Hacking UK Police Arrest Man Over ‘Nintendo Switch’ Modding

[JoeBloggs777]

Some might have not seen this .. https://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-arrest-man-over-nintendo-switch-modding-warn-game-pirates-191229/

Why didn't the cops go after people or companies that modded the Xbox 360 or other consoles for years ?, is it part of NITendo's purge campaign ?

 

[Illuminaticy]

Don't sell pirated games with modified consoles. People think it's so easy to make a quick buck selling "fully loaded" consoles...it's dumb as shit and they should be fined heavily.

No pirated content and they can't do shit

 

[Hanafuda]

So, the guy was actually engaged in business, modding Switch consoles on request or buying them at retail, modding them, loading them up, then selling them. i.e. it wasn't 'his' Switch alone that he modded for personal use, this was for profit.

I sympathize less.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

Don't sell pirated games with modified consoles. People think it's so easy to make a quick buck selling "fully loaded" consoles...it's dumb as shit and they should be fined heavily.

No pirated content and they can't do shit

I don't think it mentions he was actually selling pirated games?, maybe why he was only cautioned and not charged ?

even in the City of London Police link, it mentions about selling pirate games but doesn't say this guy was.

http://news.cityoflondon.police.uk/r/1159/police_combat_video_game_piracy_ahead_of_christmas

 

[mattytrog]

Didn`t he get off with a caution?

Thats why NEVER EVER EVER sell pirated content.

Modding is legal. Regardless of what the corporate police tell you.

On second thoughts, if he was selling pirated content on them, he wouldn`t have got a caution. He would be remanded in custody knowing how backward our polices` priorities are...

However, if he was selling them WITH games and he got a caution... He was lucky.

OR because he is living in London, the coppers probably didn`t want to "alienate his community" so probably as a "goodwill gesture"... maybe, just maybe, thats why he got a caution.

Scrub that. He is in Lowestoft.

 

[Bladexdsl]

that's what he gets for advertising in the paper

 

[mattytrog]

that's what he gets for advertising in the paper

Did he? I must have missed that bit.

no fucking wonder then...

 

[aos10]

There is no clear mention to piracy in the article, police said they only gives him a warning.
Did he really sells pirated games?
I think Nintendo are telling the news sites and the police to put "modders" and "piracy" in the same statements just to put fear in the people.

 

[mattytrog]

There is no clear mention to piracy in the article, police said they only gives him a warning.
Did he really sells pirated games?
I think Nintendo are telling the news sites and the police to put "modders" and "piracy" in the same statements just to put fear in the people.

Nintendos logic seems to be:

Modders may not pirate... But there can be no piracy without modders.

 

[Arras]

Nintendos logic seems to be:

Modders may not pirate... But there can be no piracy without modders.

To be fair, they aren't wrong. Look at how many people are on this site alone who don't give a fuck about homebrew unless they can play the latest Pokemon game without paying.

 

[FreePlayFlorida]

always amazes me the number of posts on local free sites, FB marketplace offering consoles fully loaded, and wonder why people get busted?!?! human stupidity never ends, same with the droid boxes, greed seems to make you lose common sense

 

[BullyWiiPlaza]

Always only mod your own system, kids. It's not that hard for the most part
Selling modded systems is dumb, everyone should know that by now and he's 43 years old. WTF? How did he not realize yet that you don't do this stuff.

 

[FreePlayFlorida]

isnt the same the same as the dude that flew his drone over Gatwick, I figured was a couple of kids who didnt know better, but the guy was like mid forties?!?! yeah by middle age you really should know whats legit, not, and gonna get you ass in trouble

 

[Ra1d]

I don't think it mentions he was actually selling pirated games?, maybe why he was only cautioned and not charged ?

even in the City of London Police link, it mentions about selling pirate games but doesn't say this guy was.

http://news.cityoflondon.police.uk/r/1159/police_combat_video_game_piracy_ahead_of_christmas

I think the point was to scare people, not reassure them that modding is ok as long as you don't sell, which is why they didn't specifically point out that he was selling modded consoles.

Here are some quotes which I believe hint that he was selling them:

The dedicated Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) arrested a 43-year-old man at a residence in Lowestoft, accusing him of being a prominent ‘modder’ of Nintendo Switch consoles.

Note plural "consoles". I don't think you need many consoles for personal use.

“If you’re looking to buy a Nintendo console as a Christmas gift, make sure you know who you are buying from, otherwise you could get more than you bargained for,” PIPCU’s Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt says.

Why would they mention to look out who to buy from if this wasn't at all related to the case ?

That said, Nintendo itself is also taking action against “modders.” Earlier this month the company filed a lawsuit against alleged sellers of modded consoles and pirated games in the US. This case remains pending.

It makes sense that the guy had to do something public to get caught, they're not going to run door to door checking switch consoles, people probably referred others to him for his services and this is how he got caught as the word got around.

 

[mattytrog]

I think the point was to scare people, not reassure them that modding is ok as long as you don't sell, which is why they didn't specifically point out that he was selling modded consoles.

Here are some quotes which I believe hint that he was selling them:



Note plural "consoles". I don't think you need many consoles for personal use.



Why would they mention to look out who to buy from if this wasn't at all related to the case ?



It makes sense that the guy had to do something public to get caught, they're not going to run door to door checking switch consoles, obviously the guy was making money people probably referred others to him for his services and this is how he got caught as the word gets around.

This.

The bloke got greedy.

The bloke got caught.

 

[fadx]

"The police note that “modders” are criminals."

Whoever gave that info is a fucking moron, imo it's really not right for someone within the police to publicly state that bullshit because people are obviously going to believe the police regarding laws.

 

[Viri]

I cannot feel sympathy for someone that sells pirated games, and gets busted.

 

[Ra1d]

"The police note that “modders” are criminals."

Whoever gave that info is a fucking moron, imo it's really not right for someone within the police to publicly state that bullshit because people are obviously going to believe the police regarding laws.

They're referring to "modders" that sell modded consoles for money, or offering modding services. They're not going to specify that "Well if you just use homebrew it's fine", the whole point of this all is to scare people, not to mention that homebrew may not be against the law but still against Nintendo's TOS.

 

[fadx]

They're referring to "modders" that sell modded consoles for money, or offering modding services. They're not going to specify that "Well if you just use homebrew it's fine", the whole point of this all is to scare people, not to mention that homebrew may not be against the law but still against Nintendo's TOS.

Sure that could be what they're referring to (any maybe there's a bigger quote with more context) but I feel like leaving that info out and just stating "modders are criminals" (implying anyone doing any for of modding is committing a crime) should absolutely not be okay coming from the police considering it's absolutely false.

 

[CrappyOpa]

Old news

gbatemp net/threads/sx-pro-uk-or-europe-struggling.525345/

the guy Steve Thompson is now being sued by Nintendo and facing recovery of assets under POCA so he didn't just get a caution