Just last week, on Tuesday, February 26th, 2024, news broke out about the Yuzu emulator team being sued by none other than Nintendo themselves, with Nintendo claiming that the emulator apparently allowed users to play certain games early (due to street dates being broken) and also allowing piracy of the current Nintendo Switch system.

Today, in a rather surprisingly quick manner, it seems like Tropic Haze LLC., the company behind the Yuzu team, has reached a settlement with Nintendo in regards to the lawsuit. According to a recent official document uploaded just a few minutes ago, Tropic Haze will pay up 2.4 million USD in favour to Nintendo, with both parties agreeing in the settlement and its amount.

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UPDATE: According to the proposed Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction document, Yuzu as a whole in its current form will cease to exist, meaning no further development and prohibition of any distribution of built or source code forms of it.

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Official document of the settlement
Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction

 

[Bladexdsl]

attacking an open source emulator *does* make a splash because it affects legitimate users.

nintenDUMB don't see it this way their closed archaic minds only see your doing piracy and must be stopped at all cost.

 

[Foxi4]

nintenDUMB don't see it this way their closed archaic minds only see your doing piracy and must be stopped at all cost.

Nintendo *does* see it that way because they’re actively selling emulated games, and have done so for many years. They want to sell you the same porridge over, and over, and over again, and they want you to say “thank you” for giving you the opportunity. “I already own this game on my GBA, give me one reason why I should buy it again on the eShop” are fighting words to their legal team. They know full-well that allowing alternatives to exist cuts into their bottom line because it limits their ability to repackage slop.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

They'd just make it available on pc and be done with it. Make it cost a bit more but let me own it forever. They will not however because they need to constantly switch platforms and make you buy it over and over again.

 

[Foxi4]

They'd just make it available on pc and be done with it. Make it cost a bit more but let me own it forever. They will not however because they need to constantly switch platforms and make you buy it over and over again.

Sony and Microsoft already smell blood in the water and are doing just that. Nintendo has a different strategy, they believe they can both build the mill and provide the water that spins it. That’s a good thing and bodes well for the future of Nintendo’s hardware, they’re committed to creating more of it, it’d just be nice if they didn’t try to kill all the fish in the stream with dynamite. There’s plenty of water in the river for everyone.

 

[Ondrashek06]

They'd just make it available on pc and be done with it. Make it cost a bit more but let me own it forever. They will not however because they need to constantly switch platforms and make you buy it over and over again.

True. Even with physical games, the device using that specific cartridge can fail, and as it's out of production, you'll no longer be able to play the game you own.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

True. Even with physical games, the device using that specific cartridge can fail, and as it's out of production, you'll no longer be able to play the game you own.

At the same time even a server like Steam could fail but let's hope not. I just disapprove of then potentially banning your account forever after you purchase stuff.

 

[Ondrashek06]

At the same time even a server like Steam could fail but let's hope not. I just disapprove of then potentially banning your account forever after you purchase stuff.

That's why DRM-free offline games are the way. You'll own them as long as you have the files on a storage device.

 

[Lumstar]

There is absolutely nothing untoward about making a for profit emulator. That is not illegal, and never was. As for the keys, it is ultimately the user who has to circumvent copy protection and extract one from a device in order for the emulator to function. Yuzu did not feature any copyrighted content and Nintendo didn’t suggest that as a cause of action. They claimed that Yuzu facilitated piracy, which is rather nebulous. Nintendo constructed an idea of secondary liability which would’ve been interesting to see argued in court, but this kind of lawfare is both expensive and risky so Yuzu’s team rightfully decided not to play that game. That doesn’t make Nintendo’s actions justifiable and consumers are free to exercise their own discernment and moral compass.

As far as I’m concerned, when I purchase a Nintendo Switch, I am also purchasing a license for any and all software contained within it, which includes any and all keys it may contain. If those keys are necessary in order to allow for interoperability with other software I might be using then guess what, I’m extracting them, and there’s a readily available DMCA exemption for that purpose. That’s not “piracy”, I am one user, I’m not distributing content that I already own to other users unless you want to argue that I’m distributing it to myself, which is stupid. If I want to play my copy of Doom on a toaster then I will, the same applies to TOTK. If Nintendo doesn’t want me to play TOTK on a device other than the Nintendo Switch then maybe they should A) optimise their software better or B) release hardware that doesn’t make a toaster the preferable option.

