Nintendo Wins Dutch Anti-Piracy Case; MIG Switch Sales Banned in Europe

Nintendo has won an anti-piracy lawsuit at the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands. The court ruled that MIG Switch and similar Switch circumvention devices may not be sold in Europe, and that the websites involved must stop offering the products.

The ruling also specifically identified several websites that had previously been able to sell these devices and required the operators concerned to stop selling them. Under the ruling, the sales ban covers not only MIG Switch but also functionally similar circumvention devices.

MIG Switch is typically marketed as a device related to Switch game cartridges. It can bypass anti-piracy measures put in place by Nintendo and run illegal game copies downloaded from the internet. Nintendo directed this lawsuit at websites selling such devices to European consumers.

Nintendo has previously used litigation to crack down on sales of circumvention devices. In addition to seeking damages from operators, the company has also taken action against players who used the devices, disabling the online functions of the Switch consoles involved. This ruling further extends the restrictions to sales websites in the European market.