Nintendo has yet again issued a series of DMCA takedowns across GitHub that specfically target popular Nintendo Switch emulators. Nintendo's reasoning is to protect its copyrighted IP and prevent unauthorized distribution.

It's common knowledge that most emulators worth their weight do not themselves include any cryptographic keys - with most requiring users provide their own. However, Nintendo has previously insisted that such emulators facilitate copyright infringement rather than claiming them to be illegal as such, and as of now, no court has formally ruled that using or distributing emulators without games violates copyright.

Of course, emulators offer many benefits rather than simply "facilitating piracy". One of the big ones, being of course; game preservation - allowing future generations to experience games that might no longer be available for purchase or that have been delisted. Emulators can also be a great help to users with accessiblity needs, providing alternate input options for those that need it.

What do you think? Is Nintendo justified in its crusade against emulators or should they take a step back?

Source

 

[CYYAN]

Why even use GitHub? Just self-host or use one of the thousands of Russian-hosted clones that don't care about DMCA requests.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

I don't know anyone who plays their legal copies and dumped firmware of the console on an emulator, so yes... it's used for piracy.

i'm not sure how that logic makes any sense, while there is alot of people who use emulators for piracy there are also lot's of people who use it playing their dumped copies, I quite literally use melon DS to record gameplay because i don't have a DS capture card and the compatibility is alot better than the wii u vc inject.

both sides of the coin exist, it's just that unfortunately one side is obnoxiously loud and proud of their endeavors and this started during the eshop shut down, or at the very least was already going on amplified because of it.

 

[KidIce]

What else do you think emulators are used for? other than running 100% piracy software. It’s not as though you can say they are used for homebrew purposes

They most certainly are used to develop homebrew and in fact also used to develop commercial titles. One doesn't code on the console they are targeting, they do it on a PC. It's a hell of a lot faster and easier to test one's new code on an emulator on that same PC rather then write/burn it to that consoles' medium and test it on the actual target.

One will eventually test it on the "real thing", but for smaller adjustments it's far better to do it on an emulator.

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

except that those emulators are used for 99.999% piracy

No need to simp for Nintendo

Miyamoto will never fuck you

 

[Captain-Z]

Are tweezers and paperclips illegal?

They are if you can demonstrate they have a significant commercial impact on copyright holders.

 

[DolphinPussy]

No need to simp for Nintendo

Miyamoto will never fuck you

Nintendo was only ever worth defending when it was Reggie who would do the breeding.

 

[Kingofknights]

this means a new direct coming soon with tons of sw2 upgrade. hoping for xeno series

 

[Kioku]

No need to simp for Nintendo

Miyamoto will never fuck you

TIL Nintendo makes the only consoles people emulate.. wait...

As much I think Nintendo is shitting the bed here, where's the lie? Emulation is damn near exclusively used for piracy. Don't need to lie about it, no shame here. It's weird how people skirt around this...

 

[Pleng]

I'm literally sick of hearing about Nintendo in any context lately.

Firstly if you are literally sick, you should see a doctor.

Secondly, if you're sick of hearing about Nintendo in any context then, as you have been advised before: you are on the wrong site.

 

[The Catboy]

except that those emulators are used for 99.999% piracy

That's not relevant, and as an argument, it's a slippery slope. PCs can be used for piracy. Your phone can be used for piracy. When you really think about it, your operating system doesn't stop piracy and thus can be used for piracy. Regardless, emulators are legal as long as they are not distributing copyrighted files; Nintendo shouldn't be able to do anything to them. The Big N is overstepping and abusing the DMCA when attacking emulators.

 

[DJ-Yoshiman]

They are if you can demonstrate they have a significant commercial impact on copyright holders.

Paperclips and tweezers are now illegal - you heard it here, first. Office departments, you are now to rely on staplers for organizing documents, and medical procedures will never be the same. Chaos and anarchy reigns amongst first world countries.

You, you reading this post. Don't you even think about trying to 3D print a twirl - could be interpreted as a paperclip.

Oh shit, I have feds knocking on my door because I used the word paperclip and now they're ta-

 

[Kitocco]

Sure, they can be used for piracy, in the same way that a knife can be used for stabbing someone to death. But both have uses that are useful and legitimate.

Ehhh, I don't think the knives comparison is appropriate per se. There isn't that much skin at risk.

