, Sega, and Square-Soft for the most part. Capcom around the early 00's along with Konami. American companies just moved forward with new games for the most part, but they were the first to incorporate storage systems for later usage of older code as it was a more common practice for programmers starting in the late 90's in the US. So what a lot of older games today are, are dumps of the finished game cartridge, then hacked, then have some elements retooled, not unlike what game crackers do with older titles for ROM translations and game hacks...actually, it's the same thing. Nintendo could try to sue, but again, it depends on a lot of factors, and they're unlikely to win or get anything out of most of those lawsuits, nevermind the legal costs, time, etc. in court, when they're already embroiled in multiple other suits like hardware lawsuits over the 3DS in the past, now the Switch itself. The Wii mote had lawsuits. It's not something they can infinitely due, and they would know most of those suits would again, amount to no money won at all as they cannot prove damages, and even within the legal gray area it would trigger multiple issues related to perfectly legal actions, nevermind the number of police departments who would never spend the man hours tracking down and looking through all of those computers for evidence of who downloaded and when. Nevermind again, even if they could prove someone downloaded it, it's a tricky issue of proving damages (revenue loss) and intention. They'd also earn some ire when their position relative to gamers is very tenuous these days as a lot of gamers like to pick fights or get rather explosive and violent in their language.

[@escapetherace1943]

Because of what happened to him too I doubt he makes little, if any money at all. He'll never "pay it off" and probably lives like a shut-in ironically playing even more videogames he probably has to pirate from having no job/money now. Lmao

[@MRU79]

Yeah what the one who cracked the copyright as well.why didn't go after them as well.

[@satanpuncher06]

You’d probably go broke just paying a lawyer long before you even saw a judge. Hence the settlement

[@Ceraii]

"This is James Burt." Nintendo: THAT MONSTER! Also Nintendo: Give him and Amiibo.

[@Yukon_83]

An amiibo ❓❓❓❓❓

[@MikeRey785]

“Give him and Amiibo” Learn English.

[@superg6787]

It was probably autocorrect. That happens to me all the time lol

[@Ceraii]

@@superg6787 it was a typo. But if you read it in a bad Japanese accent it makes it funnier. So I'm leaving it as it is.

[@MikeRey785]

@Banana Boi thanks for your honesty.

[@tron0150]

I don't like how companies treat future sales like they are already their property.

[@anon3325]

I worked at Target. Sometimes the employees would stupidly put items up early, not reading the stock box. At the register though, it would never ever let us ring it up. It sent a error message with the release date. Had a few experiences when Hatchimals came out of people trying to sue us for our employees putting the stock out early.

[@Earth2McKay]

Yeah the store should have been held reliable for this

[@Splatoon_Kirby]

@@Earth2McKay They where as they have a contract with Nintendo for distribution. It would of been outlined in the contract what happens if they broke it. But that wouldn't of been in any public record for us to know exactly what happened without finding a Management or higher level employee to learn what was done. Last time I heard something like this happening Nintendo pulled the distribution rights from the store location.

[@JBLilPaper]

@@Splatoon_KirbyI know I’m 8 months late, but what if someone used a self checkout to buy the product? Would it still give an error?

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Omg my daughter's loved those things..... For a couple weeks lol.

[@bloemkoolendestreetgang450]

I actually feel really bad for the guy, getting sued by a gigantic company for such a huge amount, all because of one stupid mistake

[@G_Fantastic]

I know right? Its only a game, game is for fun, not life

[@leonardopoltergust9248]

Well, not to brash at Nintendo, but they can get pretty petty and jump to conclusions on not so extreme things, and they still sold a lot of copies, so what was really the point for them?

[@hardcase7753]

right?? it's just...with this, i kinda have to look at it in a relative manner. it's fair and not fair. fair to demand the amount lost, sure, but of a presumably working class individual? while you're a multimillion dollar corporation who is doing literally More than Just Fine? like........im no expert on law, but this just reeks of...idk, greed, in a certain light. a very strange, airquotes-"fair" greed. it's quite sticky to think about. edit: i suppose the word i am looking for is merciless. it is rather merciless

[@drowningin]

@@G_Fantastic well thousands of peoples lives are tied up in paying to make and distribute these things, and too many people think its okay to steal because LAWL NO RESPONSIBILITY! I'M A KID FROM A RICH COUNTRY WHAT IS THAT?! Nintendo will show you cuz your dad failed to

[@-siranzalot-]

@@prismaticc_abyss 1.5M is actually less than what he cost them. I don't know how much new Games go for in Australia but I'm pretty sure it's not less than 50$. If the game was downloaded 50.000 times they could have sued for at least another million had they wanted.

