The drama between Nintendo and the website ROMUniverse is almost over. After owner Matthew Storman indicated last month that he wanted to continue with his website, a judge has decided that this is no longer allowed.
It’s a remarkable story. Matthew Storman, the owner of ROM website ROMUniverse, got into a fight with Nintendo for offering ROMs of their games. Nintendo successfully sued him and sued for $2.1 million in damages. Strangely enough, he was allowed to pay off that compensation at $50 a month (which would take 3,500 years), but he already missed the first payment. Then the… brilliant young man came up with the idea to put his website back online. But without Nintendo games (and with blackjack and hookers – okay, maybe not).
That dream is now coming to an end, because a judge in California has… specifically that ROMUNiverse is no longer allowed to do business and has to go offline. In addition, website owner Storman must destroy all of his illegal copies of Nintendo games before August 17. It remains to be seen how the compensation will be paid; since Nintendo agreed to a payment arrangement that would last 3,500 years, it’s clear that the Japanese don’t expect to get the full amount someday. But it would be weird if Storman could get away with it without paying a cent. And that’s why the ROM drama isn’t over yet; to be continued!
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