Nintendo Switch emulation
The coverage and development of the emulators has attracted notable attention from the industry, including Nintendo, as well as
Emulators
In March 2017, it was reported that claims of a functioning Nintendo Switch emulator had spread online via
Yuzu
Yuzu (sometimes stylized in lowercase) is a discontinued free and open-source emulator of the Nintendo Switch, developed in C++. Yuzu was announced to be in development on January 14, 2018, less than a year after the Switch's release.[6][5] The emulator was made by the developers of the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, with significant code shared between the projects.[5] The emulator briefly supported online functionality, but it was removed shortly thereafter.[7]
On March 4, 2024, due to a settlement in the court of law between Yuzu developers and Nintendo of America, the project has been officially shut down, and currently it is impossible to download Yuzu from official sources.
Ryujinx
In April 2018, it was reported that another emulator, Ryujinx, was initially able to play part of Cave Story.[8]
Skyline
Skyline was an experimental Switch emulator for Android devices, which was initially capable of playing Sonic Mania, Celeste, and parts of Super Mario Odyssey.[9]
Media coverage
In October 2018, Kotaku published an article noting that Super Mario Odyssey was playable in Yuzu. The author of the article expressed concern with the ability of Yuzu to emulate games that were available commercially at the time.[10]
PC Gamer noted that Yuzu was able to run Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! shortly after the games' release, albeit with audio issues.[11]
In October 2019, Gizmodo published an article noting that Yuzu was able to emulate some games at a frame rate roughly on par with the actual console hardware.[12]
In September 2020, Nintendo Life published an article saying that a The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild mod worked on Ryujinx and other emulators.[13]
In October 2021, multiple outlets reported that Metroid Dread was able to be played on both Yuzu and Ryujinx within days of its release.[14][15][16] Ryujinx was reportedly capable of running Dread at 4K resolution, higher than the Switch could.[17] Kotaku initially opined that this improved the look of the game significantly.[18] However, the article was significantly revised shortly after publication, removing this mention.[15]
Since 2021, various outlets have reported that Yuzu can run on the Steam Deck.[19][20][21][22][23][24]
Industry response
On October 9, 2021, Kotaku published an article stating that Metroid Dread was running "great" on Yuzu and Ryujinx, adding that "you can play Dread on your computer, right now", and including several positive mentions of video game piracy, thanking "pirates, emulators, modders, and hackers" and suggesting readers emulate older or expensive games themselves.[18] After receiving criticism, Kotaku revised the article to clarify they were referring to emulation in video game preservation[25] and, following a complaint from Nintendo, removed all mentions of piracy from the article and issued an apology for its initial failure to meet their editorial standards, adding that they had not intended to suggest that players should pirate video games.[26] Noelle Warner of Destructoid, while saying that Kotaku had "basically told players to download an emulation of Metroid Dread", also noted the response to Kotaku on social media had rekindled discussion about the role of emulators in game preservation projects.[27]
After the publicization of Yuzu's ability to run on the
On August 24, 2022,
In November 2022, Nintendo filed several
On February 27, 2024, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Tropic Haze LLC, the legal entity behind Yuzu.[38] Later, on March 4, 2024, Tropic Haze settled their lawsuit with Nintendo for $2.4 Million, and took down the source code, Patreon, Discord, and website for Yuzu as well as an Nintendo 3DS Emulator created by the same company called Citra.[39][40]
See also
References
- ^ "The Nintendo Switch Emulator That's Going Around is a Scam, Says the FTC". The Escapist. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ "Scammers Are Peddling a Fake Nintendo Switch Emulator". www.vice.com. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ Musil, Steven. "Don't get conned: That free Nintendo Switch emulator is a scam". CNET. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ "Don't Fall for Nintendo Switch Emulator Scams". PCMAG. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ a b c Horti, Samuel (2018-01-14). "Switch emulator announced, made by team behind Citra 3DS emulator". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Tom's Guide. Archivedfrom the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (November 3, 2020). "Nintendo Switch Emulator Adds Online Support, Quickly Regrets It". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "RyujiNX, el emulador de Switch comienza a ejecutar juegos". Engadget. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ "Skyline is an in-development Nintendo Switch emulator that actually works". XDA. 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (November 2, 2018). "Super Mario Odyssey is Already Playable in an Emulator". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ Horti, Samuel (November 24, 2018). "Watch Pokémon: Let's Go running on PC thanks to Yuzu emulator". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
- ^ Liszewski, Andrew (October 4, 2019). "This Nintendo Switch Emulator for the PC Might Finally Be as Good as the Actual Console". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ McFerran, Damien (16 September 2020). "Random: Check Out This Amazing "Skyview Temple" Custom Dungeon For Zelda: Breath Of The Wild". Nintendo Life.