[@CwapPlatinum]

FROM THE DEPTHS, HE RISES. Dude, welcome back!

[@VogtTD]

People take less punishment for violent felonies. Corporations have too much power.

[@alwhitney-muskoka]

Not really, could have been much worse with the payout AND jail time. He's lucky!

[@lieutenant_lucky_rocks]

I had heard this story before but I had no idea that what James distributed wasn’t even in a playable state. That makes this entire thing so much worse. Why didn’t they go after the people who had the hacking chops to piece the ISO back together in the first place??

[@drewlemley6313]

He uploaded it, there for made it playable altogether. If he never uploaded it, those hacking chops wouldve never made the game work.

[@saxnev]

@@drewlemley6313 by that logic. Responsibility should lie with the shop that sold it early.

[@drewlemley6313]

@@saxnev no cause they didn't upload it to a site of people who could make it available early illegally. Honestly, they should have gone after him and the guys who made it playable by fixing what he uploaded.

[@jc-xo8yd]

@@drewlemley6313 so sue the gun store if I break in and steal a gun and kill with it?

[@callak_9974]

@@saxnev The shop probably had fines or something as per the contract they would have from Nintendo in the first place for breaking street date. And since most likely it was a large chain could have been removed from initial game launches or even not allowed to sell their software anymore.

[@devnol]

3:30 You can't fool me, that's Shigeru Miyamoto's silhouette!

[@Nekrokon]

7:00 "[...] James Burt has paid his dues". What...? How? O_o

[@skycloud4802]

Hell the hell could anyone afford to pay that off? What is Nintendo going to do if somebody can't pay it back? Lock them up?

[@porky1118]

3:00 Please don't show this C code about memory allocation anymore. We've all seen this enough...

[@dayfay]

Wow

[@Mizu2023]

Lol

[@akiralyrics9590]

?

[@porky1118]

@@akiralyrics9590 Everytime somebody talks about programming in general, and then shows some video , it's the same code with the nblocks being typed.

[@Bored_Barbarian]

Yay you’re back ❤️ Missed your fun content dude. Happy Hollidays!

[@ggunter2730]

Same! Glad he is back

[@TimothyTimPSP]

Title says they ruined his life, but they didn't.

[@wertydeluxe1405]

@@TimothyTimPSP yes they basically did they sued him for 1.6 million dollars. you think he didn't care?

[@TimothyTimPSP]

@Werty Deluxe That sucks, but ruin your life? His life has been ruined? Life no good now.

[@wertydeluxe1405]

@@TimothyTimPSP Not quite ruined, but it must have been devastating for him to have to pay 1.6 mil. Also if you want to make money on YT you have to do a little exaggeration on the titles .

[@LunaMinuna]

4:25 in latex terms, Nintendo illegally Spied on him and used illegal tracking to find out who he was and where he lived (Nintendo Ninjas are actually a think God Bless you Etika) and found out who he was

[@gamermapper]

You can get away with anything when you're rich

[@lornelthaltmer]

The real ones at fault here is the "store" that put it out on the shelf early than they were supposed to. The store started the chain reaction. But all people involved were just as guilty for pirating the game.

[@Raoulrad]

Nuh uh

[@Viperbyte1]

I know this is one year ago but this is not piracy. There has to be a cause for them to be at the shelf they did not ask for the game to be at the shelf. Also, games can come out early at stores before the date it actually comes out. Piracy is the act of buying / storing unauthorized movies, books, games, torrents on your computer / system paying cheap, or getting it for free and you don't own the real authorized legal copy for your self and your not using the unauthorized copy as a backup copy. But it is best to hack the game files instead of getting it online from a website because that can increase the risk of malware. To make copy of a Mario games hackers do a process called dumping where they would put the disk on to their computer and extract data, textures, assets, graphics from the one file inside the file with the file type of the console for example Dolphin would show up as a file type called 'DOL, WBFS' and other file types including GCM, ELF and Cemu would have WUX as a file type or an ISO. and they extract the data and all of that to the file type and they run it through a 'system inside the computer' technology called the emulator witch broadcast emulation file types on your computer.

