They are saying that because the games are distributed with encryption and the emulators play decrypted games they are therefore primarily used to bypass the encryption. If that process was moved out of the emulator into a separate app then their argument would fall apart.
So it isn’t that the emulator can play the game at all. It isn’t that it can play decrypted games. It isn’t even that a pirated game can be played on the emulator without checking the licence. It is specifically that the emulator can take the prod.keys file and use that to decrypt the game.
By that logic if someone takes Suyu and moves the decryption logic to a separate app and makes a Suyu which only plays decrypted games then there would be no case for the DMCA takedowns on the emulator.
Is my understanding flawed here? If that is accurate, why have developers not done so? You could even have Suyu call the decryption program which is installed separately and presumably not fall afoul of this legal issue? I mean, the logic seems really limited to actually facilitating the piracy, not to emulating the operation of the console.
The flaw in your understanding is the assumption Nintendo is acting in good faith. They would just use a different excuse to go after such an emulator.
No, they didn’t. Valve asked Nintendo of America if they wanted Dolphin listed on Steam, Nintendo responded no, Value shut it down. It’s one thing to turn a blind eye to Dolphin for so long, it’s another to be asked to go on record and writing as endorsing its distribution.
I have to say the argument here is nutty.
They are saying that because the games are distributed with encryption and the emulators play decrypted games they are therefore primarily used to bypass the encryption. If that process was moved out of the emulator into a separate app then their argument would fall apart.
So it isn’t that the emulator can play the game at all. It isn’t that it can play decrypted games. It isn’t even that a pirated game can be played on the emulator without checking the licence. It is specifically that the emulator can take the prod.keys file and use that to decrypt the game.
By that logic if someone takes Suyu and moves the decryption logic to a separate app and makes a Suyu which only plays decrypted games then there would be no case for the DMCA takedowns on the emulator.
Is my understanding flawed here? If that is accurate, why have developers not done so? You could even have Suyu call the decryption program which is installed separately and presumably not fall afoul of this legal issue? I mean, the logic seems really limited to actually facilitating the piracy, not to emulating the operation of the console.
The flaw in your understanding is the assumption Nintendo is acting in good faith. They would just use a different excuse to go after such an emulator.
As below, Dolphin emulator is running for 20 years and they haven’t “gone after” it.
If you
That makes you a target.
They issued a cease and desist when it was briefly listed on Steam iirc (or otherwise did something to get it removed)
No, they didn’t. Valve asked Nintendo of America if they wanted Dolphin listed on Steam, Nintendo responded no, Value shut it down. It’s one thing to turn a blind eye to Dolphin for so long, it’s another to be asked to go on record and writing as endorsing its distribution.
Valve probably interpreted it as a veiled threat and didn’t feel like calling Nintendo’s bluff. Still a scummy thing for Nintendo to do tbh
Valve interpreted Valve’s actions as a veiled threat to Valve? And somehow this shows Nintendo being scummy? You’re completely wrong on both counts
How can responding honestly to an unprompted question be a threat?
Your understanding is correct and it’s literally why Dolphin emulator is still going strong 20 years later, it doesn’t do this.
“Developers” haven’t do this because this is people clicking the fork button or copy-paste-upload. The actual developers have long since moved on.
Aren’t Wii Games encrypted? I’ve never decrypted a Wii game and they all boot on Dolphin. Unless the ripper is decrypting them?
Also wasn’t there a post a while back of the Wii encryption key being found in the Dolphin code?