Palworld developers are not the only ones under fire from Nintendo, as it’s also suing the developers of Yuzu for enabling illegal downloads of Zelda games, a well-known Nintendo IP. Emulators have been around for quite some time, making them a real head-scratcher for publishers. The actions of Yuzu may benefit players, but unlawfully accessing these titles desecrates the work of the developers.
Nothing more needs to be said about theft; it is morally bad and a major blow to business in general. No one wants to see their life’s work picked apart and mocked by modders while being used for free without paying a dime of its worth. Tropic Haze, the company that developed these emulators, has enabled users to play classic and present Nintendo titles, even games meant for the Switch.
Leaks were rampant months before the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and have accumulated over a million illegal downloads.
Nintendo’s History Against Emulators
Nintendo is no pushover and can get extremely aggressive with the intent to protect its IP. This is not its first rodeo in dealing with emulator creators. In the past, other companies like RomUniverse felt the looming shadow of the company for illegally pirating a handful of its games and distributing them across the internet for next to nothing. Actions like these can certainly impact the morale of the company.
This could also cause a ripple effect that will harm the production of a game; leaking unfinished builds will lead users to believe that is the best of what a company with an abundance of budget and freedom could do. The latest Zelda title fell victim to this heinous crime, and the internet became overrun by spoilers and new gameplay elements that developers were protecting.
It Didn’t Really Harm Tears of the Kingdom
Despite all these unfortunate mishaps, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is universally praised and has received perfect scores from reviews. Nintendo is demanding over $150,000 in damages for the copyrighted work, which seems to be a reasonable amount given the gravity of the situation.
Those who practice emulating may think it is a noble act to distribute the property of another company for free to those unwilling to pay full price for a triple-A experience; it isn’t and will never be acceptable. Talented artists and programmers spent hours and even years of their lives on a single project, trying to make the best game possible.
Palworld developers may suffer the same fate once substantial evidence shows they made a Pokémon ripoff. Yuzu isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last to test Nintendo’s resilience against this sort of activity, and this is all a moral story of the consequences of stealing.
Do you think Nintendo’s actions are justified? Let us know in the comments below!
