[UPDATE] The entry on the Dolphin blog has been changed slightly to more accurately reflect the situation. While their original post yesterday said Valve had received a DMCA takedown notice from Nintendo, the revision now claims it is a cease & desist order citing the Anti-Circumvention provisions in the DMCA.

Pierre Bourdon, a former member of the Dolphin team, has claimed on Mastodon that the order originated with Valve. He reports that Valve reached out to Nintendo regarding Dolphin, and Nintendo issued the C&D in response. If this is the case, it would impact Dolphin's available options for recourse as Valve retains the right to remove listings from their storefront. It also means, however, that Nintendo is not pursuing legal action against the Dolphin team right now.

---

[ORIGINAL STORY] Back in March, the team behind the Dolphin GameCube/Wii emulator announced that they would be bringing Dolphin to Steam sometime in the second quarter of 2023. However, the release seems to be indefinitely delayed after Valve received a DMCA notice from Nintendo. Posting on their blog today, the team announced that Steam had contacted them to let them know of the takedown notice and that the page will be down "until the matter is settled." The team is currently investigating their options and promise a more in-depth update as soon as possible.

PC Gamer claims to have reviewed the document, dated today, May 26. It reads, in part:

Because the Dolphin emulator violates Nintendo’s intellectual property rights, including but not limited to its rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)’s Anti-Circumvention and AntiTrafficking provisions, 17 U.S.C. § 1201, we provide this notice to you of your obligation to remove the offering of the Dolphin emulator from the Steam store.

The Dolphin emulator operates by incorporating these cryptographic keys without Nintendo’s authorization and decrypting the ROMs at or immediately before runtime. Thus, use of the Dolphin emulator unlawfully 'circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under' the Copyright Act.

Nintendo is attacking the Dolphin Emulator under the DMCA's Anti-Circumvention provisions, citing the inclusion of the Wii's common key in Dolphin's source code. Nintendo argues that because the common key allows Dolphin to decrypt data, it allows users to illegally circumvent measures put in place to control access to works protected under the Copyright Act - in this case, GameCube and Wii games.

Dolphin is somewhat unique in distributing this key already built in to its source code, as most emulators require the end user to provide a key or BIOS on their own. Emulator frontend RetroArch has also been added to Steam but, contrary to Dolphin, hasn't been the target of DMCA attacks by Nintendo, likely because its builds and cores require external BIOS and key files not found within their source code.

As of now, it appears as if this only affects Dolphin Emulator's upcoming release on Steam. It is still available to download on the official website.

 

[MochaMilk]

♫"I wanna be the very worst
Like no one ever was
To sue them is my real test
To ruin them is my cause
I will travel across the land
Lawsuiting far and wide
Teach modders to understand
The corruption that's inside

(Ninténdo
Gotta sue'em all) It's you and me
I know it's my destiny (Ninténdo)
Oh, you're not my friend
In a fanbase that's condemned (Ninténdo
Gotta sue'em all) A heart so cruel
Love playing you for a fool
You pay me and I'll cheat you (Ooh, ooh)
Ninténdo! (Gotta sue'em all)
Gotta sue'em all
Screw you!" ♫

 

[Spider_Man]

This was completely expected. Plus Nintendo is now inching closer and closer towards shutting down emulators, no matter if the code was legally written or not.

Post automatically merged: May 27, 2023

They won’t because they would have to target the actual Core DLC that emulates Nintendo devices.

But its no different, its nintendo thinking they can rule the world by sending their legal team.

I bet they have a solicitor sat thee thinking..... hmm. How can I keep making money out of nintendo.... I know ill just sit and watch gaming sites and Google shit about nintendo


This has the perfect win.

1, the gamecube is no longer active on the market.


2, the wii also is no longer on the market.

EMULATION, does not condone piracy, it never provides any roms/iso files, you have to find them or dump them yourself.

So the question begs, the rom sites people grab their games are illegal, BUT the emulator that has 0 use of any nintendo code (hence why games run better), so nothing illegal here.

Funny how they target valve as it, like many devices before it, actually competed against nintendo with its cheap nasty bull shit switch console.... likely they plan to release a 2nd console based on the new nvidia chip (which they have been told switch will no longer be manufactured, so they upgrade or find alternative).

