Pirate Bay Co-Founder Unable To Experience The Joys Of NES Behind Bars

X-Ray...?

Airports do it all the time

5 years on the run? Impressive for an average person I guess

Honestly I can't have sympathy for the man. Although people likely downloaded lots of Romsets with the service.

He brought this on himself.

This is incredibly stupid.

@MasterGraveheart You say that as if he was a murderer or a rapist... He was a pirate.

And yet you see sex offenders in jail for less time. lol Oh the judicial system when it comes to someone losing money vs harm to a person. One has to wonder what you value more... Oh wait... we don't. You care about money the most. lol

They should stick to real criminals.

Goonies never say die.

@GoneFishin He co-founded one of the biggest websites in which people illegally downloaded video games. Stealing is still a form of theft, and running a website that helps people do that is also illegal in the eyes of most the laws.

@AlexOlney I bought myself a set. It was less than 10 USD (not including shipping). I guess it's out of the prison's budget...

If the industry cut prices more people would be apt to purchase instead of pirate. Hollywood's pricing model is archaic and out of date. I would be all over box office hits streamed to my TV for $16 instead of paying $12 for matinee just because I wouldn't have to leave the house.

@Bi-Mabeobsa it's not just that. It's WHERE the money goes to, as well. So much money goes to the distributor versus the actual creator of the artwork, and it just isn't right. I don't condone theft, but I understand the idea behind the Pirate Bay. It isn't to get things for free, but it's to support the idea that creativity belongs to the artist, not to the conglomerate.

@AlexOlney A triwing or Phillips #00 screwdriver will work on most Nintendo controllers and newer consoles. However, the NES and SNES have security screws on their consoles which I believe you need a special screwdriver for. (Though correct me if I am wrong!)

@Haiassai Thumbs up man.

His the creator of a website, I hardly think he is going to shank anyone or use it to escape, let him play the NES!

NES? Just give him a Gameboy.

@yoshinatsu actually he's been involved with a lot more. Drug dealing being one of many, and not even sure you can say that piratebay is piracy, but it is moraly wrong and hurts a lot of creative minds continue their work. This guy is no first time small criminal. And in my opinion, no convicted criminal should enjoy their time locked up.

@ikki5 I haven't!? Jeez less that a year? What are you doing Canada?!

@AlexOlney @Klinny Just a standard Phillips screwdriver will do the job

The console is sealed in such a way that it can not be opened without the machine being destroyed...it is therefore impossible to ensure that this does not contain prohibited items.

If it is impossible to open it without destroying it, couldn't one assume that if it does not come into the prison in a destroyed state, it has not be opened by someone looking to insert prohibited items?

@Ras Thumps up!

@Figeluren do you have a link to his drug dealing convictions? Google doesn't seem to be able to find them.as others have said it's not so much he didn't do anything wrong it's that there are rapists and child abusers who receive far more lenient sentences and enjoy far more freedom and even get special protection while locked up than this guy that's the issue.

@Ras Finally someone with some sense

@ikki5
@GoneFishin
Precisely. Maybe we're supposed to laugh at his misfortune and appreciate the irony in all this, but I find myself unable to do that. Is piracy a crime? Indeed it is. Do pirates deserve the exact same level of discrimination and overall scorn that way worse criminals brought upon themselves? Well, no.

It is crazy how messed up the justice system is, in Sweden at least. My dads best friend got shot, in the head, the murderer got out of prison after 2 years... :/ And meanwhile other crimes such as piracy gets people locked up for longer.

Give him a WiiU and Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric. He is in there for punishment right?

That's no fun

100 kronor isn't that much. It's about 11 usd or 8 gbp

A jail where you can play video games without having to worry about earning money to get food? Sign me up.

stay strong Fredrik Neij. soon you'll be out and running the biggest download page on the net. he didn't rip or post any of it. he doesn't deserve to be in jail. who hasn't downloaded/stole something of the net. my god leave the poor man alone. and well give the man his NES.

Don't drop the NES controller!

@hollywoodhogan
LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Give him it with no controller.

@Sabef
That would be too cruel lol.

Yeah, this is genuinely ridiculous, they could X-ray it or unscrew it, or just buy him one themselves that they know has nothing in it! Of course the guy deserves the fine and the jail time, but justice is justice, and this isn't justice xD

This is Inhuman!

@yoshinatsu he is a criminal. If your in jail, then you not be allowed anything. We all pay for people like this who are a detriment on society and sit in jail watching cable TV and playing video games.

And this is why I don't do illegal things...

Prison isn't just about punishment, it's also about rehabilitation, maybe he should learn some new skills instead of playing video games but I do think this is pretty lame.

@Sabef That's too modern. Give him an N64 with Superman 64, much better.
@Sm0k I don't and never will know why you said that. The Pirate Bay hurts Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, not to mention Steam too. Why would you want to support it?

@Bi-Mabeobsa The problem is that people feel so entitled that they think they have the right to pirate. If they can't afford it, they can't play. It's that simple. The creators if the software and hardware have a right to sell it at any cost they want. It's not a human rights issue if someone can't afford a video game.

So...you're telling me that if a NES has been tampered with it wont work? So surely the best way to check whether it's been tampered with is...to turn it on?

