Nintendo scuttles Dolphin emulator's Steam release
Valve removes store page as platform holder says the emulator for Wii and Gamecube is illegal
Nintendo has nixed the Steam release of the Wii and Gamecube emulator Dolphin, according to the program's developers.
"It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed," the developers wrote in an update on the emulator's website.
"We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a cease and desist citing the DMCA against Dolphin's Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled."
A Nintendo representative addressed the situation in an email to Kotaku, saying, "Nintendo is committed to protecting the hard work and creativity of video game engineers and developers. This emulator illegally circumvents Nintendo's protection measures and runs illegal copies of games.
"Using illegal emulators or illegal copies of games harms development and ultimately stifles innovation. Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies, and in turn expects others to do the same."
Nintendo appears to be stepping up its efforts against emulation of late.
The development team behind the Skyline Nintendo Switch emulator for Android devices recently halted work on the project "due to the potential legal risks involved," while GitHub cited a DMCA notice in pulling the repository for Lockpick RCM, software that would allow users to dump their own Switch's security keys for use in emulation programs.
The company also released a firmware update for the 3DS last week that thwarted the most convenient methods of hacking the long-discontinued line of handhelds to run homebrew programs, dump cartridges, and more.