What kind of person is ``Gary Bowser'', the man who caused the most infamous copyright infringement case in the game industry, which became a hot topic when ``Nintendo sued Bowser''?
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There was a time when it was widely reported that a person with the same name as the enemy character ``Bowser'' (English name: Bowser) appearing in the Super Mario series was infringing on Nintendo's copyright. The Guardian, a British media outlet, introduced Gary Bowser, the person in the mix, what he did and what he is doing in 2024.
The man who owes Nintendo $14m: Gary Bowser and gaming's most infamous piracy case | Games | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/feb/01/the-man-who-owes-nintendo-14m-gary-bowser-and-gamings-most-infamous-piracy-case
Bowser is a hacker belonging to the hacking team ``Team Xecuter'', and the organization was selling tools for hacking Nintendo game consoles. Its history dates back to the Nintendo 3DS hacking tool in 2013, but in 2021 it was sued by Nintendo of America, an American corporation of Nintendo, for copyright infringement for selling a hacked Nintendo Switch. . It was said that not only Nintendo but also various game software manufacturers were damaged by the series of tools, and the total damage was estimated to be about 65 million dollars (about 7.5 billion yen at the rate at the time).
In October 2021, Bowser admitted to evading technical means and buying and selling evasion devices, and agreed to pay Nintendo $4.5 million in compensation (approximately 520 million yen at the exchange rate at the time). . In another lawsuit, he was also ordered to pay compensation of $10 million (approximately 1.2 billion yen at the exchange rate at the time). In the end, Bowser was sentenced to three years and four months in prison by the court, which he served.
Leader of a hacker organization with the same name as 'Bowser' sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison - GIGAZINE
by MattCC716
According to The Guardian, Bowser's good behavior in prison has been recognized and his sentence has been reduced to 14 months, and he will be released from prison in April 2023.
According to Bowser, who responded to the interview, he continued to sleep at a friend's house for a while after being released from prison, and at the time of the interview, he had managed to secure a place to live. Although he has already repaid some of the $14.5 million he was ordered to pay, he has no money on hand and has no choice but to scrape down several hundred dollars (tens of thousands of yen), excluding rent, and steadily repay the money. He will probably spend the rest of his life repaying the loan.
Bowser, who was born to a father who was a mechanical engineer, had spent all his time tinkering with electronic devices since he was a child, and enjoyed wiring model trains and modifying calculators. After that, Bowser apparently started running an Internet cafe and making a living by repairing hardware.
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In the late 2000s, Bowser came into contact with Team Xecuter, a group that manufactures devices that bypass copy protection measures on game consoles. Bowser became responsible for updating Team Xecuter's website, and sometimes helped the 'testers' troubleshoot on behalf of his less sociable colleagues.
In September 2020, Bowser was arrested in a sting operation and, along with his co-defendants, was charged with being 'the leader of a notorious international criminal group that has been reaping illicit profits for many years.'
Regarding the incident at the time of his arrest, Bowser said, ``It was 4 o'clock in the morning. I had been drinking the night before and went to bed. When I woke up, three people surrounded my bed and pointed rifles at my head. 'I was aiming for that,' he recalled. Regarding the charges against him, he said, ``I did not create or develop the product, but only updated the website to tell people what was available for purchase.'' He believed that ``I could have fought the suspicions.'' . However, since it would take time and money to clear the 13 charges against him, it is said that it would have been easier to admit only two charges and make a deal.
Bowser said he is currently in poverty because he is looking for a job and has elephantiasis, adding, ``I'll pay what I can, but it's certainly not a huge amount.'' ``It could get worse.'' It also has a sexual nature.'' In any case, it is true that Bowser did commit a crime, and he will have to pay back the court-ordered $14.5 million over his lifetime.
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