Nintendo has sent Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices to more than 8,000 GitHub repositories hosting Yuzu Switch emulator code, which the “Legend of Zelda” maker has previously described as “massive piracy.” Two months ago, Yuzu’s creator quickly settled with Nintendo and its notoriously combative legal team for $2.4 million.
Game Industry Network First notified of the DMCA notice, affecting 8,535 GitHub repositories. The redacted entity representing Nintendo claims that the Yuzu source code included in the repurchase agreement “illegally circumvents Nintendo’s technical protection measures and runs illegal copies of Switch games.”
GitHub wrote in the notice that developers will have time to change their content before being disabled. In keeping with its developer-friendly approach and branding, the Microsoft-owned platform also provides legal resources and guidance for filing DMCA counter-notices.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that Nintendo’s legal blitz coincides with a renaissance in gaming emulators. Last month, Apple loosened restrictions on retro gamers in the App Store (possibly in response to regulatory threats), resulting in the Delta emulator becoming the de facto choice and topping the App Store charts. Nintendo may have realized that emulator limelight was threatening its bottom line and started suppressing the games that most directly jeopardized its revenue stream.
Sadly, Nintendo’s largely undefended legal attack on emulators ignores an important use of emulators that has nothing to do with piracy. Game historians view this software as key to the game’s preservation. Without emulators, Nintendo and other rights holders could render parts of history obsolete for generations to come because their corresponding hardware will ultimately be harder to obtain.