- ^ Macgregor, Jody (2021-10-10). "Watch Metroid Dread running on PC thanks to emulators". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ a b Zwiezen, Zack (2021-10-10). "Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Bouvet, Rémi (2021-10-11). "Metroid Dread déjà jouable sur PC via l'émulateur Ryujinx". Tom's Hardware : actualités matériels et jeux vidéo (in French). Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Doolan, Liam (2021-10-10). "Nintendo's Switch Exclusive Metroid Dread Is Already Being Emulated On PC". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ a b Zwiezen, Zack (2021-10-09). "Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Spear, Rebecca (2022-03-05). "Nintendo recap: Switch emulators are already rampant on Steam Deck and Gen 9 is official!". iMore. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
- ^ Fenlon, Wes (2021-07-26). "Emulator developers see tons of potential in the Steam Deck". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Reynolds, Ollie (2022-07-25). "Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Leaked And Is Fully Playable On The Steam Deck". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ James, Dave (2022-03-08). "Steam Deck vs Nintendo Switch". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Fenlon, Wes (2022-02-25). "The Steam Deck is already the emulation system of my dreams". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b Coyle, Anne-Marie (2022-03-03). "Nintendo really doesn't want you to use Switch emulators on Steam Deck". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Zwiezen, Zack (2021-10-09). "Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Zwiezen, Zack (2021-10-09). "Metroid Dread Is Already Running On Switch Emulators". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Warner, Noelle (2021-10-19). "Pirating Metroid aside, emulators play an important role in games preservation". Destructoid. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Ishraq, Subhan (2022-03-03). "Steam Deck Nintendo emulation videos are disappearing from YouTube". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ "Steam Deck Trailer Removed After Briefly Featuring A Switch Emulator Icon". GameSpot. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ Bailey, Kat (2022-10-07). "Valve Accidentally Plugs Nintendo Switch Emulator in Steam Deck Promo". IGN. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ ""Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection" Announced by Controversial Anti-Piracy Company". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ a b Shepard, Kenneth (2022-08-25). "Denuvo Launching Switch Emulator Protection at Behest of Publishing Partners". Fanbyte. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Hagues, Alana (2022-08-24). "New Denuvo 'Switch Emulator Protection' Tech Launches, And Players Are Worried". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ a b Gach, Ethan (2022-08-24). "Notorious DRM Company Takes Aim At Switch Piracy [Update]". Kotaku. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ a b Doolan, Liam (2022-08-26). "Nintendo Is Apparently Not Involved In The New Switch DRM Initiative". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
- ^ Doolan, Liam (2022-11-22). "Nintendo Isn't Happy About Switch Game Images On Steam". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ a b Bailey, Dustin (2022-11-18). "Nintendo doesn't even want you to have pictures of emulated Switch games". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ Seedhouse, Alex (February 27, 2024). "Nintendo Sues Creators Behind Yuzu Switch Emulator". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2024-03-04). "Nintendo wins $2.4M in Switch emulator lawsuit". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ^ https://yuzu-emu.org/
External links
- Yuzu game compatibility list
- Yuzu page on Emulation General Wiki
- Ryujinx page on Emulation General Wiki