Nintendo just officially revealed the Switch 2, and the company is still trying to stop people from selling illegitimate versions of its predecessor.
As reported by NTV (and spotted by TheGamer), Fumihiro Otobe, a 58-year-old Japanese man, was arrested for allegedly violating trademark law by selling "an illegally modified Nintendo Switch" online. This is apparently the first arrest in Japan relating to the sale of an illegally modified Switch.
As we've reported recently, Nintendo takes its trademarks very seriously. A few years ago, it sued hacker Gary Bowser for his role in selling emulators that could play pirated Nintendo games, and he'll now need to pay the company a third of his earnings for the rest of his life, or until he repays $10 million in damages.
According to NTV (with translations provided via DeepL), the Switch Otobe was selling had a modified circuit board that would have allowed it to run "illegally obtained software." Police have reportedly recovered four devices and Otobe has apparently admitted to the charges brought against him.
It's unclear if Nintendo will sue Otobe like it sued Bowser, but if there's one thing in life that's certain, it's that the company is not afraid to send its lawyers after those it believes has infringed on its copyright. We have reached out to Nintendo for comment.
Palworld is currently being sued by Nintendo for alleged copyright infringement and has made several changes to the game in what appears to be an attempt to differentiate it from Pokemon.
While you're here, check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog to see everything that's being revealed.
