An open letter to Nintendo about Emulators: You’re doing it wrong… 

*** UPDATE ***

Writing this in the heat of the moment, I was incorrect with my understanding of one part of this story. Nintendo did not file a DMCA take down request. Nintendo sent a cease and desist, where they mentioned their rights under the DMCA. This is an important distinction that I missed. 

As to the numerous comments on this editorial claiming the Dolphin emulator uses Nintendo intellectual property, I am not a lawyer, but we’ll have to watch and see if a court case establishes that an encryption key can be considered IP. In much the same way that if someone were to “hack” your laptop because your password was “12345”, would we consider that password intellectual property?

This is an ongoing legal battle, and akin to the fight over DVD encryption, the idea of an encryption key being protected IP doesn’t seem to have been tested directly in any recent court cases. Considering the complexity of code required to run a computer or game console, I stand by my statement that the Dolphin emulator does not include any proprietary Nintendo IP, even for it including an encryption key. Many will disagree with me, but I believe including Nintendo’s “password” is not the same as including more complex code.

I’m leaving the letter as originally written, to maintain the emotional tone of the editorial. I always welcome debate, but rude or insulting comments will of course be scrubbed.

*** Original Editorial ***

Dear Nintendo, 

This emulator stuff? I think you’re doing it wrong.  

I have a LOT of fondness for your games. My family has been into gaming since the earliest days of arcades and Atari home consoles. I was so fortunate to grow up in the early 80’s with nerd parents who were ahead of the curve on video gaming.

We rode the wave of your classic consoles through the 8-bit, 16-bit, and 64-bit eras. To this day, my younger siblings still sport Switches as their primary gaming solutions.  

I still have a lot of classic Nintendo gear, mostly in storage, but I got off the console gaming train around the Wii and PS3 hardware generation.  

I’m also a PC nerd. Software licensing was changing back then. In the early 2000’s, PC gaming started experimenting with online stores and digital distribution. There was a lot of anxious editorializing of online stores, copy protection, verification, and “ownership”.

Years later, we still face some challenges with titles in online shops. We might not really “own” that content when it’s licensed to web stores, but the generational convenience has kept me far more invested in PC gaming than in recent console gaming.  

The idea of buying a box, then buying content for a box, and only being able to consume that content on one box, is sorely antiquated. My Wife and I ran into that limitation hard with Playstations.   Continue reading “An open letter to Nintendo about Emulators: You’re doing it wrong… “

Nintendo Switch Issues: WIFI, DATA, Screen, Build… (Before You Buy) – TK Bay

I have been playing with the Nintendo Switch for 5 days, and I love the way the system is presented. However, using it for a few days, I’ve noticed some issues that might have caused me to wait before dropping so much money on a 1st generation Switch system.

Hopefully we can find a solution to most of these issues.

Enjoy the video.

Continue reading “Nintendo Switch Issues: WIFI, DATA, Screen, Build… (Before You Buy) – TK Bay”

Nintendo Switch – Unboxing / Setup / First Impressions ( Should You Switch?) – TK Bay

Finally got my hands on the Nintendo Switch and a couple of games. This things feels great in the hand, you have to try it to truly get it. They did a great job in evolving the 3DS and the Wii (Wii U as well).

Hope you enjoy my unboxing setup and initial impressions.

Continue reading “Nintendo Switch – Unboxing / Setup / First Impressions ( Should You Switch?) – TK Bay”

Friday Fun: The Voice of Mario & Luigi Posts Funny Videos on Instagram!

Chances are pretty good you’ve heard the work of Charles Martinet. He voices the popular Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, a childhood staple of mine.

Well apparently he’s on the instagrams, and he travels around with little Mario and Luigi action figures, voicing their adventures I.R.L!

For example here’s Luigi discovering a tree covered in leaf cutter ants.

Nintendo Unveils NFC Action Figures For Future Wii U Games

Nintendo NFC Figure 2During Nintendo’s fiscal year briefing, after announcing four straight quarters of losses and acknowledging the luke warm reception the Wii U has received, Nintendo released info they hoped would generate some excitement within their fan base.

First we got confirmation on Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart 8, and it was announced that Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire from the Gameboy Advance will be getting remakes.

What was also announced was a new gaming platform built to leverage Nintendo’s insanely popular characters, using figurines with NFC chips built into them. Following the success of Activision’s Skylanders franchise, and Disney’s attempt at cracking that market, Nintendo has to know they’re sitting on a potential gold mine with the first party IP they own.

Nintendo NFC Figure

Dubbed “NFP”, for “Nintendo Figurine Program”, players will be able to collect figurines which are then scanned by the Wii U controller, and will be compatible with various software title. Small pieces of information can be stored on the action figures, so while the exact plans haven’t been announced for future games, it’s not difficult to image each figure retaining leveling stats like Skylanders toys can.

It’s another platform for parents to invest in, but with franchises like Super Mario, Kirby, Zelda, Metroid, and Pokemon available, this could be a smart tactic for Nintendo to explore. We’ll have more info on NFP during E3 this year in June!

Just for fun: Mike Tyson plays Punch Out for the first time.

How meta is it watching Mike Tyson play Punch Out? One of my all time favorite NES games, though I was never able to beat it. It does make me feel a little better about myself that one of the most ferocious boxers in history, who was the subject of this very game, was unable to get past the very first opponent. Come on Mike! It’s Glass Joe!