Nintendo Sends Valve DMCA Notice Over Wii Emulator Listing On Steam

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URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL URL

Earlier this year, the Dolphin Emulator team, a popular emulator that allows PC users to play Wii and GameCube games, announced plans to distribute it on Steam and even created a storefront listing. This seems to have turned the head of Nintendo, one company that they hoped the Dolphin Emulator wouldn’t take a hit, but it ended up getting a lot of attention.


Earlier today, Valve revealed that it had removed the Dolphin Emulator from Steam, and the developer described the release as “indefinitely delayed” in a blog post on their website. This appears to be because Nintendo has issued a DMCA notice to Valve regarding the emulator’s Steam page, so the team either pulls the emulator outright or submits a counter-notice to Valve if they believe the emulator does not violate the DMCA.

gamer video of the dayScroll to continue content.

RELATED: Tears of the Realm patching duplicate glitches is a huge bummer.

A statement from Dolphin Emulator says: “We are very disappointed to announce that the release of Dolphin on Steam has been postponed indefinitely.” “We have received notice from Valve that Nintendo has issued a DMCA against Dolphin’s Steam page and has removed Dolphin from Steam until the issue is resolved. We are currently investigating our options and will provide a more in-depth response in the near future.”

PC Gamer claims to have seen the legal notice itself describing the emulator as violating “Nintendo’s intellectual property rights” and “unlawful,” and claims to be “circumvented.”[s] It is a technical measure that effectively controls access to works protected under copyright law.”

Dolphin Emulator could file a counterclaim in an attempt to bring the emulator back on Steam, but that could eventually force Nintendo to sue the team behind it. When that happens, it can have life-changing consequences for those involved, and Nintendo has shown in the past with hacker Gary Bowser that they aren’t afraid to throw the kitchen sink at people they believe are wrong. On the other hand, the victory of the Dolphin emulator will be a huge result for emulation developers around the world.

It’s unlikely we’ll ever see Dolphin Emulator on Steam again, but anyone familiar with Nintendo would have seen the game release as soon as it was announced. It’s likely that the company is taking issue with Steam’s official distribution, as Nintendo has yet to contact either the Dolphin Emulator team itself or a website that has already been hosted. We will keep you updated as the situation develops further.

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