Valve did not want problems with Nintendo and revealed the existence of Dolphin Emulator for Steam

Nintendo is relentless with its entertainment licenses and the way it hunts down those responsible for emulating or pirating them. This is why many believed that she was primarily responsible for the ban of the Dolphin emulator from Steam, but it has just been revealed that Valve started it all.

After being notified that the Dolphin emulator could not be released on Steam, those responsible for the project were dismayed not only by this, but by the impossibility of defending or appealing.

The former treasurer of the Dolphin Foundation, Pierre Bourdon, assured that Valve would have reported the project to Nintendo. And this was backed up after the team behind the emulator revealed conversations and legal documents on the matter, which show that Nintendo was not the one who took legal action first, but that Valve notified them in advance.

“Given Nintendo’s history of taking action on some emulators, we proactively informed them after the Dolphin team announced that [Dolphin Emulator] coming to Steam soon,” said Valve spokesperson Kaci Aitchishon (via The Verge).

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Valve did not want problems with Nintendo and betrayed Dolphin Emulator

In the response letter from Nintendo, it is seen how the legal representatives of the Japanese company thank Valve for notifying them about the matter.

Immediately afterwards, it refers in the letter that Valve must meet its obligation to “eliminate the offer of the Dolphin emulator from the Steam store”, since the Dolphin emulator can run Nintendo GameCube and Wii games, which Nintendo only authorizes to play on its ” native consoles”.

When IP protection measures against piracy are circumvented, as Dolphin Emulator does, “Nintendo and other third party developers suffer tremendous damage,” according to company representatives, who took the opportunity to talk about how Xbox also removed recently the emulator from the Xbox Store.

In case you missed it: fans are not happy with Nintendo’s stance on preservation.

So Valve should not only remove the announcement that the emulator would be released soon, but also ensure that “the emulator will not be released on Steam from now on.”

Such as The Verge He notes, not only did Valve contact Nintendo before letting the Japanese company issue a copyright claim, but Nintendo went straight to section 1201 of the DMCA, which says companies can’t host technology that circumvents copyrights. Copyright.

Why didn’t Valve defend Dolphin’s distribution on Steam?

According to the details, unlike a conventional DMCA section 512 claim, section 1201 prevents the infringing party from fighting back, as Nintendo would be threatening to sue Valve directly, not those responsible for Dolphin. It is for this reason that there is no need for Nintendo to first notify and try to sue Dolphin, but Valve can simply remove the Dolphin emulator page.

Thus, Valve would not attempt to advocate for Dolphin, judging by their official response.

“We operate Steam as an open platform, but the creators are not responsible for releasing only things that they have the right to distribute,” Valve explained. “Sometimes third parties object to things on Steam, but Valve is not in a good position to adjudicate those disputes — the parties must either go to court or negotiate among themselves.”

“We don’t want to offer an app that we know will be removed because that could be disruptive to Steam users. Given Nintendo’s history of taking action on some emulators, we proactively let them know after the Dolphin team announced that [Dolphin Emulator] It would be coming to Steam soon. As of the letter we received, Nintendo and the Dolphin team have a clear legal dispute between them and it is not for Valve to judge,” Gabe Newell’s company concluded.

For the Dolphin Emulator to return to Steam, it will be necessary for both parties involved, Nintendo and the Dolphin team to resolve their dispute, and honestly it looks very difficult for Nintendo to authorize it.

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Related video: Preservation or Piracy?

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