I’m frustrated by the Yuzu/Nintendo settlement; it sets a dangerous precedent:
>Developing or distributing software…that…functions only when cryptographic keys are integrated without authorization, violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act…because the software is primarily designed for the purpose of circumventing technological measures.
Isn’t that how *every* emulator works? What does this mean for game preservation?
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/4/24090357/nintendo-yuzu-emulator-lawsuit-settlement
@cassidy I feel the fact they had a $30K/mo patreon didn't help their case at all. That's wildly different to some random open source emulator you may find online, that reads already-decrypted rom files, surely?
@killyourfm @popey @cassidy what if I told you that, whether Switch emulators exist or not, people would still play pirated games on [clutches pearls] **official hardware**?
That is to say, Yuzu wasn't encouraging piracy. Nintendo's own business model of hardware exclusivity is.
@gardiner_bryant @popey @cassidy If you told me that, I would look at you intently, wearing my “let’s be real with other” hat, and say that a significantly smaller percentage of people would go to the trouble of playing those pirated games on official hardware than would play them by simply downloading a ROM and playing them anywhere.
That being said: Nintendo truly does a terrible job of game preservation for titles on their platforms.
@killyourfm @popey @cassidy if Nintendo truly cared about preventing "piracy," they'd sell their games on PC. But they don't, so we can deduce that this is about intimidation, bullying, and maintaining an illegal monopoly over their artificial market.
@gardiner_bryant @popey @cassidy Heh, can’t exactly argue that point. What does Nintendo have if their hardware fails? They turn into SEGA…
The reason Microsoft and Sony can put their games on PC is that they have so much to fall back on. (I’m not defending Nintendo here — they are woefully behind the times when it comes to stuff like this)
@killyourfm @popey @cassidy err... There's a gulf of quality between Sega and Nintendo franchises. If Nintendo released their games on PC, they'd make an absolute fortune. It would more than make up for the loss of hardware sales.
But I will never forgive Nintendo for this and I will never buy anything from them ever again. It is second hand market or bust for me. Which no doubt they would also argue should be illegal.
@gardiner_bryant @popey @cassidy … which is why I’m truly disappointed to see Citra get taken down alongside Yuzu. It’s one thing if the platform holder doesn’t want to preserve their OWN titles, but it’s not fair when those 3rd-party gems (like stuff from the eShop) go MIA.
Yes, I’m conflicted.