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Remember the Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser? In the previous update, it was revealed he had been jailed for over three years and fined close to $15 million for his involvement in Team Xecutor – a business that allowed Switch owners to hack their systems and play pirated games.
In an update, the Canadian resident – who was 51 at the time of being sentenced – has now been released early from America’s federal prison, partly due to a good behaviour bond, and will return to Canada.
Bowser will still be required to pay Nintendo $10 million in damages, with the video game giant able to take “25 to 30 percent” of his gross monthly income, if he manages to find a stable source of income in his homeland. So far he’s paid off just $175.
Although this amount is unlikely to be paid in full, Nintendo’s lawyer previously made it clear how the company wanted to “send a message” to other Switch hackers:
“This is a very significant moment for us. It’s the purchase of video games that sustains Nintendo and the Nintendo ecosystem, and it is the games that make the people smile. It’s for that reason that we do all we can to prevent games on Nintendo systems from being stolen.”
Bowser was purportedly a salesperson for the hacking group Team Xecuter and also ran a website that regularly reviewed its products, taking about $500 to $1000 per month from the operations.
Team Executor allegedly made millions of dollars and Bowser is believed to have banked around $320k over the course of seven years during his time with the group.