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[VGEsoterica]

A year and a half ago I told people in a video that in the next year Nintendo would make a full court press against every Nintendo Switch emulator and would not stop until they effectively ceased all active development of any Switch emulation...and as much as I hate being right in this instance as it means the preservation community suffers...that's exactly what they did

But what happened with Ryujinx? The back room deal? Did Nintendo just threaten to crush the devs under mountains of lawsuits and settlement potential? Scare them off? Offer them "a bag" to walk away and cease development? That's the interesting thing to look into...so I did!

But what a bummer for game preservation and software emulation today...and before you say "its just used for piracy"...it isnt. It CAN be, but that doesn't mean it ONLY is

 

[Elginer]

I used to think Disney was hard as fuck on its IPs but Nintendo makes them look like amateurs

 

[Mister Wolf]

Nintendo getting a head start on the next generation. Gotta make sure the game preservationists aren't getting any bright ideas about preserving brand new Switch 2 games.

 

[ReyBrujo]

I used to think Disney was hard as fuck on its IPs but Nintendo makes them look like amateurs

Dolphin is still alive though.

Gotta make sure the game preservationists aren't getting any bright ideas about preserving brand new Switch 2 games.

lol, yeah, all'em MVG fans.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Nintendo is also on the verge of killing Retro Game Corps, a YouTube channel focused on handhelds and emulation, just because he puts out videos under fair use where he shows off some Nintendo games and characters running on different handhelds. He doesn't talk about piracy or how to find games, and always shows off in the video that he owns the particular game he is showcasing, yet Nintendo copyright strikes him. He draws huge attention to Nintendo and a lot of that interest probably results in a lot of game sales, but Nintendo doesn't give a flying fuck about the potential uptick and positive buzz and word of mouth regarding their brand, if it's about emulation you can count on getting royally fucked.

 

[FeralEcho]

Nintendo didn't want to look like a bunch of pathetic losers when their new console still can't do proper 1080p in 2024 while the emulators did their games at 4k60.

Real time image of a Nintendo engineer at work:

Maybe send some of that lawsuit money to the R&D team,maybe they can finally figure out full hd after 10 years.

Spoiler

yeah I'm ranting cuz I'm salty right now, #FuckNintendo

 

[Deerock71]

Nintendo didn't want to look like a bunch of pathetic losers when their new console still can't do proper 1080p in 2024 while the emulators did their games at 4k60.

Real time image of a Nintendo engineer at work:

Maybe send some of that lawsuit money to the R&D team,maybe they can finally figure out full hd after 10 years.

Spoiler

yeah I'm ranting cuz I'm salty right now, #FuckNintendo

 

[VGEsoterica]

Nintendo is also on the verge of killing Retro Game Corps, a YouTube channel focused on handhelds and emulation, just because he puts out videos under fair use where he shows off some Nintendo games and characters running on different handhelds. He doesn't talk about piracy or how to find games, and always shows off in the video that he owns the particular game he is showcasing, yet Nintendo copyright strikes him. He draws huge attention to Nintendo and a lot of that interest probably results in a lot of game sales, but Nintendo doesn't give a flying fuck about the potential uptick and positive buzz and word of mouth regarding their brand, if it's about emulation you can count on getting royally fucked.

Sadly I am aware. I’ve chatted with Retro Game Corps about it. Super nice dude who does everything right. I didn’t mention it in a vid as it just draws more attention to the target on him and I’d hate to see him lose his channel when he’s wholly in the right

 

[yet_another_alt]

Wait, what? I was just looking into RyujinX this weekend and now it's dead?

 

[Puscifer]

Nintendo getting a head start on the next generation. Gotta make sure the game preservationists aren't getting any bright ideas about preserving brand new Switch 2 games.

It's most likely that it's the same architecture just scaled up, makes sense.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Wait, what? I was just looking into RyujinX this weekend and now it's dead?

GitHub deleted, source code removed and development ceased

 

[yet_another_alt]

GitHub deleted, source code removed and development ceased

RIP

 

[Tazzu]

I cant wait to see the Nitendrone spin on this!

