Breakdown
- Nintendo has filed a DMCA takedown with GitHub to halt multiple Yuzu copycats
- The original Yuzu was shut down in a settlement due to Nintendo's lawsuit against the creators
- However, Nintendo is unlikely to win this game of whack-a-mole, with thousands holding access to Yuzu's code
Nintendo has been on a warpath recently. After filing a lawsuit against the creators of Yuzu, the biggest Nintendo Switch emulator during its reign of popularity, the lawsuit was settled. Yuzu's creators were fined, and forced to shut down the emulator.
However, even after Yuzu's death at the hands on Nintendo, there's been hundreds of copycats using Yuzu's code in an attempt to continue the emulator's legacy. One of which is, ironically, called Suyu. Very fitting name. Unfortunately, it's clear that Nintendo isn't stopping yet, enlisting Discord's help to ban Yuzu copy servers and recently, the company has also took down over 8000 repositories of Yuzu copies via GitHub.
While Nintendo is desperate to halt any attempts at Yuzu coming back from the ashes, it clearly hasn't learned the number one rule of the internet - once something is posted to the internet, it's there forever. Thousands of people used the Nintendo Switch emulator, and still have access to the original code.
This means that, Nintendo is in a constant war of whack-a-mole that is unlikely to ever end. The company has successfully scared some creators, with one emulator being taken off the iOS App Store shortly after launching, there's plenty more people who want Yuzu to continue, in whatever form that may be.
Nintendo can (and obviously will) keep taking down any emulators using Yuzu's code, but it will forever be a constant war, until either Nintendo gives up or the internet does. And, considering the internet is pretty keen on keeping emulation going for videogame preservation, it's a war that Nintendo will eventually lose, one way or another.
Of course, Yuzu originally got its sights aimed on it due to the fact the creators were selling early access builds behind a Patreon, and became a bigger problem during Tears of the Kingdom's release due to a piracy surge. That's a huge no-no in most countries that allow emulation, as the purpose for emulation should be to preserve, not pirate games. However, the two are usually ceremoniously linked together.
The constant DMCAs from Nintendo may quieten down once the long-rumored Nintendo Switch 2 finally releases. However, it's a war of attrition right now, and I'm pretty certain Nintendo won't win.