Obviously nintendo WILL NOT cough up the dollar to upgrade its already cheap inferior machine, they'll use it and their emulation team to announce another portable console, be it a switch 2 or a dedicated home console.... I think more of another switch like console because its cheaper and we all know how nintendo love to force the gaming industry in the past....... look at how long and how many recycled SNES portable consoles we had...... until Sony came along with the PSP, and still, nintendo released a fucking terrible gaming device in favor of, yup, you guess it, another fucking gimmick.


What makes it even more funny is that nintendo are even known for actually using these so cod illegal rom hacks/dumps and claiming ownership and selling because they cant be arsed to fix their own IP and make it work on intended console.

Pretty much the deal with nvidia to make a emulator in the hope that the switch could run its own games, with 0 input from nintendo... the cunts behind their own console/games.

The fanboys really need to stop supporting nintendo, they bring nothing new to the table other than a FAD, WOW, GIMMICk, like its consoles, die VERY FAST.

GAMING is never innovative, it is always recycled and becomes the typical nintendo, recycled formula but once would say prettier graphics (but of recent its not, just higher display resolution).

Your buying a console off nintendo and invest in its so called seal of quality bull crap to play all the old shit they lacked first time round.... and even more soe, more of the old nintendo shit ported again.

Dont get me wrong, gaming is gaming and you should enjoy it if thats what you like, but FUCK RIGH OFF!! Nintendo build their greedy empire on just this.

They restrict 3rd parties from ACTUALLY supporting the console - GIVING YOU, THE CONSUMER THE OPTION TO PLAY TODAYS AAA TITLES.

all they care about is ensuring the market and competition is open to their own recycled IP, which fact is, never really changes does it, its always the same shit over and over again.

Wow switch had Mario TURN into a T-Rex..... yea erm wipe the cum stain up fanboys, its still the same recycled shit since the 80s, only difference is, you dont have to exit the level each time you gain a fucking shiney.

Zelda is even worse, to even think we waited all these years for a new zelda title and what did we end up with, A FUCKING TECH DEMO OF HOW THE SWITCH DILDOS COULD BE USED FOR MOTION CONTROL.

Then came the much needed DLC to please the fanboys as nintendo later admitted the game was very fucking boring and it lacked anything story driven.

Then came the dlc.

Then followed by the fact nintendo admitting, there's so much dlc we should just crap out a new game.....

And thus, Tears out of the dogs arse.

The exact same bug riddled game, now with all of these bullshit floating islands and below dungeons.... that had ZERO sing in the default game.

So whats this, nintendo have 0 initiative and just make shit up, ohh well, we will just claim the backstory fucked off into the sky....... well why couldn't we see any trace of this prior to your BS excuse to milk another shit sequel.

I have always said in this forum, I used to be a fan of nintendo, loved nintendo games, especially zelda, but I just can't sit there pat decades and see how this company gets away with releasing cheap shit nasty consoles to recycle the same shit with gimmicks.

Its NEVER adds replayable fun, its a 10min wow factor then ends up collecting dust.

Nintendo are cleaver because its as if they have managed to brain wash their fanboys and girls into thinking YOU MUST have a nintendo console to enjoy or should I say re purchase the same recycled shit over and over.

So once the dedicated fanbase wakes up from their slumber...... kinda like link and think fuck sake zelda I'm outta this shit.

Or Mario, fuck me, she just doesn't dig me and peach is into beastieality and not Mario.

Thing is, we see the gaming industry move and change and update......

Nintendo ALWAYS remains in the past.

 

[SDA]

Nintendo going against emulators now? Well done (sarcasm), guess all the other Nintendo console emulators are going to die now.

 

[Dungeonseeker]

So many people don't seem to understand what's happening here....

Nintendo are not and cannot stop emulation. This is an established legal precedence that they simply cannot change. Their tactic is, and always has been, to instead go after the distribution methods since they realise Valve are not going to waste time and money going to bat for Dolphin and the Dolphin team probably cannot afford to defend themselves against the might of Nintendo.

Its essentially bullying tactics to force the outcome they desire and unfortunately, in the legal system money and power has more weight than the truth. Even if Nintendo cold never get a positive ruling they can still drain a project of all its funds and force them into closing.

