Nintendo Hacker, Gary Bowser, is now indebted to Nintendo for life

Gary Bowser is now out of jail, but he now owes Nintendo 25-30% of his income

In early 2022, Gary Bowser, one of the members of the hacking group “Team Xecuter” was jailed for 40 months after providing and selling tools that could be used to circumvent the security systems of Nintendo’s Switch console. These hacks enabled the use of pirated software on Nintendo consoles, and Nintendo’s legal team came down on the group in full force.

Bowser pleaded guilty to the distribution and sale of piracy-enabling devices, and alongside his sentence agreed to a $4.5 million fine and an additional $10 million fine to settle another lawsuit with Nintendo. Gary Bowser has been freed from his prison sentence early for good behaviour, but now has to pay his fines. 

Currently, Bowser is set to pay 25-30% of his income to pay off his fines. These fines are unlikely to be paid off during Bowser’s lifetime, effectively meaning that Bowser will be indebted to Nintendo for life.   

Nintendo’s lawyers have stated that the hackers at “Team Xecutor” has cost the company over $65 million due to the costs of the Nintendo Switch hardware revisions that were required to deter and prevent piracy. During his time with “Team Xecutor”, Gary Bowser is said to have made $320K over seven years, which is nothing when compared to the fine that Bowser now has to pay. 

During his time in prison, Bowser had a job at the facility from which he earned an income. From that income, Nintendo has taken $175. This was likely the first of many payments that Bowser must make to Nintendo following his prison sentence.

The fate of Gary Bowser is designed to set an example to any hacker that wants to mess with Nintendo’s hardware. Not only has Bowser served prison time, he has also been given a fine that will take a lifetime to pay, and will likely forever reduce his earnings.

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