Nintendo Thwarts Steam Release of Wii Emulator Dolphin

The open-source GameCube and Wii emulator, Dolphin, has been blocked from a Steam release by Nintendo. Following the emulator developers' announcement of their planned Steam page, Nintendo swiftly intervened, sending a legal notice to Valve's legal department claiming that Dolphin violates Nintendo's intellectual property rights and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The Dolphin development team launched a Steam page on March 28 and shared news of their progress on the Dolphin blog. However, Nintendo's legal notice, dated May 26, 2023, put a stop to their plans. The notice stated that Dolphin unacceptably breaches the DMCA's anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking provisions. Valve, as the service provider in this instance, was left with the decision to honor Nintendo's request and remove Dolphin's Steam store page.

It remains uncertain whether Nintendo would pursue legal action should Dolphin be released on Steam. However, the outcome of such a case would significantly impact the emulation landscape. An emulator like Dolphin could be considered in violation of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions, and a ruling in their favor would be a tremendous victory for emulation enthusiasts. Past lawsuits filed by Sony against Bleem! and Connectix both concluded that emulators do not violate copyright laws with the use of the PlayStation BIOS and firmware, setting a precedent that emulation is legal in the United States.

The DMCA notice specifically states that Dolphin's inclusion of cryptographic keys and decryption of ROMs circumvents "a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under" the Copyright Act. While the emulator remains unavailable on Steam, its Github page and website have not been directly targeted by Nintendo or received any takedown notices.

In conclusion, Nintendo's swift legal action has indefinitely postponed the Steam release of Wii emulator Dolphin. For the time being, Dolphin's developers are left exploring their options, as the emulator remains only accessible outside of the Steam store. The outcome of this situation carries significant weight for the emulation community, with potential legal consequences that could shape the future of emulation and similar technologies.