 

[HL3.exe]

Ya can't really stop it. Kill one -> another fork pops up. Emulation is technically pretty amazing, the real solution to stop it is to release their games on PC too. Solved.

10 years ago it would be unthinkable if console makers like Sony would release their titles on PC... and look at where we are now. Platform agnosticism is pretty great, and I the arguments against it seem pretty silly.

 

[Sw0pDiller]

and before you say "its just used for piracy"...it isnt. It CAN be, but that doesn't mean it ONLY is

 

[diffusionx]

I don't support emulation of systems that are currently being sold and I think the preservation argument is bogus. It's used for piracy, full stop, we saw it with Yuzu.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I use it that way haha. Buy the game, run it at 4K on tv. I’m not saying everyone does it but just because something CAN be used the wrong way doesn’t mean it’s not allowed to be used

 

[Kadve]

GitHub deleted, source code removed and development ceased

*For the moment.

Its open-source so most likely is that someone else will pick it up in the near future.

 

[El Muerto]

Nintendo be like....

 

[sudolicious]

I don't support emulation of systems that are currently being sold and I think the preservation argument is bogus. It's used for piracy, full stop, we saw it with Yuzu.

Multiple things can be true at once. It's used for piracy, yes. Also for preservation. And also for convenience, because fuck playing botw in 30fps. I wanna play my copy at 60fps in 4k and Nintendo should seriously go suck some dick.

As long as the developers don't facilitate piracy (which in Yuzu's case is a line that may have been crossed) Nintendo should be laughed out of every courtroom in this world. Sadly most judicial systems are stacked in favor of the richer party, but mate be for real, at least don't honestly be one of these "I can't support this, the multi billion dollar corporation says it's really hurting" guys

 

[PauloRoberto]

I don't support emulation of systems that are currently being sold and I think the preservation argument is bogus. It's used for piracy, full stop, we saw it with Yuzu.

So why the hell are you using internet, since it is also used by terrorists and other criminals?!

 

[Thief1987]

Nintendo didn't want to look like a bunch of pathetic losers when their new console still can't do proper 1080p in 2024 while the emulators did their games at 4k60.

Real time image of a Nintendo engineer at work:

Maybe send some of that lawsuit money to the R&D team,maybe they can finally figure out full hd after 10 years.

Spoiler

yeah I'm ranting cuz I'm salty right now, #FuckNintendo

nintendo "engineers" designing new consoles using nintendo labo, give them some slack

 

[diffusionx]

Multiple things can be true at once. It's used for piracy, yes. Also for preservation. And also for convenience, because fuck playing botw in 30fps. I wanna play my copy at 60fps in 4k and Nintendo should seriously go suck some dick.

As long as the developers don't facilitate piracy (which in Yuzu's case is a line that may have been crossed) Nintendo should be laughed out of every courtroom in this world. Sadly most judicial systems are stacked in favor of the richer party, but mate be for real, at least don't honestly be one of these "I can't support this, the multi billion dollar corporation says it's really hurting" guys

There is infinite time for "preservation" once the system is off the market. It is actually counterproductive for actual preservation to do this, because it motivates the hardware maker and games maker to clamp down in any way they can, come up with more restrictive copy protection, etc. For example, see the case of Ryujinx, an emu that was just shut down. If they worked on it once the Switch was discontinued, Nintendo would be much less motivated to go after it because the profit motive would not be as strong.

Not to mention, come on. Yuzu blew open the whole scam. When they were selling Patreon subs based on the work they did to get ready for TOTK's release, you saw what was happening. I support emulation but let's be honest about it. Not use bad faith arguments like the genius below you.

So why the hell are you using internet, since it is also used by terrorists and other criminals?!

Durrrrr durrrrr

 

[rodrigolfp]

So why the hell are you using internet, since it is also used by terrorists and other criminals?!

...and for piracy.

