Nintendo is suing streamer Jesse Keighin for repeatedly streaming pirated Nintendo games ahead of their release dates, according to a new lawsuit reviewed by todayeducationnews and filed Wednesday in a Colorado court. Nintendo said Keighin, who goes by Every Game Guru across streaming and social media platforms, has streamed 10 then-unreleased Nintendo games over the past 10 years, with titles as recent as Mario & Luigi Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Super Mario Party Jamboree. He also instructed his limited number of viewers on how to get these games early, too, per the lawsuit, something Nintendo alleged is “trafficking” in illegal “circumvention devices,” like emulators and keys to access the games.
Nintendo said in the lawsuit this sort of infringement has caused “millions of dollars” worth of damage to the company through “lost video game sales.”
“Streaming leaked games prior to their publication normalizes and encourages prerelease piracy—Defendant is signaling to viewers that they too should acquire a pirated copy and play the game now, without waiting for its release and without paying for it,” Nintendo’s lawyers wrote. “Prerelease piracy harms law-abiding Nintendo customers who may have been waiting for a particular game release for months or years, and then may see gameplay and spoilers online that ruin their own surprise and delight when experiencing the game.”
Nintendo has issued takedown notices to Keighin’s various broadcasts, which span YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Loco, and other live streaming sites. Most of these accounts have been deleted or shut down, but todayeducationnews was able to find several active Loco accounts using the Every Game Guru handle. There are several streams on one channel featuring Super Mario Jamboree, published ahead of the game’s release date, as well as streams of other games, like Rust and the Silent Hill 2 remake. The page that appears to be Every Game Guru’s main Loco account has 8,000 views and 43 followers.
In response to those notices, Keighin reportedly told Nintendo he had “a thousand burner accounts” and that he could “do this all day,” Nintendo alleged in the lawsuit. He’s allegedly streamed pirated, unreleased games more than 50 times in the past two years: Mario & Luigi Brothership 16 days ahead of its Nov. 7 release date, Super Mario Party Jamboree six days before its Oct. 17 release date, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom five days ahead of its Sept. 26 release date, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door two days before its May 23 release date, Mario vs. Donkey Kong one day prior to its Feb. 16 release date, Super Mario RPG seven days ahead of its Nov. 17 release date, Super Mario Bros. Wonder five days before its Oct. 20, 2023 release date, Pikmin 4 two days before its July 21, 2023 release date, Splatoon 3 three days prior to its Sept. 9, 2022 release date, and Mario Strikes: Battle League two days before its June 10, 2022 release date. He’s allegedly playing these games on a Windows PC or a hacked Nintendo Switch, Nintendo stated in the suit, meaning that he’s also allegedly circumventing Nintendo’s technological measures to prevent piracy.
According to the filing, Nintendo wants the court to shut down Keighin’s operations entirely — take down streams and videos and seize emulators, hacked devices, and hard drives where the alleged illegally obtained games are stored. It’s seeking $150,000 for each alleged violation of Nintendo’s rights outlined in the Copyright Act and $2,500 for each alleged violation of the Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking provisions. Alternatively, Nintendo also could elect to take “actual damages,” i.e. money it’s lost, and Keighin’s profits, “in amounts to be proven at trial.”
A Nintendo of America spokesperson issued the following statement to todayeducationnews:
We can confirm that we filed a lawsuit against an individual who has engaged and continues to engage in clear infringement of Nintendo’s IP rights, as well as violations of our Game Content Guidelines. Nintendo is passionate about protecting the creative works of game developers and publishers who expend significant time and effort to create experiences that bring smiles to all.
Keighin has not responded to todayeducationnews’s request for comment.
Update: This story has been updated to include more details about Every Game Guru’s streaming accounts, as well as a statement from Nintendo.
