Nintendo recently filed a lawsuit against the creators of the popular Nintendo Switch emulator, Yuzu. Is it a crime to bring Nintendo Switch-exclusive favorites to PC users? Not really, so on what grounds does Nintendo’s case stand?
The official accusation is “Facilitating piracy at a colossal scale,” as Nintendo put it in their 41-page lawsuit against Yuzu’s developer Tropic Haze. Since highly acclaimed titles like The Legend of Zelda series are not available on the PC or on Android phones, those that run on the Yuzu emulator are cracked software of Nintendo’s Switch games.
Emulators have never been deemed illegal in the U.S. before, but the digital copies of the video game that the emulators run could have legally dubious origins. Notably, Nintendo also alleges that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was pirated a million times before its release in May 2023.
This is not the first time Nintendo has cracked down on emulator developers. In 2023, the Dolphin Emulator Project was also under legal fire by Nintendo over copyright and piracy claims. Despite having worked towards a Steam release, the creators had to abandon the project. It was impossible to release the emulator because they would have to seek Nintendo’s permission to publish.
A similar thing happened in the early 2000s with the Bleemcast! emulator. Bleemcast! made it possible for PlayStation disks to be used in the Sega Dreamcast. During the pre-order stage of their emulator, Bleemcast! received a lawsuit from Sony alleging Unfair Competition and Patent Infringement. Bleem! Company didn’t lose to Sony in lawsuits, but the cost of fighting the legal battles was reportedly too great and led to the emulator’s shutdown.
That may be a part of the reason that, as of March 4, 2024, Yuzu Emulator has already been discontinued. Tropic Haze decided to settle the lawsuit by paying $2,400,000 to Nintendo.
(featured image: Nintendo)
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed the Bleemcast! legal battle, and Sega Dreamcast, to Nintendo.
