Earlier this year, the team behind the Dolphin emulator, a popular emulator that allows PC users to play Wii and GameCube games, announced plans to distribute it on Steam, even going so far as to list it in stores. . This resulted in a lot of attention, but perhaps he hoped the Dolphin Emulator wouldn’t clash, and he seems to have turned one company’s neck, Nintendo.
Earlier today, it was revealed that Valve had pulled the Dolphin Emulator off Steam, with the developer explaining in a blog post on their website that the release was “indefinitely delayed.” This apparently means that Nintendo will issue a DMCA notice to Valve regarding the emulator’s Steam page and that the team will either discontinue the emulator entirely or file a counter-notice with Valve if they believe the emulator does not violate the DMCA. Because I was forced to
“It is with great regret that we have to announce that the release of Dolphin on Steam has been postponed indefinitely,” said the Dolphin Emulator statement. “We have been notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a DMCA against Dolphin’s Steam page and has removed Dolphin from Steam until the issue is resolved. We are currently investigating our options and hope to do so in the near future. We will take further action.”
PC Gamer claims to have seen the legal notice itself, which states that the emulator is a violation of “Nintendo’s intellectual property rights” and is “illegal,” and that “avoiding this ” he claims.[s] A technical means of effectively controlling access to works protected by copyright law. “
It’s possible that the Dolphin emulator will file a counterclaim to bring the emulator back to Steam, but that could force Nintendo to sue the development team. If that happens, it could have life-altering consequences for those involved, and in an interview with hacker Gary Bowser in the past, Nintendo said it would remove kitchen sinks from those it believed had wronged them. It shows that you are not afraid to throw. On the one hand, the victory of the Dolphin emulator will have a big impact on emulation developers around the world.
The Dolphin emulator is unlikely to return to Steam again, but those familiar with Nintendo probably noticed this coming shortly after the announcement was made. Nintendo has yet to get in touch with the Dolphin emulator team itself or the website that already hosts it, so it’s possible the company is just having issues with official distribution on Steam. We will continue to update you if the situation develops further.