Honestly, I kinda hope Valve does step up and demand Nintendo, at the very least defend the DMCA and show what exactly is being infringed by them distributing a freely available piece of software.

I've said it before but to reiterate, Nintendo are shitting themselves. Steam Deck is so far ahead of the Switch it can literally emulate it and get better FPS at a higher resolution, they have no new hardware coming in the near future and the current handheld trend is probably gonna take away a pretty huge chunk of their market. They are in full damage control mode right now.

 

[Beaukilla]

Who's using steam for a dolphin emulator? Idiots, play with fire something something...

 

[peteruk]

and Nintendo still wonders why bad things keep happening to them

 

[Bladexdsl]

and they thought nintendo would actually allow it and not do anything?!

 

[DoctorBagPhD]

Fuck Nintendo and fuck all the idiot unpaid shills that defend them.

 

[M7L7NK7]

Hmm, you keen for retro games to only be playable by rich collectors?

Where did I say that? I just find everyone dogpiling on Nintendo at any chance they get just to seem cool really weird and cringe

Edit: like most of the posts on this page above this one, it's hilarious

 

[lordelan]

They never cared about Dolphin. The only reason they do now has to do something with their plans. It's always that way.
That means: The Switch 2 comes next year and will have Wii emulation on board, probably even allowing Wii remotes to pair (MissionControl already does it).

Anyway: Every total noob can install and use Dolphin. On the Steam Deck it's especially super simple by using emuDeck so Nintendo won't achieve anything with this nonsense (as usual).

 

[SubstituteCS]

So many people don't seem to understand what's happening here....

Nintendo are not and cannot stop emulation. This is an established legal precedence that they simply cannot change. Their tactic is, and always has been, to instead go after the distribution methods since they realise Valve are not going to waste time and money going to bat for Dolphin and the Dolphin team probably cannot afford to defend themselves against the might of Nintendo.

Its essentially bullying tactics to force the outcome they desire and unfortunately, in the legal system money and power has more weight than the truth. Even if Nintendo cold never get a positive ruling they can still drain a project of all its funds and force them into closing.

Honestly, I kinda hope Valve does step up and demand Nintendo, at the very least defend the DMCA and show what exactly is being infringed by them distributing a freely available piece of software.

I've said it before but to reiterate, Nintendo are shitting themselves. Steam Deck is so far ahead of the Switch it can literally emulate it and get better FPS at a higher resolution, they have no new hardware coming in the near future and the current handheld trend is probably gonna take away a pretty huge chunk of their market. They are in full damage control mode right now.

Dolphin is in the wrong. They shot themselves in the foot by distributing the crypto keys inside of the emulator themselves instead of having end-users provide the keys.

They could resolve this issue by removing those keys and then it’ll be all legit.

 

[Dungeonseeker]

They never cared about Dolphin. The only reason they do now has to do something with their plans. It's always that way.
That means: The Switch 2 comes next year and will have Wii emulation on board, probably even allowing Wii remotes to pair (MissionControl already does it).

Anyway: Every total noob can install and use Dolphin. On the Steam Deck it's especially super simple by using emuDeck so Nintendo won't achieve anything with this nonsense (as usual).

You're being WAAAAY too optimistic. Remember we heard about the "NX" a good 18 months before it released, we heard about Mariko (might be the wrong name but I CBA to Google it now, leave me alone ) 12 months before it released and finally, the OLED version was (in rumour at least) supposed to be an upgraded hardware revision but at some point was scrapped and we heard about that 12 months before the OLED model launched.

Speculation here: Nintendo scrapped the hardware upgrade because they saw the writing on the wall with Steam Deck/AyaNeo etc and decided to move away from ARM entirely.

Nvidia seemed to have pivoted entirely towards datacenter and machine learning ASICs, you only gotta look at them releasing a 3060 as a 4060ti then having the cajones to ask another $100 for 8GB of ram so the card is actually useful. They have no real incentive to keep developing Tegra, it was intended to be used in the automotive industry, it entirely failed and Nintendo are literally the only ones left using it. I would say with pretty high confidence that Tegra X2 will be the last version they ever make which leaves Nintendo stuck between a dead platform and lower performance than the most basic x86 chip. Lets remember that the X2 is only around 50% more powerful than the X1.

