A recent arrest in Japan has shed light on the illicit trade of hacked Pokemon save data. A 36-year-old seller was apprehended for selling manipulated rare Pokemon save files for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, fetching prices as high as $90. The arrest, reported by NHK News and translated by Automaton Media, reveals that the seller had been offering hacked Pokemon save files from December 2022 to March 2023. These files reportedly contained rare Pokemon and were sold for approximately 13,000 Yen, equivalent to $90.
Japan police caught the seller in the act of selling these manipulated save files, with one instance involving six rare Pokemon being offered for $30. Following the arrest earlier this week, the defendant confessed to the crime, stating that they did it to make a living. The investigation continues as police suspect the potential earnings from the hacked Pokemon could be in the millions of Yen. Interestingly, Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act, established in 2019, makes hacking and editing save file data illegal. Offenders can face severe penalties, including up to five years in prison or a hefty fine exceeding five million Yen. This is a stark contrast to the reported earnings of the defendant.
While selling hacked save data is not illegal in regions like America and the UK, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak, the developers of the Pokemon games, strongly disapprove of such practices. The incident serves as a reminder of the consequences and legal ramifications associated with the manipulation and sale of hacked Pokemon within Japan’s strict legal framework.
Imagine being in prison with hardcore criminals and your doing time for selling hacked Pokémon save data.
It is illegal. Don’t do it.
“The law is ALWAYS right and ALWAYS fair” jesus, cmon man, doesn’t need that much of empathy to understand that putting a man behind bars for selling a digital pikachu for 5 FUCKING YEARS is kinda fucked up no?
People qent for far less in jail. If you break the law, you go to jail. Welcome to reality.
So it’s legal to sell two altered versions of one video game but it’s illegal for someone to take one of those games and hack it to get the Pokemon they want? Sounds par for the course.
Based take, it’s baffling how pokèmon fans buy the same game two times
What a world we live in, and Japan specifically. You can potentially go to jail for 5 years and face a large fine for digital save files of Pokémon of all things. It would make you laugh out loud if it wasn’t so serious and ridiculous.
I’ve seen people go to jail for a longer period for less. An example of this is a Christian facing prison time for praying in front of a human sacrifice building, not doing anything or saying anything, just praying.
I find it really interesting that it’s under the Unfair Competitions act, that mind if makes sense but it’s a really unusual thing to be arrested for. I’m sure people will jump the gun and complaint about Nintendo’s usual copyright stance, though.
Another hacker bites the dust.
wtf
What?
they are putting a man who sold some shiny pikachus with guys who did robberies and murderers, another great job by pokèmon company, always down to earth with their costumers!
These sort of posts make me want to remove pokehex from my PC. They will start going after people like me next who use pkHex to acquire trade evolve Pokémon.
I’ll be honest, this is kinda a bit too far, a big hefty fine would have sufficed. Then again Japan probably knows something we don’t.
“A big Hefty Fine” WHYYYYYYY who gives a fuck if someone sells some shinies??? Just ban his switch and get it over with, it’s not even selling pirated games, just some stupid ass codes
if you need to do this for a kids game you should kill yourself for being a loser bitch
Why are blatant suicide threats allowed on this site?
Because a rational person knows that those have no meaning on the internet. Those come from people without a spine and arguments. Simply ignore or laugh at those people.
“Hey bud, what are you in for?”
“PKSav”
Pretty much. I get it but at the same time why go through all this effort for someone selling a hacked copy of the game. I would be more concerned about piracy than someone hacking a perfect IV/EV lvl 1 shiny Arceus into the game.
Simply because the sale of counterfeit/pirated products is illegal and not only in Japan… And this is true regardless of the scale of the phenomenon. And once and for all, piracy is a scourge that makes publishers lose money, so stop playing devil’s advocate. We can criticize their policy if we want but Nintendo is within its rights whatever the apprentice legal experts can say here!
Finally, someone with a brain here.
Someone with a brain??? LOOK ME IN THE EYES (profile pic) AND TELL ME THAT A 40 YEAR OLD MAN WHO SELLS A SHINY TO HIS LOCALS SOMEHOW MAKES THE POKÈMON COMPANY LOSE MONEY.
Nintendo can get my ass then, having all the pokèmon games saves on my new 3ds and all of my pokèmon in one app is so satisfying hahahahahahah
Now they need to arrest Dr Fuji for selling Giovanni an illegal Mew
So f****ING stupid. Excuse me? Absolutely rediculis that Nintendo has its own laws and that hacked pokemon are illigal. What nonsense.
Many people here are either blind or stupid to understand what is going on here. Those hacker SOLD those hacked datas. In other words, they got money for data they don’t owe for hacking the game. That is illegal by common law and they deserve the full punishment of the law.
Oh my god, and we are just gonna slam a guy in jail for 5 years for that? The point is not that it’s not fair for them to punish someone who uses unfairly their product, the point is that someone is going to jail for doing this shit, and don’t give me that “welcome to reality” bullshit, law and punishments are something that can be changed and have changed if something isn’t fair.
As the headline says, he potentially can face up to 5 years (5 or less) and the article says he could also pay a fine. I searched it up and it was not decided yet.