Gary Bowser is a name you would often hear thrown around in the Nintendo community. However, some may be wondering why his name is popping up everywhere all of a sudden and no, it’s not because of the action-packed Mario movie that’s become a box office hit. Gary Bowser is a hacker who Nintendo sued and put in prison a few years ago, but who is he and what did he do? Here’s a quick recap as well as the latest updates we have on him. Stay with us!
So… Doug Bowser imprisoned Gary Bowser?
— Random (@rent_hero) April 18, 2023
Who is Gary Bowser?
Gary Bowser is not at all related to anyone over at Nintendo — not even the Bowser we’re all familiar with. Hailing from Canada, he used to be a part of a group called Team Xecuter. This group was best known for selling mod chips and other tools that helped gamers jailbreak and hack into their devices. Unfortunately for Team Xecuter, Nintendo was not at all happy with their business.
https://twitter.com/Oni_Dino/status/1648340150903250944?s=20
- If you availed any of the tools from Bowser and Team Xecuter, you can hack your consoles. Among the devices you can hack are the Nintendo Switch, 3DS NES Classic Edition, and other Nintendo devices.
- Once you hack into your console’s system, you can then download a pirated version of your preferred game. Then, you can play it on your console (e.g. Nintendo Switch) for free.
I wonder how many people know Gary Bowser, the guy Nintendo had arrested, was part of team xecuter, who are infamous for incredibly scummy business practices with their Switch modchips
— Shoug (@SCS_Shoug) April 18, 2023
- However, Team Xecuter did one of the worst things you can do as a hacker: they charged for their products and services. Plus, the group had a reputation of taking codes from other hackers who would give them to gamers for free.
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What did he do against Nintendo?
Quite possibly one of the biggest news in the world of video gaming, Nintendo was relentless in suing Gary Bowser as well as other individuals involved. Aside from Bowser, Max Loaurn and Yuanning Chen were also caught by law enforcement agencies.
Look, I heavily criticize their business decisions. However, in this scenario, Gary Bowser was profiting off of their software, and was even making people pay for pirated games.
If he was doing this for free, I can understand the anger toward Nintendo, but he was profiting this. https://t.co/6fyVYoqKVw pic.twitter.com/UgPo4BjnFn
— Daniel… but spooky! (@DanielTG85) April 18, 2023
Nintendo sued them for violating their device’s intellectual property rights. Furthermore, Nintendo was not at all pleased with Bowser and his company with bypassing the systems on their devices.
- When authorities arrested Gary Bowser, he was charged with 11 felony counts. Among these counts are conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and trafficking circumvention designs.
- In 2021, Bowser pled guilty to two charges against him from Nintendo. In exchange for reducing the charges against him, Bowser has agreed to extend his help to law enforcement. His 11 counts were reduced to 9 after helping the authorities with the case.
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Gary Bowser needs to pay Nintendo millions after being released from prison
Gary Bowser also agreed to pay Nintendo $4.5 million dollars as a penalty. Aside from this, the hacker needs to pay $10 million dollars to Nintendo in order to settle a lawsuit in December 2021.
- He was originally sentenced to 40 months in prison. However, Bowser has gotten out just recently after only serving half of his sentence. According to the hacker, he was able to get out of prison early because of his old age and underlying medical conditions.
Fuck Nintendo of course but his name is Gary BOWSER??? https://t.co/vM2qq6eMLZ pic.twitter.com/Ho7aWy9WUt
— Liam 🇵🇸 (@Hezbolsonaro) April 19, 2023
- Despite being released from prison, it looks like Bowser will still be paying for the consequences of his actions. Because of how much he owes the video gaming company, Bowser predicts that he would have to pay Nintendo 25% to 30% of his monthly income for a long time.
I wish people wouldn't go "omg his name was Gary BOWSER??!?" (and then point out Doug Bowser and ask if this is a 'conspiracy' when it's not). That's just glossing over the fact that Nintendo just ruined this man's entire remaining life. Take it seriously. https://t.co/TlxP1xcj4W
— ⭐ RustyVanBurace 🌙 (@RustyVanBurace) April 18, 2023
- Many netizens reacted negatively to this and claimed that it was too much for Nintendo to be doing. Meanwhile, Gary Bowser admitted that he regretted ever doing those things against Nintendo and didn’t mean to intend any harm.
Hopefully, he won’t have a hard time looking for ways to pay back his debts to Nintendo. Maybe the Japanese video gaming company will find ways to cut down on their punishment against Gary Bowser seen as it is a bit too much.
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Do you think Nintendo is being too harsh on hacker Gary Bowser? Should they ease up on the punishment, too? Feel free to leave any thoughts you have in the comments below! For more content, stay with us, here at Spiel Times.
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