All of this contrarian nonsense on behalf of a multibillion dollar mega giant of a company really rubs me the wrong way. In order to use Yuzu at all the user had to have a Switch to extract a key from. If Nintendo wants to claim that keys were shared illegally, they can go for it and have fun chasing people who are doing that - that’s their property and shouldn’t be shared. If they want to chase game pirates, more power to them - their property, shouldn’t be shared. Chasing after developers of an emulator as a catch-all solution is the wrong way to go about it.

It might not be a *good* law, though as the law stands, an emulator that doesn't comply with the DMCA is illegal (in the US).

Regardless it's too late for Nintendo to stop the train. Since anybody can fork Yuzu source code, shutting down developers isn't going to achieve much now.

 

[Nerdtendo]

The video game industry operates on extremely narrow margins and every sale counts. Media has been devalued to almost nothing - if we were to adjust the cost of video games for inflation properly we’d be paying hundreds of dollars a pop. You might think that you choosing to take your money elsewhere doesn’t make a dent because the hardcore community is so small, but what you neglect to account for is that the hardcore community *is* the hardcore community - they’re the big spenders that will otherwise happily buy anything that has a Nintendo badge on it. Attacking SX doesn’t make a splash because SX is only relevant to pirates - attacking an open source emulator *does* make a splash because it affects legitimate users.

While I'd agree with you in other circumstances, this is Nintendo. An absolute juggernaut in the gaming sphere. They were able to tank the failure of the Wii U era and bounce back stronger. We'd have to bring them lower than that to even send the smallest of messages and that just isn't going to happen. I'd hazard to say you are overestimating the size of people who care about emulators. Even more so the subset of that subset who are genuine customers. Furthermore, Nintendo is diversifying their revenue stream more than ever. Mobile games, movies, and theme park ventures will bolster the more marginal profits associated with video games.

 

[SeventhSon7]

On speculation on why yuzu was targeted, I've seen evidence that the devs kept leaked/hacked game files and shared among themselves for to prepare for day 1 updates, and Nintendo ninjas were spying on their activities and caught them.

 

[choconado]

I still think that this all happened because someone during a meeting looked at the charts going down something % and said "ok, we need to do something about it" and them someone said "oh people are still ranting about the N64 emulator running like shit", then the lawyers hearing the word "Emulators" started foaming from their mouth and went wild. They also defenestrated the poor soul that suggested to release more interesting games instead of acting like the yakuza. Poor soul, was so depressed that they killed themselves by ordering a missile strike on their location after tying themselves to a chair.

"acting like". Nintendo has distanced itself from them in the past 40 years but they were tight once upon a time, and that's a sort of thing you can't really permanently leave. I've also heard that Sega works actively with the clans when making the Like a Dragon games, so as not to do something to piss them off.

 

[Foxi4]

While I'd agree with you in other circumstances, this is Nintendo. An absolute juggernaut in the gaming sphere. They were able to tank the failure of the Wii U era and bounce back stronger. We'd have to bring them lower than that to even send the smallest of messages and that just isn't going to happen. I'd hazard to say you are overestimating the size of people who care about emulators. Even more so the subset of that subset who are genuine customers. Furthermore, Nintendo is diversifying their revenue stream more than ever. Mobile games, movies, and theme park ventures will bolster the more marginal profits associated with video games.

From what I understand, the Wii was Nintendo’s last ditch effort after taking the N64 and the Gamecube on the chin, but it was successful enough to withstand the Wii U bombing horribly. It really doesn’t take *that* much. Besides, nobody wants the company to go bankrupt, rather to course correct.

It might not be a *good* law, though as the law stands, an emulator that doesn't comply with the DMCA is illegal (in the US).

Regardless it's too late for Nintendo to stop the train. Since anybody can fork Yuzu source code, shutting down developers isn't going to achieve much now.

We don’t know if it does or doesn’t comply with the DMCA because it was never litigated. It is my opinion that it does - I see nothing that would suggest otherwise.

 

[urbanman2004]

Yeah them 12tb hard-drives for 80 bucks looking real good right now to hold such a library. Think I'll buy 3 and a 2tb nvme ssd paired with a i3 14100f and a 1660 Super with windowed NZXT case. Builds Switch Monument and Let's not forget decoration with figurines on the inside ahhh gives me a reason to open this

Funny you mention that since I have a slew of 10TB drives around my house followed by 1x 20TB, 1x 18TB, and 1x 16TB spare 7200RPM HDDs to facilitate said piracy, lol. I also carry around a 2TB HDD w/ around 50x or more NSP roms on it to play Switch titles on the go using different PC's.