 

[Danjin44]

I use it that way haha. Buy the game, run it at 4K on tv. I’m not saying everyone does it but just because something CAN be used the wrong way doesn’t mean it’s not allowed to be used

That’s all reason Nintendo needs, like it or not some people 100% will use it for piracy and Nintendo are not your friend, if someone use emulation device to steal their game you can bet your ass they gonna stop that device.

 

[VGEsoterica]

That’s all reason Nintendo needs, like it or not some people 100% will use it for piracy and Nintendo are not your friend, if someone use emulation device to steal their game you can bet your ass they gonna stop that device.

But based on currently legal decisions emulation is still legal. Nintendo might not like it but that’s still the fact. They will abuse the court system and threats of large punishments to get people to bend to their will

 

[PauloRoberto]

Durrrrr durrrrr

Thanks, that proves my argument (and the utility of a ignore button).

 

[Danjin44]

But based on currently legal decisions emulation is still legal. Nintendo might not like it but that’s still the fact. They will abuse the court system and threats of large punishments to get people to bend to their will

Like said at end of the day Nintendo are company of making money and to them people using emulation to steal games is losing money so they gonna do what it takes to stop it.

 

[Silver Wattle]

Emulator Devs need to start making shell websites and emulator names and protect the source emulator from Nintendo by just changing the name of the shell emulator and website whenever Nintendo pressure them.

 

[Fbh]

But based on currently legal decisions emulation is still legal. Nintendo might not like it but that’s still the fact. They will abuse the court system and threats of large punishments to get people to bend to their will

Sadly from my understanding the legal system in many countries heavily favors the wealthy. Big companies can drag you into an long, time consuming and often expensive legal battle even when they know their chances of winning ar slim. A lot of people will just settle to avoid that.

Emulator Devs need to start making shell websites and emulator names and protect the source emulator from Nintendo by just changing the name of the shell emulator and website whenever Nintendo pressure them.

This is probably really ignorant from me but I do wonder how Nintendo gets to these people.
If I was working on such an emulator I'd try to keep myself as anonymous as possible .

 

[Anthony Soprano]

Are there even any more important games coming out for the system before Switch 2?

Wonder if this means Nintendo is afraid that with minor tweaking, Ryujinx would be able to play Switch 2 content.

 

[sudolicious]

If they worked on it once the Switch was discontinued, Nintendo would be much less motivated to go after it because the profit motive would not be as strong.

Yes, maybe, but that's simply the wrong way to look at it. Preservation/Emulation don't happen overnight or easily. Motivation is actually a really important factor here, along with time. Look at the PS3 and how far the interest for Demon's Souls alone has pushed it. You need this kind of motivation for any actual development to take place at all.

It's simply not really feasible to look at the situation, turn towards the community and go "Well, just wait 10 years until the generation is dead AND THEN start working for free", but when turning to the corporations you go again "Yes! Your Profits! Piracy is killing us!!".

Like, your whole point of view is distorted. Most corporations, by design, care about profits first and foremost. In best case Preservation is an after thought, and only brought up if properly monetized. Also corporations love boogey men. The sales aren't bad because the company did bad. It's because the audience didn't get it, or they're all pirates, or...

But really, there's no right to preservation sadly. So, as I said earlier, preservation surely is a great benefit of emulation, but it's not the key point. Key point is consumer rights. You bought that cartridge. Whatever the fuck you do with that is your business, and your business only. Why shouldn't you be able to open source develop an emulator for it? Because it might dampen Nintendo's profits? Let's be honest about that for a moment: It's a tiny margin, at best. I understand corporations going "to hell with anything else, we need to squeeze every margin as tight as it gets, All Glory To Our Shareholders!" - but I do not understand ordinary folks letting themselves being bought into.

 

[Lokaum D+]

mine still working just fine, also Dolphin and Cemu are working just fine too

 

[diffusionx]

Yes, maybe, but that's simply the wrong way to look at it. Preservation/Emulation don't happen overnight or easily. Motivation is actually a really important factor here, along with time. Look at the PS3 and how far the interest for Demon's Souls alone has pushed it. You need this kind of motivation for any actual development to take place at all.

