Nintendo has cracked down on players who downloaded illegally pirated versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon, banning them accessing the game's multiplayer options and even access to the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

Pirated versions of the games began appearing online in early November, shortly after the game became available to pre-load for those who pre-ordered the latest Pokémon adventure. These were the full versions of the game, and even allowed the pirates to access online features.

More from IBTimes UK

It was accessing the online features that likely led to Nintendo finding the banning the players. One user on Reddit said he was banned shortly after they accessed a trading feature through the game's multiplayer.

"As a result of a number of Nintendo 3DS users using unauthorised versions of several games, and connecting to the official game servers in violation of our terms of service, these users' Nintendo 3DS systems that stored the unauthorised game code have been banned from Nintendo's online network effective immediately," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement.

With no indication of whether the bans are temporary or permanent, some players may be forced to seek out a new Nintendo 3DS if they want to download games or access online features in the future.

Those who were caught and banned, weren't happy. "I will never buy anything from Nintendo again. F**k them," wrote one red-handed 4chan user. Another user was far from sympathetic: "You're f**king whining about the fact that you can't get online on your 3DS anymore after you practically steal a game without paying for it."

For those who won't want to pirate games or get banned by Nintendo, Pokémon Sun and Moon go on sale on 23 November in Europe and tomorrow (18 November) in North America and Japan.

For all the latest video game news follow us on Twitter @IBTGamesUK.

Pokemon Sun Moon Pokemon Sun Pokemon Moon Nintendo