Nintendo Sues Yuzu: The End of Emulators?

[Rambo919]

Either way, if you charge anything for FOSS.... you make yourself a target for lawsuits by anyone annoyed at your success.

 

[ls612]

So in the United States, you actually do not have an inherent right to any software even if you purchase a copy of it on a disc to use on your computer. In all cases and this is established since ProCD v Zeidenberg, you are only being sold a limited license to use the software that can be unilaterally revoked by the seller at any time. Because you signed the EULA by installing the software and that is binding.

So if a company shuts down a game you don’t have a right to play it either even if you bought it. You certainly don’t have a right to copy it and you don’t have an inherent right to break it open and modify it either. Now for hardware emulation, as Amadeus said, maybe that’s okay. But ROMs? Really doesn’t look like it. The only distinction of abandonware is that the licenses aren’t being tested. But they’re still owned. And some dusty file cabinets somewhere will tell you who still owns them.

The issue is not every place has laws like DMCA 1201 and yuzu is open source so even if Nintendo won, yuzu development could likely shift to other people in other countries which don't have these awful laws.

 

[Gorbles]

Why? The question of how to monetise OS software is still open, but I see nothing wrong with releasing the product as GPL and charging for support. Compare that to red hat who contactually prevent you using your legal right to redistribute GPL software they supply.

Saying "you can build the binaries yourself" isn't the open access step it is being phrased to be in-thread.

There's a knowledge barrier to these things, and it isn't going away.

 

[Samson]

Saying "you can build the binaries yourself" isn't the open access step it is being phrased to be in-thread.

There's a knowledge barrier to these things, and it isn't going away.

Yeah. Do you think that makes paid support unethical as a business model? It is hard to monetise OS development, any opportunities that comply with the letter and spirit of the licence seem fair game to me.

 

[Gorbles]

Yeah. Do you think that makes paid support unethical as a business model? It is hard to monetise OS development, any opportunities that comply with the letter and spirit of the licence seem fair game to me.

I think donations are absolutely fair. I think "pay or you don't get the product unless you have the technical expertise to build a program from source files yourself" is a very dangerous game to be playing legally around providing a product (or service) for money.

Do I think it's unethical? Eh. I prefer donations with no catches. Or some kind of a subscription model. But that's preference. Not sure how it maps to ethics.

 

[Crezth]

The issue is not every place has laws like DMCA 1201 and yuzu is open source so even if Nintendo won, yuzu development could likely shift to other people in other countries which don't have these awful laws.

Sure, and Nintendo will have to ask some more enterprising thugs to go out of their way to find you and extradite you and garnish your wages for your entire life. It does make it trickier for them to have to do that, after all, rather than just call local police. Unless local police in where’ve you are are also enterprising and reasonable men.

 

[danjuno]

Clearly this calls for a plot to assassinate Mario! Hmm, but how? Poisoned spaghetti, landmine strapped to a Goomba's head, call to fix the toilets at Taco Bell?

 

[Broken_Erika]

Clearly this calls for a plot to assassinate Mario! Hmm, but how? Poisoned spaghetti, landmine strapped to a Goomba's head, call to fix the toilets at Taco Bell?

Send him to Vice City

Spoiler :

 

[ls612]

Sure, and Nintendo will have to ask some more enterprising thugs to go out of their way to find you and extradite you and garnish your wages for your entire life. It does make it trickier for them to have to do that, after all, rather than just call local police. Unless local police in where’ve you are are also enterprising and reasonable men.

idk it's one thing to make modchips its another thing to develop software. And plenty of countries won't extradite you for this sort of thing. With two mature codebases out there I'd have to imagine that development will continue in some form or another.

 

[Akka]

Nintendo just seems intent on scaring away, but it doesn't seem to have anything to stand on unless the Yuzu guys did something really stupid. It seems to be more of a "sue them until their funds go dry even though we can't actually win in law court" strategy.

 

[Crezth]

idk it's one thing to make modchips its another thing to develop software. And plenty of countries won't extradite you for this sort of thing. With two mature codebases out there I'd have to imagine that development will continue in some form or another.

Which ones? Plenty of countries also can’t do a damn thing to save you when some ex-Mossad private security agents take a letter of marque from the Japanese government to scalp as many hackers as possible. Where in the world are you actually safe from private security agents?

And again you say making mod chips is different than software but that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

 

[ls612]

Which ones? Plenty of countries also can’t do a damn thing to save you when some ex-Mossad private security agents take a letter of marque from the Japanese government to scalp as many hackers as possible. Where in the world are you actually safe from private security agents?

And again you say making mod chips is different than software but that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

That isn’t what happened in the case you are describing so I don’t think that that should be a huge worry.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Reminder:
Copyright support allows for this to happen.

 

[Crezth]

That isn’t what happened in the case you are describing so I don’t think that that should be a huge worry.

If you’re not familiar with the lengths companies have gone to to protect their intellectual property, I guess you can do whatever you want. No need to look over your shoulder. You got this, Hustler!

 

[Gorbles]

The Tweet I originally got this from has gone now (the person who posted it said it was getting too much attention), but allegedly Yuzu locked specific Tears of the Kingdom emulation fixes behind (paid) Patreon support. This was apparently a large factor in why Nintendo was going to win this case.

 

[ls612]

DMCA 1201 is effectively the end of personal property that can be made to use electricity.

 

[Sommerswerd]

I was under the impression that the big gaming companies had already wack-a-moled all the emulators out of business and they had gone the way of Napster. I had no idea that emulators were still a thing. They were great nostalgia, especially since they didn't require tracking down and maintaining all those old systems and individual, out-of-print games you used to play and love.