Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against streamer Jesse Keighin, known as “Every Game Guru,” accusing him of streaming pirated, pre-release versions of its games. The company claims Keighin illegally aired several Nintendo titles before their official release, allowing viewers to experience unreleased games. The lawsuit, filed in Colorado, highlights at least 10 Nintendo games, including Mario & Luigi: Brothership and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which Keighin allegedly broadcast on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
Nintendo calls Keighin a “recidivist pirate,” asserting that he has streamed these games over 50 times since 2022. The company argues that these actions violate its intellectual property rights and harm the gaming industry by giving unauthorized access to its products.
Promoting Piracy Through Emulators
In addition to streaming leaked games, Nintendo claims that Keighin has been promoting illegal emulation software, including Yuzu and Ryujinx. These emulators allow users to play Nintendo Switch games on non-Nintendo devices, which Nintendo argues circumvents its copyright protections. The company contends that Keighin’s promotion of these emulators helps users bypass Nintendo’s anti-piracy measures and is an act of trafficking unlawful software.
Nintendo has taken steps to halt Keighin’s activities, issuing over 30 takedown notices across various platforms in attempts to remove his content. Despite these efforts and multiple account suspensions, Keighin allegedly continues to stream Nintendo games, finding new platforms or creating alternative accounts to sidestep restrictions.
Seeking Financial Compensation for Unauthorized Streams
The lawsuit also claims that Keighin has been attempting to profit from his illegal streams. After YouTube demonetized his account, Keighin allegedly posted his CashApp details in his streams, encouraging viewers to donate directly to him. Nintendo argues that this method of fundraising is an attempt to earn money from the unauthorized broadcasting of its games.
Further complicating the matter, Keighin is said to have taunted Nintendo in a letter, claiming to have “a thousand burner channels” at his disposal to continue his activities indefinitely. This defiance is a key element in the lawsuit, as Nintendo seeks significant damages.
Nintendo Seeks Millions in Damages
Nintendo is asking for $150,000 per game streamed, with a potential total of $1.5 million if the company is compensated per game, or $7.5 million if the damages are calculated per stream. Additionally, the company seeks $2,500 for each act of “circumvention,” which refers to Keighin loading unauthorized copies of games into emulators and broadcasting them.
Nintendo also demands $2,500 for every instance where Keighin allegedly shared links to ROMs, emulators, and other piracy tools. The company claims these actions facilitated further infringement by giving viewers the resources needed to illegally obtain and play Nintendo games.
Helping Others Pirate Nintendo Games
In its lawsuit, Nintendo also accuses Keighin of helping others pirate games. The company asserts that Keighin not only streamed pirated titles but also provided his audience with links to ROM repositories and tools necessary to run these games on emulators. Keighin allegedly encouraged viewers to pirate Nintendo games, boasting online that he wanted to “help anyone and everyone who wants to get Nintendo games for free (and early).”
Nintendo’s legal team argues that Keighin’s actions went beyond individual piracy and contributed to a broader culture of game theft, undermining the company’s efforts to protect its intellectual property.
This lawsuit is part of a broader strategy by Nintendo to protect its intellectual property. The company has a long history of taking legal action against piracy and unauthorized content distribution. In 2022, Nintendo won a case against Gary Bowser, who was sentenced to 40 months in prison for selling Switch hacking devices. Additionally, in 2018, Nintendo secured a $12.2 million judgment against an American couple who ran a site distributing pirated ROMs of its games.
