According to Eurogamer, Gary Bowser faces five years of jail time for producing and selling hacks as well as pirated Nintendo Switch consoles. Nearly a year after Nintendo took Bowser to court and following a $4.5 million fine, government officials now feel like Bowser deserves a 60-month jail sentence. But, it’s not a sure thing yet, as the hacker’s legal team is working hard to lower the sentence to a more palatable 16 months, give or take. The hacker’s legal team argues that Bowser doesn’t deserve to take the brunt of the legal consequences just because he is the only member of Team Xecuter to be arrested. While we don’t condone Bowser’s crimes, 60 months of jail time seems excessive on top of the $4.5 million fine. A similar case in 2020 only ended with three years of prison time for a Nintendo Switch hacker. Not only that, but the sentence was only that long because authorities found the hacker in possession of child pornography. When you consider that Bowser had only committed a single crime and is the least culpable member of the team, a 1-year sentence feels more appropriate. At the end of the day, it’s not up to anyone else outside of the government officials to decide how to punish Bowser. All we can do is wait for the outcome to be decided and if Bowser’s legal team will succeed in lowering the sentence. In other news, Nintendo just held its first Direct showcase this year. On top of games that most were already expecting, Nintendo confirmed the arrival of more Mario Kart 8 DLC as well as No Man’s Sky to the Switch. Also, Square Enix made waves it announced Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition, a remaster of the classic 1999 JRPG that will be released on multiplayer platforms on April 7.