@thesilverbrick Although you're not wrong, life is rarely so black and white. Why should someone born into luxury be able to play a game that someone who's poor ass can't?

@Sabef And Sonic 06, with the DLC. He will be released from Prison after he S Ranks every level. Only after he S Ranks every level, not before.

@Dolphin64 Because A)To get something when the ONLY other way to get it is to pay some random eBay seller $100+ for a $50 item, thus the original maker (Nintendo and Monolith let's say) get nothing out of my purchase cough Xenoblade cough. B)When prices are stupidly high in the first place (Adobe photoshop) and C) To try things out first that you're not sure you'll like enough to pay for.(I didn't know if I'd like Xenoblade, now I'm getting X soley due to the fact I was able to play XBC, which I pirated, and really loved).

Good. You don't deserve video games if you've done things like this. What you did is basically allow millions of people to straight up steal not just video games, but movies, music, you name it. You don't deserve that entertainment.

And let me clarify this: I am against piracy of media. However, I do understand and accept it if you download a game or movie that's no longer for sale. NES games or movies from the 80s that are nowhere to be found except overpirced on eBay, I understand why you pirate those and I accept that. It's either that or nothing, and nobody profits from them anymore anyway.
However, when you pirate modern games and movies, that you could buy for the regular price, then we have a problem. I know the infomercials are silly, but they're right. Pirating those is basically theft. It's those people's jobs to create those games and movies, and you just don't pay for them? I don't see the difference compared to stealing from a store. And the Pirate Bay willingly allowed this kind of stuff to happen. The creators deserve prison, and are just going to have to entertain themselves with some chalk on the wall.

I try not to be so negative, but this comment section is just filled with immense amounts of stupid. This sort of subject always brings it to the surface, I guess. People love to vilify and dehumanize without knowing any real details.

@AlexOlney
i check my NA nes (i'm american) and it seems to use normal philips head screws but i think you might need a special one for some screws under the pad thingies

Ummmm... "It can't be opened without destroying it"?

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. But then again, I can't have sympathy.

@Monado_III Maybe Nintendo doesn't get any money from eBay. Fine. But it's still illegal and it's still against the law. Watch gameplay videos to determine if you want it or not, it's better than theivery. Also, I think I remember Gamestop selling Xenoblade C for $50-$60 used or something like that. Also, the way you say "which I pirated", makes you sound even more like a criminal. Oh, and you do realize Xenoblade Chronicles 3D came out. You can get the same game legally, and portable. You can give me more info that could defend your case, but currently, I see your argument as invalid.

I'm not saying I support pirate bay, nor this man's decisions, but I think this is a ridiculously high fine for making the website. And I'm highly unconvinced that in a prison that permits gaming, they can't handle having an NES in the building.

...Then just get a SNES.
Or Wii U.
I dunno, how are Nintendo's other consoles sealed?

I'm sorry but what? Freaking first world problems at its finest eh? GOING TO JAIL BUT STRESSED ABOUT NO RETRO CONSOLE? I don't even....

@Monado_III

I am taking no stance on this argument but just wanted to point out that Nintendo gets nothing out an eBay purchase. Really a bad argument. If you buy a car and are able to flip it for a profit how much are you gonna kick back to the original owner?

Karma?
No offense, but I don't think this news article is at all relevant to Nintendo or fans, especially considering the damage that pirates do to the industry and our hobby.
So, anything goes in the news or not?

For distributing ROMZ, he shall never have ROMZ again. Fair.

Just kidding. Ugh, no NES? Put me on death row.

@ga3tr0n That's more of an ethics question for humanity in general, really. It's the same reason why someone with money can buy a car and someone who is poor doesn't have a right to go out and steal one simply because he feels he's entitled to drive.

he did nothing illegal, he merely made a platform where people uploaded illegal copies...he should be free.

@DThrow_UAir So everyone that used it should be the ones in jail instead? Did you use it?
Are you aware that while everyone who used it could have or not profit from it, he always profited from it? He promoted piracy and made money out of it, even MEGA is different, at least in essence. MU offered a cloud, anything could be there and people did lose important documents when the FBI closed it, PB offered piracy and only piracy.

Life in prison for a digital crime?,very harsh especially when you can get much less for myrder or rape in the USA, obviously money in politics buys you the government to put away you enemies. Piracy will always be here deal with it, you toss one in jail then two new leaders pop up.....

Majority of people who pirate are poor from other countries that would never purchase the product.....

Maximum he should of got is 10 years in jail, and even that's harsh and more then rape in most states... Our priorities are backwards when it comes to the justice system, we let the bankers who fked the world economy run free to continue to ruin our lives but we put people in jail for life for pirating......

Give him his fken nes, imo this guy is a modern day Robin hood, good on him for standing up for his principles right to the end.

So if I get arrested, better make sure it's in Sweden if gaming is permitted

@thesilverbrick You're right - as long as the poor person had exactly (and I mean exactly) the same opportunities to be able to afford the car, there aren't any excuses. However, it's not as simple as that in reality and there are a lot of factors that lead up to such crimes. I think that until we're willing to fix the system so that it's fairer, we shouldn't go blaming its victims for its faults.

Buy somethin' will ya!