Earlier this year, Nintendo was able to successfully get the Yuzu Switch emulator removed from the original GitHub repository it was distributed from. While that was a done and dusted legal case and the emulator’s creators were put out of business, the old axiom about the internet remains true: once it’s online, it’s there forever. That isn’t stopping Nintendo from trying, however.
As reported by TorrentFreak, Nintendo wiped out 8,535 Yuzu repositories on GitHub this week. Going with a scorched Earth approach, Nintendo filed a DMCA against GitHub itself, specifically targeting any instance of the Yuzu emulator. As the claim reads, this takedown notice was targeted at any repository that could “provide access to the Yuzu emulator or code based on the Yuzu emulator [which] illegally circumvents Nintendo’s technological protection measures and runs illegal copies of Nintendo Switch games.”
So why were so many repositories deleted from GitHub? As the company noted in its response to Nintendo’s DMCA, “Because the reported network that contained the allegedly infringing content was larger than one hundred (100) repositories, and the submitter alleged that all or most of the forks were infringing to the same extent as the parent repository, GitHub processed the takedown notice against the entire network of 8,535 repositories, inclusive of the parent repository.” So long, Yuzu, indeed.
Thankfully, GitHub isn’t taking action without notice. To anyone hosting repositories that may contain copyright-infringing materials, GitHub has warned the owners so that they may make any required changes to keep their repositories active. Chances are, however, that Nintendo will likely want the entire removal of any Yuzu source code or files before allowing anything to be hosted again.
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
