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Japanese Man Sentenced for Illegally Modifying 2nd-Hand Nintendo Switch Units

RKC Kōchi Broadcasting reported on Monday that the Kōchi District Court sentenced 58-year-old Fumihiro Otobe — accused of violating the Trademark Act law for illegally modifying Nintendo Switch console units and selling them online — to two years in prison, suspended for three years (if Otobe remains on good behavior for three years, he will not serve time in prison), and a fine of 500,000 yen (about US$3,495).

Otobe, a transportation worker from Ryūgasaki city in Ibaraki Prefecture, was arrested by the Kōchi Prefectural Police in March last year on the suspicion of welding modified parts to the circuit board of second-hand Switch units, and selling it on a flea market app for 28,000 yen (about US$195) each.

It is the first case in Japan that a man has been arrested and sentenced for selling illegally-modified Switch units.

Nintendo launched the Switch console in March 2017.

Nintendo reported in February that the Nintendo Switch console has sold 150.86 million units as of December 31. This number includes sales for the Nintendo Switch, Lite, and OLED consoles. Switch software sales amount to 1.359 billion units.

The upcoming Switch 2 system is slated to launch in the United States and Japan on June 5.

Nintendo announced a global April 9 pre-order date, the US$449.99 price, and other details for the console on April 2. Nintendo then announced on April 4 that it has postponed pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the United States, "to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions," only a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump formally announced new tariff taxes on imports.

Source: RKC Kōchi Broadcasting via Hachima Kikō