This is more on par with campaigning against photocopiers & the printing press because "what if they're used to copy concert & movie tickets? Or worse... MONEY!? HOW WILL THE ECONOMY RECOVER FROM THIS?!?!?!"

 

[Lumstar]

Seems as if all of the relevant ones are still chugging along fine. Only one of them is on GitHub, while the others host their own repositories anyways since they learned it the hard way from the last emulators & GitHub takedowns. I don't see any of them going away soon, and the only one at risk is Eden, since it is officially on GitHub, whereas Citron and the others aren't.

Also, am I the only one that finds it ridiculous that Nintendo doesn't learn for shit? They tried it before, and what happened? As the saying about the Hydra goes: Cut off one head, three more grow in its place. Nintendo is playing whack-a-mole, and the moles double each time they knock one down. It's a battle they simply cannot win.

It might be an impossible battle, but on the books it's still "the law". The DMCA's anti-circumvention provision complicates lawful ways to emulate the Switch.

 

[MPRTwice]

I was wondering when this article would show up.

Post automatically merged: Feb 15, 2026

for running games over 9000 times better than their original pathetic tablet could in the first place!

Bingo!

Post automatically merged: Feb 15, 2026

TIL Nintendo makes the only consoles people emulate.. wait...

As much I think Nintendo is shitting the bed here, where's the lie? Emulation is damn near exclusively used for piracy. Don't need to lie about it, no shame here. It's weird how people skirt around this...

Tell that to my purchased and dumped 3DS library, and my purchased switch games, and my gog.com purchased collection:

No need to go after the innocent along with the guilty. Make a distinction.

 

[szubiennica]

What else do you think emulators are used for? other than running 100% piracy software. It’s not as though you can say they are used for homebrew purposes

- replacing low quality textures
- playing translated games
- rendering games on higher resolution
- playing a game the most comfortable way
- having freedom of choice

 

[MPRTwice]

- replacing low quality textures
- playing translated games
- rendering games on higher resolution
- playing a game a most comfortable game
- having freedom of choice

Awesome list!

-and ease of use for mod capabilities
-custom screen layouts
-if the switch is stolen or broken, no big deal; just use the laptop or PC.
-"please wait while nintendo updates your..." nope!
-better wifi signals.
-some mods only work with emulation.
-"the game is overheating your system? what do you mean? it has a 4090!"
-"time for a break from engineering, but I can't get out the switch. Wait a minute, my laptop has an emulator, nevermind!"
-"hey, have you seen my large computer with an emulator that is hard to miss somewhere around here? could a thief have snatched that thing which weighs as much as a sack of bricks, is a pain to unplug, and makes a lot of noise when carried discreetly?"
-"the switch broke years later, Nintendo does not sell them anymore, and they cost thousands now to replace on Amazon and Ebay, and so did the PC. Oh well; just get a new PC and put in the hard drive. There we go: emulator is back and working better on the new one."

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

Nuking emulation generally is a terrible thing in my opinion. Unless it contains illegal content(s), it should be allowed to stay. HOWEVER, I can't in good conscious look at this completely one sided, and keep all fingers pointed at that one side (Nintendo in this case). I have other points that could be made, but I am just going to stick to one major point that I feel takes a bit more precedence.

I'm just going to rip the band-aid off with this one, I can't think of a less harsher way to express this. A lot of people in general are just preaching thumpers when it comes to the "preservation" argument(s). We can list all the good reasons of why emulators are essential, genuinely good resources overall, and have a lengthy conversation, breaking each point down. We could even talk about the benefits of piracy if one was so inclined to. The problem is, most people preaching this stuff don't actually function by preservation logic at all, let alone doesn't even contribute to the cause of preservation. Too many people here and elsewhere are users and abusers of these types of resources. When there are a lot more of you making bad noise, giving these concepts a bad name and a bad look to follow, it's pretty straightforward to understand why a company could consider the idea of going nuts over stuff like an emulator existing, or ROM sites. When most people preaching aren't even genuine examples that add or boost the reputation of such resources in a good light, what the hell does one expect to happen? Should companies just sit idle while you rip through their stuff? You screaming "But preservation!!!" with your fingers crossed behind your back, then behind the curtain muttering "...because I can." That's a ton of dirty hypocrisy and selfishness if I'm being honest, especially considering preservation by nature is about everyone and the future (history as a whole), not just you. Keep going with warping the word though, whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.

