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How desperate are you to complete a Pokédex…would you be willing to go to jail for it? If you’re caught selling hacked Pokémon save data in Japan, you could be arrested, fined and/or thrown in prison for up to five years!
The Japanese police have arrested another man for selling Pokémon Sun save data, after arresting someone for similar charges for hacked Scarlet & Violet data back in April. The suspect admitted to the charges after the police seized his computer and 37 games from his home. Authorities were alerted when the suspect was listing games online under phrases like “Save data with over 800 Pokémon” and selling copies of the Gen VII game for ¥5,200 yen each ($35 USD). It prompted an investigation by authorities since a lot of these Pokémon were exclusive to certain events and locations. They then sent off his games to Pokémon, who then confirmed that his game data had been hacked.
The Japanese police have been cracking down on the sales of modded and hacked save data under the “Unfair Competition Prevention Act”, since the act of modifying save files and distributing the data is illegal in Japan. Those in violation of the act could face up to five years in prison and/or fines of ¥5 million Yen ($33,000 USD). It’s currently unknown what kind of charges and punishments this latest perpetrator will face as a result of his modded save data.
These kinds of prosecutions aren’t exclusive to digital games either. In 2022, the owner of Alive Yokkaichi Tokiwa Store was arrested for selling fake Pokémon cards, as he was in violation of Japan’s very strict copyright laws. They seized 150 cards and games that were believed to be fake and the store owner admitted to using knock-off Mega Man games to increase the store’s traffic and profits.
All ye beware: mod and sell Pokémon save data at your own peril! One thing’s is also for sure: Nintendo is very serious about protecting their own franchises and brands too…as shown by their latest legal battle against Palworld!