It's simply not really feasible to look at the situation, turn towards the community and go "Well, just wait 10 years until the generation is dead AND THEN start working for free", but when turning to the corporations you go again "Yes! Your Profits! Piracy is killing us!!".

Like, your whole point of view is distorted. Most corporations, by design, care about profits first and foremost. In best case Preservation is an after thought, and only brought up if properly monetized. Also corporations love boogey men. The sales aren't bad because the company did bad. It's because the audience didn't get it, or they're all pirates, or...

But really, there's no right to preservation sadly. So, as I said earlier, preservation surely is a great benefit of emulation, but it's not the key point. Key point is consumer rights. You bought that cartridge. Whatever the fuck you do with that is your business, and your business only. Why shouldn't you be able to open source develop an emulator for it? Because it might dampen Nintendo's profits? Let's be honest about that for a moment: It's a tiny margin, at best. I understand corporations going "to hell with anything else, we need to squeeze every margin as tight as it gets, All Glory To Our Shareholders!" - but I do not understand ordinary folks letting themselves being bought into.

Dolphin supports platforms that have been defunct for 10-20 years and is still updated on a daily basis. People are working on cores for MISTER and update on a daily basis. I just saw a damn CD-I emulator core came out lol and I guarantee that there is not some groundswell of support to play Burn Cycle. And, again, I totally support that. If the motivation is purely preservation, then people will "work for free" because they have a desire to preserve. It is its own reward. If your motivation is to play new games for free, then, well, then it's not about preservation, is it?

 

[Sertyak]

If it wasn't already clear, companies don't really give a shit if they have grounds to issue a cease and desist.

So many people thinking that something like shadps4 is safe are in denial. PS4 is still used by 50 million people.

Moist critical has now made a video where he talks a bit about the emulator, and Sony is getting the itches.

If those projects stayed in the dark, not getting much publicity, they would survive much longer.

 

[sudolicious]

Dolphin supports platforms that have been defunct for 10-20 years and is still updated on a daily basis.

Yes, but Dolphin's Devs are literally the devil. They started development - get this - when the Wii was still "currently being sold".

I don't support emulation of systems that are currently being sold and I think the preservation argument is bogus. It's used for piracy, full stop, we saw it with Yuzu.

So naturally Dolphin needs to be next on Nintendos list.

If the motivation is purely preservation, then people will "work for free" because they have a desire to preserve. It is its own reward. If your motivation is to play new games for free, then, well, then it's not about preservation, is it?

I'm really not sure why you're so dead set on preservation. I'm conceding for the third time that yes, it is not about preservation per se. Preservation in this case is great side benefit. It's about consumer rights - but I'm sure these are very dear to Nintendo too :3

 

[amigastar]

Fuck you Nintendo.

 

[Tazzu]

Dolphin supports platforms that have been defunct for 10-20 years and is still updated on a daily basis. People are working on cores for MISTER and update on a daily basis. I just saw a damn CD-I emulator core came out lol and I guarantee that there is not some groundswell of support to play Burn Cycle. And, again, I totally support that. If the motivation is purely preservation, then people will "work for free" because they have a desire to preserve. It is its own reward. If your motivation is to play new games for free, then, well, then it's not about preservation, is it?

Let me take a WILD guess, but are you a Nintendo fanboy?

 

[CrustyBritches]

Bummer. Nintendo are such little fuckers.

 

[Kataploom]

Ya can't really stop it. Kill one -> another fork pops up. Emulation is technically pretty amazing, the real solution to stop it is to release their games on PC too. Solved.

10 years ago it would be unthinkable if console makers like Sony would release their titles on PC... and look at where we are now. Platform agnosticism is pretty great, and I the arguments against it seem pretty silly.

I would really like it if Nintendo released their games on PC even they depended on special hardware like having to buy a controller so they can be played like in the console with no difference

 

[Tazzu]

Bummer. Nintendo are such little fuckers.

