Dolphin, arguably the most popular and successful emulator for Nintendo GameCube and Wii games, has drawn the attention of the Japanese publisher who issued a DMCA takedown to Valve on May 26, preventing the software’s highly anticipated launch on Steam.
Dolphin was the most successful early GameCube emulation tool when released publicly in September 2003 and has since become a staple of retro gaming fiends online as it is capable of bringing those titles, as well as games for the Nintendo Wii, to life in new ways.
Whilst also a great emulator for GameCube and Wii titles, Dolphin also allows players to enhance those games through features like upscaling game resolution. With how easy the emulator is to use on PC, mobile, and other devices, it has become many players’ go-to method for playing old Nintendo titles.
Building off nearly 20 years of work, the team behind the emulator’s next great expansion was a major launch on Steam. This was announced back in March but has now been placed on indefinite hiatus as Valve removed the Steam page entirely on May 26.
According to the Dolphin team’s statement, Nintendo issued a DMCA takedown directly to Valve regarding the emulator’s Steam page, resulting in its removal.
“It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed,” the Dolphin team said. “We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a DMCA against Dolphin’s Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled. We are currently investigating our options and will have a more in-depth response in the near future.”
For now, Dolphin is yet to respond and will likely go dark while the team works out just how to handle this situation.
This isn’t an uncommon move from Nintendo, as the company has periodically issued DMCAs, copyright strikes, and cease and desist orders throughout the years where its IP is involved. Most recently that included hitting multiple Zelda content creators with video takedowns ahead of Tears of the Kingdom’s launch.
Related: Nintendo wins major piracy lawsuit against filesharing service
According to documentation levied by Nintendo to Valve, as reviewed by PC Gamer, it is stated Valve must “remove the offering of the Dolphin emulator from the Steam store”, citing Copyright Anti-Circumvention as the reason.
Nintendo is claiming Dolphin allows users to infringe on its IP by decrypting ROMs without Nintendo’s authorization in a way that “unlawfully circumvent[s] a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under the Copyright Act.”
This essentially boils down to Nintendo going after the usage of ROMs for its games rather than the emulator itself since it offers no content of its own when downloaded. This is a valid concern for Nintendo, as players who use emulators are known to use illegal ROMs to play games they have not purchased themselves.
In this case, Dolphin can counterclaim against the DMCA and push Nintendo to either drop the issue or take the team to court. However, Nintendo might be hesitant to do so as, if the company loses the suit, it would set a new precedent in video game emulation law—as has been found in previous cases with Sony’s failed takedown of similar emulation companies in the early 2000s.
