Nintendo: the date of the next Direct revealed?

Nintendo

That a new Nintendo Direct is on the way is practically certain. The Kyoto house is in fact used to give several updates during the year and with the release of a new Kirby game (and probably a new title of the franchise yet to be announced), the idea of ​​a new appointment with the format is not so obvious. Today, however, Charles Martinet, Mario's voice actor, may have just confirmed the date of the next show.

We are still in the field of rumors and speculations, but the latest movements of Martinet on Twitter may have revealed something about it . A user of the social network has in fact published a post on the social network, hypothesizing a new Nintendo Direct on February 16. A simple hypothesis, to which, however, Mario's voice actor left a very suspicious like. “I know it probably doesn't mean anything, but it's fun. This is simply a personal prediction, ”commented user Joey, author of the original twitter.

We clearly can't take this as confirmation. First and foremost, Martinet certainly can't lean in this way: if he really knows something, his contract and his nondisclosure agreement with Nintendo would lead him to have serious consequences if he talks openly. We must then evaluate how in reality the voice actor may have simply expressed an opinion of him, agreeing with the user in question. Of course, the chances that an appointment with the show will actually go on the air on February 16th are still quite high, but we invite you to take it with a grain of salt.

Why did Charles Martinet like this tweet?!? pic.twitter.com/JycjeWnLtc

- Joey (@Xeno_Joey) February 4, 2022

if (jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_gamedivision_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_gamedivision_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_gamedivision_d_mh2"); }

The contents of the next Nintendo Direct? Beyond a focus on Kirby, it is very likely that there will be news on a possible support plan for Pokémon Arceus Legends, which turned out to be the most popular title in the series and which has achieved excellent sales results. Keep following sportsgaming.win for all the news and announcements in the pipeline from the world of video games.

You can buy Arceus Pokémon Legends on Amazon.

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Nintendo wants admitted Team Xecuter pirate jailed for five years

Enlarge / It's-a me, the long arm of the law.

Aurich Lawson / Nintendo / Getty Images

Federal prosecutors say a prominent member of the notorious Team Xecuter hacking group—known for the 'SX OS' line of Switch hacking devices—should serve 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to piracy-related charges in November.

The significant sentence for Gary 'GaryOPA' Bowser 'would send a message that there are consequences for participating in a sustained effort to undermine the video game industry,' according to prosecutors. But Bowser's defense is arguing for a shorter 19-month sentence that reflects the fact that he 'was not the leader, was not in control of the [TeamXecuter] enterprise, and was not the manufacturer of the devices.'

Bowser—a 52-year-old Canadian citizen who was arrested in the Dominican Republic and deported to the US in 2020—was the 'public voice and principal salesperson' for Team Xecuter, according to federal prosecutors, promoting Switch hacking devices through sites such as maxconsole.com and illegal ROM downloads through sites like rom-bank.com. While Team Xecuter 'attempted to hide its illegal activity under the homebrew enthusiast umbrella,' Bowser admitted in his November plea that the 'predominant and primary design of the enterprise’s products was to allow purchasers to play pirated ROMs.'

Bowser has already agreed to pay penalties of $4.5 million to Nintendo in his criminal plea as well as $10 million in a separate civil case. But in a recently filed sentencing memo prosecutors say they wants a significant jail sentence on top of that in part to serve as a warning to others who might want to follow in Team Xecuter's footsteps.

'Given Team Xecuter’s notoriety, this case will be used nationally as a benchmark for sentences in other major piracy and technology circumvention cases,' the prosecution writes. 'A five-year sentence will put potential recruits on notice that engaging in this type of criminal conduct will subject them to significant prison sentences that are commensurate with the harm they cause.'

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The prosecution cites previous coverage of this case by Ars and other outlets in arguing that 'there can be no question that any sentence imposed in this case will be widely disseminated within the video gaming community, as this case is being watched closely by the industry.' Thus, a significant sentence would serve as 'a necessary signal to the community that there are consequences for criminal behavior,' the prosecutors write. 'This case has the possibility of a real deterrent effect.'

A prototype SX Core device soldered to a Nintendo Switch motherboard.

Team Xeceuter

Diagram of a Switch modchip installation.

A look at some of the pieces involved in a Switch mod chip assembly.

The SX Core modchip package.

Team-Xecutor

The SX Lite modchip package, designed for the Switch Lite.

Team-Xecutor

The SX Pro works by use of a USB dongle and a 'shim' that slides into the Joy-con connector.

The SX Pro as seen on a Nintendo Switch.

Deterrence aside, the US attorney also argues the significant jail sentence reflects Bowser's role as a 'high-level manager' within Team Xecuter and the 'premeditated discipline and refinement of a multinational business operation' that the organization brought to its circumvention device sales.

By selling devices that exploited security flaws in the Switch and other hardware, 'Team Xecuter offloaded the hours of work and cost investment associated with the design and manufacturing of a device that allowed users with relatively minimal technical knowledge to circumvent several consoles and obtain illegal copies of video games,' the prosecution writes. 'In other words, by making circumvention so easy, Team Xecuter amplified the misconduct by orders of magnitude.'

Above and beyond the $65 million to $150 million in losses Nintendo claims victim companies lost to piracy enabled by SX OS devices, the prosecution also cites the 'wasted time, money, and other resources' it expended engaging in 'Team Xecuter’s self-described cat-and-mouse game' of circumvention. Nintendo also argues that Bowser 'still poses a risk of recidivism' in part because he has 'worked in this criminal space for a significant part of his adult life' and on release will face 'the same financial hardships and social isolation that led to his becoming the public voice of the Team Xecuter enterprise' in the first place.