According to Nintendo apologists, they are saving us from evil. No one most of them are Anita Sarkeesian bootlickers!

 

[Musashipan]

Good job Big N!
Keep destroying those criminals!

 

[Pejo]

This fucking sucks. Nintendo's legal dept is one of my top 3 most hated organizations in gaming. I also don't like the greater implication this has for emulators in the future. Nintendo seems to have found the golden egg that allows them to take it down where previously we had the law on the side of emulation as long as they didn't explicitly break DMCA or other laws.

 

[ReBurn]

I enjoyed the video.

It's too bad these emu devs can't afford to stand up to the corporations when they start pressing to shut down these emulation projects. Even if the emulators are legal the corporations can bankrupt the developers that create them.

 

[Pejo]

So just for anyone curious, there was a final update .1403 a day or so before they took it down, which foreseeably will remain the last version. Probably want to search for it if you're concerned with having the best possible compatibility.

 

[Anthony Soprano]

Yes, but Dolphin's Devs are literally the devil. They started development - get this - when the Wii was still "currently being sold".

It's wild that the Wii, WiiU and the Switch all were able to be emulated within their active lifespans at much higher resolutions and frame rates of their native consoles. Three console generations in a row. How do you sell hardware that low-spec and security that lax three generations in a row? It's not even like it stops at hardware. During WiiU, Iwata had to publicly apologize for flagship game delays and more recently, all the flagship titles on Switch have abysmal framerates.

Dunno why the press won't write about what poor performance per dollar you get from Nintendo. Barely any reporting on how they shovel remakes and some of the worst online infrastructure in the industry. Are gaming journalists afraid of being blackballed by Nintendo, afraid of sparking a public discussion out of fear that it might damage Nintendo or be the stake in the heart for their childhood Nintendo IP?

Nintendo has always been anti-competitive, ever since the "seal of quality" for NES. A "quality seal" that was closely tied to the 10NES chip meant to prevent third-party developers from putting games on the console unless they paid a licensing fee. Now their $60 first party titles run so poorly and aren't of quality (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, Link's Awakening HD, BOTW, TOTK, Echos of Wisdom). They release last-gen hardware to reap high margin, but don't even bother to optimize the games for it to the point where framerate is consistent. This isn't the look of a AAA developer. DMCA takedowns of innocent lets plays under the guise of protecting their IP is neither pro-consumer or protecting their IP.

Every move is calculated greed, baby. These emulator takedowns, the Palworld lawsuit. It'll take a major lawsuit against Nintendo or a major shift in their corporate culture to stop it, neither of which are likely to happen when consumers are emptying their wallets for last-gen remakes and titles with bad framerate and journalists aren't challenging gross business practices.

 

[Arsic]

A year and a half ago I told people in a video that in the next year Nintendo would make a full court press against every Nintendo Switch emulator and would not stop until they effectively ceased all active development of any Switch emulation...and as much as I hate being right in this instance as it means the preservation community suffers...that's exactly what they did

But what happened with Ryujinx? The back room deal? Did Nintendo just threaten to crush the devs under mountains of lawsuits and settlement potential? Scare them off? Offer them "a bag" to walk away and cease development? That's the interesting thing to look into...so I did!

But what a bummer for game preservation and software emulation today...and before you say "its just used for piracy"...it isnt. It CAN be, but that doesn't mean it ONLY is

Bro the vast majority is used for piracy. Stop being a moron.

This works for old nes and snes titles for examples where it isn’t piracy. Modern switch games? 99% of the userbase is accessing this for piracy. End of.

 

[Pejo]

Bro the vast majority is used for piracy. Stop being a moron.

This works for old nes and snes titles for examples where it isn’t piracy. Modern switch games? 99% of the userbase is accessing this for piracy. End of.

You got any hard evidence to back that up, or ?

 

[ReyBrujo]

and security that lax

Nvidia's fault, they should have gone with AMD maybe.

 

[MayauMiao]

I used to think Disney was hard as fuck on its IPs but Nintendo makes them look like amateurs

I don't understand how this will harm their IPs.