Case 1:24-cv-00082-JJM-LDADocument 1Filed 02/26/24Page 1 of 41 PageID #: 1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND
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NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC.,
TROPIC HAZE LLC,
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NO. COMPLAINT JURY DEMAND |
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Plaintiff Nintendo of America Inc. (“Nintendo of America Inc.” or “Plaintiff”), by and through its counsel, on personal knowledge as to its own actions and on information and belief as to the actions, capabilities, and motivations of others, hereby alleges as follows:
1.Nintendo of America Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd., markets and distributes electronic video game consoles, games, and accessories developed by Nintendo Co., Ltd., including the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED consoles (collectively the “Nintendo Switch”). Nintendo of America Inc. and Nintendo Co., Ltd. are together referred to herein as “Nintendo.” Nintendo also makes award-winning and beloved video games that can be played only on the Nintendo Switch, including such well-known franchises as Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo has sold over 139 million Nintendo Switch consoles (and counting), making it the third most popular video game console of all time.
2.Defendant Tropic Haze LLC is an entity that owns, develops, and operates “Yuzu,” a video game emulator for Nintendo Switch games. A video game emulator is a piece of software that allows users to unlawfully play pirated video games that were published only for a specific console on a general-purpose computing device. Yuzu allows Nintendo Switch games, which Nintendo authorizes for play solely on Nintendo Switch consoles, to be played
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