[@catcrimes80]

0:51 I misheard it and thought he said Mario Bros: Smokes Weed

[@grimslade0]

That's a bit of a stretch to call him "the first person in the world apart from Nintendo employees to own the game". Any number of people could have bought it first in that store before he saw it, or another store for that matter. It's not uncommon for Australian stores to hand out games before their release date, especially when they've been pre-ordered. We're a bit cheeky...

[@JP-xw2kf]

thats what they were actually butthurt about since they know their games get uploaded day 1 on release but they couldnt sue target obviously

[@flamingmonkays]

@@JP-xw2kf Technically, they could have. Pretty sure that's part of the standard contract.

[@JP-xw2kf]

@@flamingmonkays wont ever happen because target could decide not to carry their products anymore in retaliation. makes more business sense to sue a customer and lose one person's business than an entire store chain.

[@flamingmonkays]

@@JP-xw2kf I mean, unless Target fucks up bigtime, they aren't gonna break their contract or sue them. But considering the contract benefits them both, Nintendo probably just reprimands them and leaves it at that.

[@robd1329]

Im sure someone else bought it before he did or the same day and wasnt dumb enough to brag about it on the internet

[@TomJones-wi4nh]

The unanswered question (that wasn’t asked in the first place), is how much of the 1.5m judgement did he actually pay out of pocket. I’d imagine being a basement dweller in his parents house didn’t afford him exactly the job opportunities to make even teeny dent in the fine.

[@kabob21]

He said in the reddit thread that he had to declare bankruptcy which is pretty common in cases like these.

[@flamingmonkays]

@@kabob21 I'm sure Nintendo knew he would do that. There's no way they expected some rando to pay $1.5 million. It was mostly Nintendo sending a message to pirates.

[@jeromebullard6123]

Yeah it’s surprising they’d even waste their money on legal fees they knew he’d never be able to pay back.

[@weberman173]

@@jeromebullard6123 its called an example, as well as just prinicpal. They do need to defend their copyright to some extend

[@Gardengap]

The unanswered question is WHY was the game available in the store so early? He never explained why!!

[@hurktang]

He had a very bad lawyer... He was only responsible for putting it online for a few people in private. If he did not publish it officially he should have not got the 1.3M fine..

[@ugh.idontwanna]

From what I know about aussie internet connections, I am surprised he managed to upload the entire game in less than a week.

[@jes3d]

im having a horrible day then thomas uploads. its amazing

[@ThomasGameDocs]

haha I hope your day gets better!!! sending good vibes

[@headxplosion]

@@ThomasGameDocs Hey Thomas, hope you're doing good. I wrote this comment becausei wanted to thank you about (basically) making me learn English. 3 years ago, i found your channel, and started watching because you had a very different content than what I watched and what was in my language (portuguese). I couldn't understand you but because you had portuguese subtitles, i could understand and slowly figure them out. After a while i started understand english subtitles and could understand yt videos in english. So thank you, for showing me the great world of English KZbin. I hope you're well and that your channel grows! (Sorry if i wrote in bad english,I'm still quite bad at it)

[@TheNormalToast]

@@headxplosion That’s really awesome! I think it’s so cool that you learned an entire different language through subtitles, and I know how difficult it is (because I tried and failed 😓). I hope you continue to enjoy English KZbin!!!!

[@PurpleLoverIgor]

Wednesday was a very tough day for me

[@Savariable]

@@headxplosion good job!

[@AndrewMalkin]

Did he end up paying the whole amount? I would be paying that for the rest of my life.

[@garden6008]

I'm pretty sure when you get sued by such large amounts, you have to declare bankruptcy. after that you have to pay cash each month (a reasonable amount based on your income) to whoever sues you until you pay it off or die.

[@digojez]

if you check the reddit link on the description and search down, that guy stated: "Declaring bankruptcies a bitch! That's all I can say." My comments got auto deleted for some reason, I wasted 5 whole minutes explaining this.

[@vincevvn]

@@garden6008 when you declare bankruptcy most of your debt gets cleared so I don’t think he had to pay anything

[@garden6008]

@@vincevvn I just remembered that the guy that ran a Nintendo switch hacking/piracy website, had to pay like $50 every month when he got sued by Nintendo. its probably different per country and situation though.

