In a surprising turn of events, Tropic Haze LLC, the company behind the popular Nintendo Switch and 3DS emulators Yuzu and Citra, has made the decision to shut down both projects and associated websites. This move comes as part of a $2.4 million settlement with Nintendo, following a lawsuit filed by the gaming giant. The news was first reported by PC Gamer, leaving many in the gaming community shocked and disappointed.
The lawsuit, initiated by Nintendo, claims that there is no lawful way to use Yuzu as it requires files extracted from a real Switch device to decrypt game files. While Citra is not directly involved in the lawsuit, it has been axed alongside Yuzu as collateral damage due to being developed by the same team.
The legal complexity of this case lies in the fact that emulators themselves are not illegal. However, the requirement of proprietary firmware and keys raises questions about the legality of obtaining these files from a console, even if you own it. Similar issues arose with the first Playstation emulators, which necessitated the use of the Playstation BIOS image to boot. However, emulator developers were largely left untouched by legal action. Nintendo’s lawyers seem to have taken issue with the Yuzu developers’ approach, which leaned into the copyright infringement angle, providing Nintendo’s legal team with an opportunity to strike back.
The fallout from this case is clear: Yuzu and Citra are no more, at least under their current names. As open-source projects, it is likely that Citra will resurface under a different name, while Yuzu may also find a way to reincarnate itself. Despite decades of lawsuits by Nintendo and other companies, emulators themselves remain legal, even under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States. Additionally, individuals are within their rights to dump firmware and game ROMs from systems and media they have purchased, much to the frustration of companies like Nintendo.
What can we learn from this lawsuit and settlement? It seems that emulator developers should be cautious about openly admitting to copyright infringement, even if their creations are widely used for such purposes. Instead, they should express regret and condemn the actions of those who engage in piracy, while advocating for the purchase of games and the ability to format shift them for backup and personal emulator usage.
The final message left by the founders of Tropic Haze LLC on the Yuzu website serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of this settlement. It is a bittersweet farewell to the beloved emulators, acknowledging the legal battles they faced and expressing gratitude to the community for their support. While Yuzu and Citra may be gone for now, their legacy will undoubtedly live on in the hearts of gamers who enjoyed their emulation capabilities.