 

[AsPika2219]

Goodbye YUZU (Nintendo Switch) and CITRA (Nintendo 3DS)..... See you soon....

 

[ertaboy356b]

Why not tho? I mean if I design a combustion engine I don't think others can make copies of it - the design is still my intellectual property.

YUZU devs: "But we see now that because our projects can circumvent Nintendo's technological protection measures and allow users to play games outside of authorized hardware, they have led to extensive piracy"

Their logic is invalid - just because a tool can be used for evil, doesn't mean it should be illegal (guns being an extreme example).

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2024

According to Gemini just now...

View attachment 424131View attachment 424132

View attachment 424134

I think the Obtaining Keys part is incorrect. Yuzu did endorse a method to obtain these keys, they even have a guide on their website how to use Lockpick_RCM. Guide in question: https://web.archive.org/web/2024030...umping-decryption-keys-from-a-switch-console/

 

[TrungNh]

There is absolutely nothing untoward about making a for profit emulator. That is not illegal, and never was. As for the keys, it is ultimately the user who has to circumvent copy protection and extract one from a device in order for the emulator to function. Yuzu did not feature any copyrighted content and Nintendo didn’t suggest that as a cause of action. They claimed that Yuzu facilitated piracy, which is rather nebulous. Nintendo constructed an idea of secondary liability which would’ve been interesting to see argued in court, but this kind of lawfare is both expensive and risky so Yuzu’s team rightfully decided not to play that game. That doesn’t make Nintendo’s actions justifiable and consumers are free to exercise their own discernment and moral compass.

As far as I’m concerned, when I purchase a Nintendo Switch, I am also purchasing a license for any and all software contained within it, which includes any and all keys it may contain. If those keys are necessary in order to allow for interoperability with other software I might be using then guess what, I’m extracting them, and there’s a readily available DMCA exemption for that purpose. That’s not “piracy”, I am one user, I’m not distributing content that I already own to other users unless you want to argue that I’m distributing it to myself, which is stupid. If I want to play my copy of Doom on a toaster then I will, the same applies to TOTK. If Nintendo doesn’t want me to play TOTK on a device other than the Nintendo Switch then maybe they should A) optimise their software better or B) release hardware that doesn’t make a toaster the preferable option.

All of this contrarian nonsense on behalf of a multibillion dollar mega giant of a company really rubs me the wrong way. In order to use Yuzu at all the user had to have a Switch to extract a key from. If Nintendo wants to claim that keys were shared illegally, they can go for it and have fun chasing people who are doing that - that’s their property and shouldn’t be shared. If they want to chase game pirates, more power to them - their property, shouldn’t be shared. Chasing after developers of an emulator as a catch-all solution is the wrong way to go about it.

I think it's illegal to simulate a machine without the manufacturer's permission.

 

[Foxi4]

I think it's illegal to simulate a machine without the manufacturer's permission.

It is not so long as you are not actively monetising trade secrets. You have to reverse engineer it yourself.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

Goodbye YUZU (Nintendo Switch) and CITRA (Nintendo 3DS)..... See you soon....

spawns have already been created

 

[NoobletCheese]

I think the Obtaining Keys part is incorrect. Yuzu did endorse a method to obtain these keys, they even have a guide on their website how to use Lockpick_RCM. Guide in question: https://web.archive.org/web/2024030...umping-decryption-keys-from-a-switch-console/

Interesting, I wonder whether that would be legal. I suppose there are multiple issues here:

1. Do we own the information on our own devices?

2. Did Yuzu's speech cause significant financial harm to Nintendo? Is their company in significant financial trouble as a result?

3. What about other speech like "how to make a weapon"?

4. Can speech cause things to happen? Does speech have powers of causation? Do we control ideas or do ideas control us?

Nintendo can go fuck themselves

I wonder what Nintendo's top game devs think. The ones who actually create the games we like (not the legal department). If their salaries aren't in jeopardy as a result of the existence of emulators, and they are happy with their salaries, then maybe they don't have a reason to be upset. Who knows, maybe some of them like to dabble with emulators in their own spare time. So when we say we hate Nintendo, maybe we just mean their legal department.

 

[gisel213]

Funny you mention that since I have a slew of 10TB drives around my house followed by 1x 20TB, 1x 18TB, and 1x 16TB spare 7200RPM HDDs to facilitate said piracy, lol. I also carry around a 2TB HDD w/ around 50x or more NSP roms on it to play Switch titles on the go using different PC's.

Nice let's have a contest lol who can build the most sexyish Switch Monument Kiosk