Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Talks Jail Life, $14M Bill And More In Revealing Interview

You’d think Bowser would have more money, given his rampant kidnapping campaigns against princesses, but it would seem that he didn’t have any offshore accounts once behind bars. At least, that is how it would appear based on a new interview with Gary Bowser, the figurehead of the piracy group Team Xecuter, who was made an example out of in court back in 2022. Since then, Bowser has been a free man after getting out on good behavior after 14 months in April 2023, but he still owes $14.5 million to Nintendo for his crimes, which could prove to be quite the struggle to pay.

Gary Bowser has always been a tinkerer, messing with electronics from a young age with his dad up through running an internet café. In 2010, he moved to the Dominican Republic, where he became involved with Team Xecuter, which The Guardian describes as "a group that produces dongles used to bypass anti-piracy measures on Nintendo Switch and other consoles.” With this group, he became a middleman between the folks creating the tools and software and those playing games.


In an interview with The Guardian, Bowser explained “I would get feedback from the testers, and then I would send it to the developers … I can handle people, and that’s why I ended up getting more involved.” However, in 2020, he was arrested at the height of the pandemic for his crimes and successively extradited from the Dominican Republic. He was then charged with fraud in connection to Team Xecuter and had a civil case brought against him from Nintendo, resulting in a requirement to pay $14.5 million.


In the latter case, as part of the agreement, Bowser, once employed, can expect to pay Nintendo 20-30% of the money left over after paying bills and other necessities for living. Thankfully, he got a start in prison, paying $25 a month to Nintendo from doing counseling work for prisoners on suicide watch. However, now that he is on the outside, Bowser struggles with drawing income and relies on friends and a GoFundMe to help him “restart his life.” This is while he is looking for jobs, a task that might prove to be problematic given his prior legal trouble and criminal record.

In any event, it would seem that Bowser understands the severity of the circumstances despite the extensive wrongdoings and will find himself in quite the predicament for the rest of his life. Between medical issues, job instability, and a constant looming debt to Nintendo, Bowser's life story can be taken as a lesson that you should look in another castle before turning to crime.