[@ah.neat.408]

There's a comment near the top of the comment section that seems to be from him, he said he declared bankruptcy. Due to having no personal assets and living at home, he didn't have to pay anything.

[@ItsSirMega_]

"hey buddy, we here at nintendo felt bad for suing you, making your family spend their life savings, so take this ganon amiibo and forget about it, fine? fine."

[@Gamenetreviews]

There is no way that guy actually paid 1.6 million without just declaring bankruptcy.

[@parkermartin8308]

He probly took a loan

[@2002films]

@@parkermartin8308 You most likely voted for Biden.

[@parkermartin8308]

@@2002films I was jokeing and I don’t like sleepy joe

[@2002films]

@@parkermartin8308 OK, My bad lol.

[@nehehehgraylois]

bankruptcy still suck balls though

[@Lovuschka]

They just wanted to hammer it home three years later, sending him an Amiibo of the ultimate villain.

[@Mateo-qw9px]

Thomas: "Piracy is a crime, but no one died no one got hurt." Me: *"does that mean I can steal crap without hurting anyone?"*

[@jewnersey7413]

I wouldn’t recommend stealing crap, you produce it yourself for free

[@IvoMaropo]

No one stole anything. Nintendo's argument is totally absurd. They are a perverse company. Period.

[@wertydeluxe1405]

@@IvoMaropo wdym he pirated a game their argument is logical

[@IvoMaropo]

@@wertydeluxe1405 Not really. No one hunts their consumers down like Nintendo does. They clearly take their consumers for complete idiots (and they are actually right here). Just look at how the guy who got the lawsuit behaved ("but I still love Nintendo even though they screwed my life big time!"). That's almost a paradigmatic model of an idiot (or you can call it a Nintendo fan).

[@wertydeluxe1405]

@@IvoMaropo k so he was stupid, but it wasn't illogical to sue him. I agree that 1.6 mil is way too much, but sue him for handing out 50k copies of their game for free? suing makes sense

[@TheNightshadePrince]

The funny thing about piracy is legally you can’t prove these people would have actually bought the game. So they are insane to think that they actually lost sales.

[@saidzilla226]

​@@DoubleJ-jt1tyengrish moment

[@IhateAlot718]

that is why its civil. civil courts have lower standards. it can generally assumed a good portion wouldn't have bought the game.

[@AManWithAGODComplex]

7:33 Although I get the sentiment, just think about the sheer amount of money Nintendo could have lost from the 50,000 people pirating their game. Let's say the game was only about £30, with this in mind, Nintendo could've lost towards of 1.5 Million pounds. I'm not saying that they are right for doing it, but the guy didn't have to do this act, so he does deserve some form of punishment. Realistically, they could've just been doing this to recover any losses.

[@Mike-739]

Nintendo when you name your kid Luigi:

[@gacd2104]

They wouldn't actually care, Luigi doesn't exist for them.

[@PiousMoltar]

@@gacd2104 Nah that's Waluigi

[@KatTheLavaGirl]

2 twins in my elementary school were named Mario and Luigi

[@supetendo5106]

@@KatTheLavaGirl poggers

[@nardiamcphee5239]

Question why didn’t Nintendo fine the store for breaking embargo in the first place?

[@keithflippers4429]

Did you not watch the video or somthin

[@Gareth1892000]

The store does not assist his piracy, as if they release on time, James would still get the game earlier than most of forum members, and could possbibly did what he did

[@damian9303]

@@Gareth1892000 He still gave people access to a game far earlier than it was set to launch, incentivizing people to play his dump rather than a legitimate copy of the game which wasn’t being sold yet

[@Splatoon_Kirby]

That isn't relevant to the story in this video. However all locations like that have a distributor's contract with Nintendo (or other game company) and that would of covered this issue and what the retribution for the Gaming company would of been for this. This wouldn't of been publicized because its a private contract between the two companies.

[@lordterra1377]

You can't assume those 50,000 people who downloaded it were going to buy the game. You can't prove it and he didn't sell or profit by sharing the game data. There was no theft of any tangible item, every copy of Mario was still for sale safe and sound. It's crazy to think these Nintendo lawyers can argue a theoretical loss has occurred. Meaning no real money was lost or stolen. How do you steal what only exists theoretically? Its not illegal to copy a game you bought. What if let a friend barrow it? Would they argue that was a crime too? Maybe he just had 50,000 friends hmm? Nintendo can blow it out their A$$.