If the "Switch 2" ever launches it will be on x86, its the only way Nintendo has a chance of competing. IMO though Nintendo are more likely to scrap the Switch entirely and move on to something else.

Edit - Actually, I wonder how hard it would be to add an X86 SoC to the dock and write a custom translation layer so you could play the handheld as per the Switch but then dock it into an X86 dock and have everything seamless like it is now?

 

[Chrisssj2]

Just ignore it? they are not in their rights so

 

[EpikJimmer]

CALLED IT.
Knew it from the fucking start this would happen.

 

[Dungeonseeker]

Dolphin is in the wrong. They shot themselves in the foot by distributing the crypto keys inside of the emulator themselves instead of having end-users provide the keys.

They could resolve this issue by removing those keys and then it’ll be all legit.

I mean, fair enough. Doesn't really alter my point though, why should Valve not be able to distribute something that is already freely available everywhere else? Nintendo SHOULD be DMCA'ing the project, not Valve. The only reason they did is because they are worried about the Deck.

 

[EpikJimmer]

ffff what the fuck even.
First the 3ds update, now THIS?

WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO ACHIEVE HERE IT'S OUT OF MY COMPREHENSION

 

[SubstituteCS]

I mean, fair enough. Doesn't really alter my point though, why should Valve not be able to distribute something that is already freely available everywhere else? Nintendo SHOULD be DMCA'ing the project, not Valve. The only reason they did is because they are worried about the Deck.

They (Nintendo) has to send the DMCA to Valve as it’s Valve’s website.

Think of it like a convention, if a booth is selling bootlegs you don’t go to the booth, you go to the organizers and tell them to kick the booth out.

 

[ertaboy356b]

You're being WAAAAY too optimistic. Remember we heard about the "NX" a good 18 months before it released, we heard about Mariko (might be the wrong name but I CBA to Google it now, leave me alone ) 12 months before it released and finally, the OLED version was (in rumour at least) supposed to be an upgraded hardware revision but at some point was scrapped and we heard about that 12 months before the OLED model launched.

Speculation here: Nintendo scrapped the hardware upgrade because they saw the writing on the wall with Steam Deck/AyaNeo etc and decided to move away from ARM entirely.

Nvidia seemed to have pivoted entirely towards datacenter and machine learning ASICs, you only gotta look at them releasing a 3060 as a 4060ti then having the cajones to ask another $100 for 8GB of ram so the card is actually useful. They have no real incentive to keep developing Tegra, it was intended to be used in the automotive industry, it entirely failed and Nintendo are literally the only ones left using it. I would say with pretty high confidence that Tegra X2 will be the last version they ever make which leaves Nintendo stuck between a dead platform and lower performance than the most basic x86 chip. Lets remember that the X2 is only around 50% more powerful than the X1.

If the "Switch 2" ever launches it will be on x86, its the only way Nintendo has a chance of competing. IMO though Nintendo are more likely to scrap the Switch entirely and move on to something else.

Edit - Actually, I wonder how hard it would be to add an X86 SoC to the dock and write a custom translation layer so you could play the handheld as per the Switch but then dock it into an X86 dock and have everything seamless like it is now?

ARM is the future. X86 can only go so far.

 

[SubstituteCS]

ARM is the future. X86 can only go so far.

Only if high performance low TPD cpus make their way out to the consumer.
Right now x86_64 has the simple advantage of being the incumbent.

 

[Dungeonseeker]

They (Nintendo) has to send the DMCA to Valve as it’s Valve’s website.

Think of it like a convention, if a booth is selling bootlegs you don’t go to the booth, you go to the organizers and tell them to kick the booth out.

Or you go the police and get them arrested, find out where the supply is coming from and shutdown the entire operation.

Again, if Dolphin are distributing Nintendo property then Nintendo should go after them directly. I understand why Valve must comply, I don't understand why they target Valve when Dolphin is 3 clicks away anyway? Or more accurately I do, N don't care about Dolphin, they care about Deck killing the Switch.

Post automatically merged: May 27, 2023

ARM is the future. X86 can only go so far.

Care to elaborate? Its not like they're using pixie dust to fab ARM CPUs, any limits imposed on x86 also exist on ARM.