According to court documents in the Nintendo and hacking case Gary Bowser, the actual 40-month prison sentence served as a warning to try to deter others from committing similar crimes.
Bowser found out in February 2022 that he would serve a 40-month prison sentence for distributing and selling hardware that enabled hacking on Nintendo consoles. As Axios and Kotaku found out, the judge created this sentence as a warning to others.
Judge Robert Lasnik and Nintendo attorneys spoke about how this case could serve as a model for other hackers and the appeals of Bowser’s attorney, who claimed the client had health problems and stated that he had already spent 16 months in prison awaiting sentencing.
Bowser uses a wheelchair to get around, due to a badminton problem that requires ongoing treatment, and he lost more than 40kg while in prison. This was presented to the judge as reasons not to send him back to prison.
Bowser told the court that the experience was very traumatic and that after 6 months in confinement due to COVID, he spent 16 months in a small cell without visits and says the whole situation and case is affecting his health.
Bowser’s attorneys said he collected nearly $320,000 over 7 years, well below $14.5 million in fines ($4.5 million in this case and $10 million in a civil lawsuit filed by Nintendo).
Nintendo’s lawyers said Bowser should serve 5 years in prison and that a $65 million payment would be more fair, as his team’s continued efforts to allow hacking on the company’s systems have forced Nintendo to respond constantly with hardware and software upgrades, and even release a new version of its consolation to stop piracy.
Moreover, the judge did not like the idea of trying to pass the pirate as “the little one” fighting a giant and that such crimes could not be encouraged and would only be done through exemplary penalties.
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