[@orangesharpy]

1:23 Those 2 often go hand in hand.

[@darbythegamer5152]

The reason they sued him for so much wasn’t cause the damage . They just needed to teach him that piracy is no party

[@CrazyGreenFluff]

it's sad that they had to teach a grown man that stealing is wrong

[@knownnuisance7512]

@@CrazyGreenFluff stealing what? He bought the disk

[@twinturbo9113]

You’re not that slow right? 😂

[@getgle]

@@CrazyGreenFluff stealing what? He bought the disk

[@kamronlynch]

​@@CrazyGreenFluff Stealing What? He bought the disc.

[@counter3911]

I misread the title and assumed he sued them back

[@itsbind]

Makes me wonder how does someone like that actually pay $1.6M when he seems to be much like normal people pay check to pay check.

[@FireBroYT]

4:30 In this day in age I have no problems with downloading Wii games online, because I own the disk, the game is old, and the console it was made for is discontinued! So me getting games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii or Wii Sports Resort isn't much of an issue today! Awesome video!

[@epicochafausen9312]

I don't understand, Nintendo should have sued the people who actually cracked the game right? Or the supermarket that sold it before the contract release date? The kid only uploaded a protected copy of it, which technically it's not piracy since no one can actually play it at this point

[@face76]

The guy was giving away a game for free. That is the problem. It would be like someone burning a cd of a game and handing them out outside their house. You don’t own the IP. You pay for one copy.

[@rosykindbunny1313]

Or maybe even the store

[@infectedanimal9830]

@@face76 So they should of taken down the download and threatened the place that hosted it, someone else could easily resubmit another download after a bit if they don't make the site host do anything about it

[@escapetherace1943]

who cares? do you think james actually ever paid 1.5 million? A live-in with his parents who probably had 3000 dollars max to his name? Lmfao.

[@infectedanimal9830]

@@escapetherace1943 we do, if they're willing to do this to someone who lives with their parents, imagine what they'd do to someone a bit better off

[@WickedFab]

With court settlements in Australia, you only have to pay what you can afford a week. Could be as little as $1 / week

[@Jethcon]

wouldn't that still be 1.5 million weeks though??

[@rubbersoul5146]

Getting sued for piracy is the dumbest thing ever. Almost everyone has pirated at least once

[@lautaroka5847]

I'll do it everytime, why would I pay for a game I can have for free?

[@guyfromnj]

I’m curious how he paid them so much money in what seems like a fairy short amount of time. Wonder what he does for a living.

[@krimsonkatt]

He declared personal bankruptcy and since he had no personal assets at the time (he lived solely off his parents) he paid nothing.

[@KongsNutz]

@@krimsonkatt Correct

[@guyfromnj]

@@krimsonkatt thanks in the vid it sounded like he was able to pay them. This makes more sense.

[@guyfromnj]

@@KongsNutz I just saw your long post comment explaining everything. I’m glad you didn’t have to pay them anything. They make enough money.

[@justachonkyspider]

Oh wow thanks, that question was seriously keeping me up at night. 😳 lol now I can sleep 😁 tbh if that happened to me I'd be too scared to know what to do. Dude, I'm glad you got that mess straightened out. It really sucks when big companies just run over random citizens because they can.

[@Soonjai]

I feel like that when they claim that "50k people downloaded it, that means we didn´t sell 50k copies because of you" that Nintendo should have to proof that this is indeed true. I mean, many of those people probably never intended to buy it anyway while many others probably bought a copy when it was released despite having downloaded it before. The number true lost sales because of the leak is most likely incredibly low.

[@Vyse195]

I never understood that "people who never attended to buy it should still be to play it." You don't care enough to buy it then what do you want to play it.

[@elijahzafcab4660]

@YC That game was unofficially released, by a person, so Nintendo got rights to sue that person.

[@gamermapper]

Unfortunately companies rule the world. And lawyers just bootlick the companies.

