Yet another emulator bites the dust, in the aftermath of the Tropic Haze/Yuzu vs. Nintendo case. Pizza Boy, a $5.49 paid app on the Google Play Store, has been taken down and is no longer available for purchase. Developer Davide made an announcement post explaining that he has permanently removed his app from the Play Store, citing the reasoning as, "I have chosen to prioritize my family over the development of my apps." With the implication that he has not been forced to delist his emulator, but has chosen to do so as a precaution after other emulator developers have been affected. Currently, several other paid GBA/GBC emulators are still available on the Play Store, including John GBA, My Boy!, and Nostalgia.GBA.

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[MikaDubbz]

When you're charging for an emulator, you are unquestionably doing something unlawful. Totally get how and why this kind of emulator would be pulled by a creator (or at the very least, moving to completely free) fearful of being sued. If you want money for an emulator, you give it away for free and within the app ask for donations for their work.

 

[duwen]

Not saying that the devs of these emulators shouldn't be compensated for their hardwork, but making these things 'paid' products doesn't sit well with me.
You should NEVER pay for piracy.
I know that the YUZU/CITRA situation was slightly different, being as it was patreon donations... I just wonder if the outcome might have been different if the patreon donations were linked to the devs githubs rather than the product page for the emu's.

 

[raxadian]

Unlike the Nintendo DS emulator this isn't a great loss, there are several free options to run GBA and GBC games on Android.

 

[Tomtani1]

Davide, go on, take the money and run.

 

[Slinger]

This just keeps going... That settlement between Yuzu and Nintendo has pretty much set the stage here, hasn't it? There's no way of telling who would've won that fight, but that doesn't matter now. We're facing a bleak future.

I'm 5'4, I would lose the case on that alone

I disagree! That means you're exactly the height of Queen Elizabeth, as well as the exact minimum height for a NASA shuttle pilot!

 

[James_]

:/
NGL, I feel like these people are becoming cowards. I honestly doubt Nintendo is going to go after every emulator

Ah yes, being a coward for... deciding to take care of your family instead of having a chance of getting sued out your ass and making your family bankrupt.

I don't fucking get this anymore.

 

[ciaomao]

Let's just hope that retroarch is spared.

 

[PopcornSweetie]

Best GBA and GB emulators ever. I bought the pro versions back in 2021 and downloaded them after i read this.

Sad to see them being pulled, but family above anything. He made the right decision and i support that.

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2024

Good thing I got this Pizza whilst it was still hot, along with DraStic.

For fuck's sake Nintendo STOP - you're not directly related here, so STOP SCARING PEOPLE.

Same with me, got them both. At least i am fine with the fact that i supported these great individuals.

 

[eyeliner]

Paid emus will probably be removed eventually. If they don't provide any financial incentive unless donations, they should be OK.

But paywalls ain't too good, and Nintendo uses this as a very powerful weapon.

 

[supershadow64ds]

Good. Freeware reigns supreme.

 

[J-Will]

When will this nightmare end?

 

[Maq47]

Watch them post an 'update' in 24 days that says "April Fools!, we're back, and the app is completely free now!".
Joking, but you never know.

 

[pustal]

When you're charging for an emulator, you are unquestionably doing something unlawful. Totally get how and why this kind of emulator would be pulled by a creator (or at the very least, moving to completely free) fearful of being sued. If you want money for an emulator, you give it away for free and within the app ask for donations for their work.

How the hell is it unlawful?

What caused Yuzu to be sued wasn't that they charged for it, it was that they detailed how to extract IP protected data under US law, like firmware and keys and that they added detailed support for leaked titles before they came out, which could be argued to promote piracy.

There is US legal precedence for emulation, hence why Nintendo doesn't go after all emulator made in the US (or elsewhere, we've seen with Team Xecuter that jurisdiction limits don't really matter for Nintendo or the US system). And there is nothing illegal about charging for your hard work.

It might worsen things if you are profiting and "facilitating piracy", which supports intent, but if you are not doing the second, nothing illegal about the first.

Also, again, the Yuzu lawsuit was settled outside of court, there is no legal ramifications made from there.

 

[KeeperCP1]

GAH! Nintendo's messing up with us a LOT and i've HAD IT. Yuzu, Citra, and now people are forced to hide from N such as the person behind Pizza Boy.
Oh well, at least we still have the Retroarch mGBA core.

 

[Sir Tortoise]

Ah yes, being a coward for... deciding to take care of your family instead of having a chance of getting sued out your ass and making your family bankrupt.

I don't fucking get this anymore.

Did he even think for one second about my right to conveniently emulate Gameboy games on my phone when he decided to do that? Huh? Didn't think so. Some people just have no consideration for others, man.

/s (unfortunately required)

 

[Tuhr]

Cowards? Really? Feel free to stare into the Abyss, be my guest.

Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster. For when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

 

[Blakeskits]

we are witnessing the death of modern emulation.
First they pull the funds and next the emulators will be developed slower with less updates over more time eventually stopping support due to no money

 

[Tuhr]

we are witnessing the death of modern emulation.
First they pull the funds and next the emulators will be developed slower with less updates over more time eventually stopping support due to no money

Not really, simply not making installable Nintendo emulators solves much. What console hacks need are browsers to access online emulators, then make too many sites than Nintendo can sue or stop more from cropping up. Pizza was for Android, already has a browser and Internet access. Wayback Machine already has online emulators even if nobody else does.

 

[J-Will]

https://archive.org/details/pizza-boy-gba-pro-v2.8.4.apk

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2024

Not really, simply not making Nintendo emulators solves much.

Not really, simply not making Nintendo emulators doesn't solve much.

 

[Tuhr]

https://archive.org/details/pizza-boy-gba-pro-v2.8.4.apk

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2024

Not really, simply not making Nintendo emulators doesn't solve much.

I edited it to be more specific. You don't need an installable emulator, emulation will never die. API is the future not EXE or APK.

Edit/ what can Nintendo do about API on private home servers? Yes, it costs more to buy the hardware but Nintendo can do zilch about it.