Nintendo sues streamer for $7.5M over pirated gameplay and promoting Switch emulators

Nintendo is notorious for being unrelenting when it comes to piracy and its likes, and now, the Japanese company is taking legal action against Jesse Keighin, known online as EveryGameGuru. Nintendo accused him of persistently streaming pirated and emulated Nintendo Switch games, some even before their official release. The lawsuit, as reported by 404 Media, explains how Keighin ignored typical cease-and-desist letters and takedown notices, moving his operations across various platforms like Discord, YouTube, Twitch, and smaller streaming sites (most of which have been taken down recently, likely because of copyright strikes).

Keighin allegedly mocked Nintendo’s efforts by setting up new accounts each time one was taken down, even contacting the company with taunts. According to the lawsuit, he once bragged about having "a thousand burner channels" and his ability to "do this all day." Beyond just streaming, he directed his audience to emulators like Ryujinx and Yuzu, which allow users to play Switch games without Nintendo’s hardware. These emulators had been removed from platforms like GitHub following earlier takedown requests. Clearly, Nintendo did not like that at all.

Nintendo stated that Keighin’s actions jeopardized its marketing strategies. On numerous occasions, he reportedly streamed unreleased titles, including Mario & Luigi: Brothership. These early leaks, according to Nintendo, killed the anticipation and messed with the rollout of their games.

Despite Keighin's relatively small following, Nintendo seems to be pretty firm regarding all this - seeking $150,000 per infringement. With over 50 alleged incidents in two years, the potential damages could reach $7.5 million. That's a lot of money, for sure.