This relationship isn't perfect, but fingers have to be pointed on both sides of the field, not just one, because it takes two to make this work. Both sides are dysfunctional, just in different ways, but certainly over the same content(s).

 

[MPRTwice]

Nuking emulation generally is a terrible thing in my opinion. Unless it contains illegal content(s), it should be allowed to stay. HOWEVER, I can't in good conscious look at this completely one sided, and keep all fingers pointed at that one side (Nintendo in this case). I have other points that could be made, but I am just going to stick to one major point that I feel takes a bit more precedence.

I'm just going to rip the band-aid off with this one, I can't think of a less harsher way to express this. A lot of people in general are just preaching thumpers when it comes to the "preservation" argument(s). We can list all the good reasons of why emulators are essential, genuinely good resources overall, and have a lengthy conversation, breaking each point down. We could even talk about the benefits of piracy if one was so inclined to. The problem is, most people preaching this stuff don't actually function by preservation logic at all, let alone doesn't even contribute to the cause of preservation. Too many people here and elsewhere are users and abusers of these types of resources. When there are a lot more of you making bad noise, giving these concepts a bad name and a bad look to follow, it's pretty straightforward to understand why a company could consider the idea of going nuts over stuff like an emulator existing, or ROM sites. When most people preaching aren't even genuine examples that add or boost the reputation of such resources in a good light, what the hell does one expect to happen? Should companies just sit idle while you rip through their stuff? You screaming "But preservation!!!" with your fingers crossed behind your back, then behind the curtain muttering "...because I can." That's a ton of dirty hypocrisy and selfishness if I'm being honest, especially considering preservation by nature is about everyone and the future (history as a whole), not just you. Keep going with warping the word though, whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.

This relationship isn't perfect, but fingers have to be pointed on both sides of the field, not just one, because it takes two to make this work. Both sides are dysfunctional, just in different ways, but certainly over the same content(s).

I'm all for stopping theft. That said, do it correctly. That means not punishing people who bought their entire game roster legally (like me and a few others).

Even as a teacher, I do not punish students that do well in class for a group acting wild. That's wrong. And one could only guess how hard that is to do. But it isn't an excuse. If a teacher can do that in a post-modern classroom with wild behaviors and limited monetary resources by himself, Nintendo has no excuse, to rip the band-aid off in that direction.

 

[DeadSkullzJr]

I'm all for stopping theft. That said, do it correctly. That means not punishing people who bought their entire game roster legally (like me and a few others).

Even as a teacher, I do not punish students that do well in class for a group acting wild. That's wrong. And one could only guess how hard that is to do. But it isn't an excuse. If a teacher can do that in a post-modern classroom with wild behaviors and limited monetary resources by himself, Nintendo has no excuse, to rip the band-aid off in that direction.

I get what you are trying to say, but it's also rather flawed.

A classroom with a set amount of students, is a totally different thing compared to an entire population of people. Companies like Nintendo don't even get to see majority of people face to face to address problems, like you can with your students. We as the population are one unit of people. Not every situation can you easily isolate down to specific people. It's the same reason why consumer standards, law, etc. impacts everyone, and not just specific people. Even if you want to be a smart ass and say "well those things are different depending on where you live." Even if that's true, EVERYONE in those specific locations have to abide by the rules set. Nintendo cannot easily distinguish the bad apples from the good apples, ALL over the world. So we either make the standards as one unit of people, or we break the shit out of them as one unit of people, then deal with the consequences of that. You don't have to like it, but that is just how the cookie crumbles.

 

[Captain-Z]

Paperclips and tweezers are now illegal - you heard it here, first. Office departments, you are now to rely on staplers for organizing documents, and medical procedures will never be the same. Chaos and anarchy reigns amongst first world countries.

You, you reading this post. Don't you even think about trying to 3D print a twirl - could be interpreted as a paperclip.

Oh shit, I have feds knocking on my door because I used the word paperclip and now they're ta-

Hey, I'm just telling you what the law says. Like I said someone would actually have to demonstrate commercial harm in a court of law for them to be illegal, but the legal mechanisms to so are there. Copyright law is very much about practicality. It's designed to be vague and flexible.