[@weberman173]

they claim wasnt "50k people downloaded so 50k copies arent being sold"(fi that was the case the fine woudl have been roughly 3 million, or double it was in the end)" They argued, relativly rasonable that a subset of these copies woudl have been potential sales. It is INCREDIBLE ahrd to pinpoint how many would have bought it etc, but you dont need it tobe exac

[@a2pha]

Very simply he could've set his phone to record a video for KZbin showing the receipt, the game packaging, the physical game itself, him inserting it in the console, him playing the game. There was absolutely NO REASON for him to upload anything other than a video showing proof of purchase.

[@gargonovich]

There were a lot of people in 2009 that didn't have smartphones. It's actually possible that uploading a ripped disc was easier than getting a video uploaded.

[@Dumbmoviereviews]

4:12 Yikes! Imagine developing a game only to have it stolen, you can’t blame Nintendo tbh :\

[@Macen121487]

Going to have to agree with Nintendo version of the story, you don't have to upload the game itself to prove that you have it.

[@FernieCanto]

And you don't have to sue an individual who didn't profit a single cent from what he did, because of "damages" that did not exist. 1.6 million dollars is enough to ruin the life of an individual, but it's irrelevant pocket change for Nintendo. They're corporate bullies.

[@halfalligator6518]

@@FernieCanto well... i don't agree with Nintendo here either, but piracy probably does cost Nintendo. How many people downloaded the game and decided they wouldn't buy it anymore?

[@FernieCanto]

@@halfalligator6518 Most companies nowadays have figured out that fighting piracy by intimidating individuals is the *worst* way to do it, not only because it's' ineffective (you're not fighting the root causes) but it makes companies look like soulless bullies (... which they ARE, of course) and creates animosity. It's just that Nintendo is kinda immune to the latter because their fans are sycophants and tolerate any abuse because Mario is cool. But again: if piracy was *that* bad, Nintendo wouldn't be raking in millions with each new console.

[@halfalligator6518]

@@FernieCanto yeah i said at the start i don't agree with what they did. I'm a fan and not a sycophant though.

[@owns3]

"no one got hurt" - I don't think you understand how money moves.

[@EmmettXIV]

Nintendo lost 10 cents and that's enough for action. it's a serious matter what he did.

[@SSJ4Vegiito]

@@EmmettXIVI don’t care if it’s 10 cents or 10 bucks, the guy stole. I hate Nintendo but saying it’s 10 cents doesn’t make it ok to steal. Stop trying to justify it

[@missk1697]

​@SSJ4VegiitoThen just pay those 10 cents back and stop shilling.

[@LolaGraceRobertsHouse]

Ahhahaha at 5:21 the gavel and wooden block, the block is upside down…..I’m guessing a FAKE black judge too…..gotta love royalty-free stock.

[@Icewind007]

I will pirate games for as long as we have this screwed up system. Which, of course, isn't going anywhere soon.

[@starryarin6274]

Amazing content as always! Introduction already got me hooked!

[@buster5661]

Yea, whenever I try to prove I own anything, I upload the files and design documents on the internet as well This includes the entire design documents of my car, tv, and fridge.

[@GinHindew110]

I always say that Nintendo its pretty lukewarm to non-official piracy like personalized peripherals and such, but official piracy must be done discreetly because it does gives basis for legal action

[@elishavelez8746]

...why didn’t he just take a selfie with the game box and film himself playing the first level instead? If he did that, he would’ve proven that he had it and also wouldn’t have pirated the game.

[@phatsushiman]

It's been a while my friend, we missed you

[@Deadchannelformerlyb]

1:57 is it target?

[@AprilTeniente-eu1mj]

Yeah, it is.

[@Eric-1444]

Never once had I been on Nintendo’s side until now

[@UFO_researcher]

I could have won that case, court is about jurisdiction and claims.

[@grxve___]

Ok so why is he being sued and not instead the company who sold him the game before its release date

[@Cmatsoukis]

I think the retail shop should be liable. When the game goes onto shelves, Nintendo knew it was a matter of days before it would be pirated. They should have gone against the retail shop for having it out early.

[@Splatoon_Kirby]

The store is getting in trouble as well but its not going to be publicized because its in their private contract with Nintendo as a distributor.

[@KDthunder2009]

They were actually selling the game tho lol They didn't put it up on the Internet , free of charge.

[@rolflandale2565]

Internet access through the decades was new, video games before were not able to upload, the charges by Nintendo was equal to somthing you impose on other infringement companies, NOT to a single individual, that was like a life sentence.with a sentimental 6:55 TOY, in your prison cell.

[@andrewmize823]

You can make the point that he's not responsible for breaking the code and distributing it, but the fact is that he's responsible for its availablity. None of the subsequent events would have happened if he hadn't uploaded the file, so he is very much responsible. You can't excuse a drunk driver just because the passengers were slightly more wasted.

[@anousenic]

1.5 Million might seem to be "too much" for a regular person. But considering it was supposed to be a compensation of damages, it could have EASILY been double considering > 50,000 downloads of a game that's worth 60 bucks each...

[@mariustan9275]

I count 30 million dollars. Now thats a LOT of money.

[@user-gp5yz5yz4x]

How will nintendo ever recover?????????

[@diegomedina9637]

@@user-gp5yz5yz4x It's not about the money, it's about sending a message.

[@williamsahalan.m.4520]

@@user-gp5yz5yz4x Nintendo did nothing wrong, they put out quality title and they have every right to be mad if some guy just got their hard work for free

[@user-gp5yz5yz4x]

@@williamsahalan.m.4520 They sued a dude to bankruptcy over a 60 dollar Wii game lmao 🤣🤣 explain how that was worth ruining a man's life in any stretch

[@emmaw52]

2:36 HIs dad is miyamoto himself??

[@imafreakinninja12]

"He was living with his parents, and was a huge gaming fan," Big surprise.

[@eddieb1995]

@Legit YT they make living at home with his parents sound like he pays no rent, he pays nothing. Lmao like I'm sure the dude had a job. Shit I'd rather pay my fam money to live there than a complete freaking stranger. At least now my shit is safe when I know they're home while I work.

[@bogdanalin962]

I don't think he actually paid 1.6 mil, is just a scary story for to scare of piracy.

[@ladyaceina]

based on how jovieal he was i think this was some stunt by nintendo to scare pirates and he never had to pay anything

[@KongsNutz]

Nah they tried to but I went bankrupt and nobody saw a cent. I'm always jovial I guess it's the Australian way.

[@nitroarc5389]

@@KongsNutz Hey! It’s the actual James Burt! How’s it going, my guy!

[@KongsNutz]

@@nitroarc5389 Better than youd think

[@moicoloico1]

@@KongsNutz You mad lad!!

[@benderisgreat95able]

@@KongsNutz, so Nintendo basically shot themselves in the foot for no reason on the global stage. Corporations are seriously like American cops when it comes to social suicide.

[@EpicAlternative]

I once got a $29.99 version of FFX, days before it was supposed to be released. The jewel case was French, and I purchased it in Canada at Zellers. I was disappointed that my case was in French, but glad I somehow saved $60 on the game. Great memories. And yes, the only thing worse than illegally distributing a game, is distributing one before its launch date.

[@MrCmon113]

> Gets sued for 1.6 million. > Still loves them. Nintendo fanboys in a nutshell.

[@joelman1989]

I can’t imagine what it’s like to be this guy when a new Zelda comes out. On the one hand he’s clearly a fan so he’s going to want to play. On the other hand I imagine every time he touches a Nintendo controller he’s reminded of how that company literally ruined his life.

[@smat7388]

Honestly, if I were Nintendo I would sue him too. He broke the law and he’s a big boy. That’s why you don’t pirate games.

[@viniciusespindola7238]

Yeah, as if it was right to leak a product for anyone to pick when millions are invested onto it, if it was other company no one would find it weird

[@muccisebastian9300]

Companies like Nintendo get their money back in a couple of weeks anything past that is greedy shit

[@GuysClips]

I believe when you're sued like that in America you can just declare bankruptcy and get out of paying it entirely. Not sure about Australia though.

[@guitarlord8782]

Yes, and that's what he did so apparently the same applies in Australia i guess

[@MrDylanJones]

I mean, you would lose all your property too which isn't good

[@GuysClips]

@@MrDylanJones That’s not actually how it works. You think billionaires lose all their property when they declare bankruptcy? Trump has declared bankruptcy several times, I think he still owns property dawg lol

[@MrDylanJones]

@@GuysClips I'm pretty sure he would have to transfer ownership of his property to someone else.

[@GuysClips]

@@MrDylanJones lol yes, something everyone who declares bankruptcy does

[@WamCham]

Love these! Thankyou so much for the content!

[@DUKETACTICS333]

They need to rename that title, because it looks like he ruined his own life from his own actions.