Switch Android Emulator Skyline Halts Development Due To "Potential Legal Risks"

“Oh no, nintendo took down our emulator which runs Nintendo switch games on a platform that isn’t Nintendo switch? Why did they get angry at us and issue a DMCA?”

Legal emulator or not, they should’ve saw this coming.

Makes sense to me. It's pretty reasonable that Nintendo wouldn't want something like this existing.

I didn't know there are Android phones powerful enough to run Switch games. Unless it's for Android based mini pcs?

@IceClimbersMain
Many modern smartphones are not just powerful enough but they are more powerful than the Switch.

Eh, I never used it anyways, I just care about cosmetic mods for games like Monster Hunter or custom music in Smash. lol

@Fiq_Strife you would need to be quite a bit more powerful than the Switch to have the head room to emulate it well. Only the very top of the line android devices would likely be able to emulate Switch even half-decently. Emulation always requires a quite a bit more compute power than actual native ports.

Emulation is fine for retro consoles, but you lose me when you mention current gen emulation. The game preservation argument doesn’t work with a console readily available in stores.

I'm glad they're stopping totk leaks, but shutting down a perfectly legal product is not the way to do it. Even if I don't emulate switch games, nor plan to in the near future, there's better ways to go about that

Emulators-pirates poked the bear by putting out a game that no one should be able to legally own - which completely destroys the false narrative that they are just doing it to play it on better machines or whatever other nonsense they put out to steal more games.

Surprise this bear bites back.

If Nintendo and its protectors think this is going to stop emulation, that is amazingly funny.

Emulation will always be around, and those who make it possible are like a hydra.

Is it really worth the bragging rights when Nintendo will stop at nothing to find whoever leaked it and shake every coin out their pocket?

Retro, there's only so much Nintendo can do but a new release that's not even out yet? Come on man, that's asking for trouble...

@blindsquarel I hate when people claim game preservation when it's not preservation that's the problem. Nintendo handles game preservation extremely well. They preserve the code, assets, etc of all the games that touch their platforms. It's how Square-Enix was able to recover the Secret of Mana games, as they had lost it. What folks are really calling for is game availability, but they use "preservation" so they don't look as entitled.

I can’t understand how people defend this. I can understand emulation of older software, particularly games Nintendo does not see a dime on. But outright modding a Switch and providing a way to do so to the public is very close to outright piracy, and once you let them in, they will not leave. Nintendo is within their legal right to enforce their IP law, and if you disagree with that, you need to get off your moral high horse and look at things from a logical perspective.
Sorry that was a bit ranty, I just hate the “Nintendo bad because DMCA” argument when you’re dealing with such a subjective system as IP law.

Thank goodness for retroarch on my series x via dev mode.
Can play all of nintendos best games with near perfect emulation and at higher res.

Good, Nintendo are well within their rights to protect their IP.
Lets worry about Switch preservation when its actually needed, not when you can legally download any game from the eShop.
All Switch emulation serves right now are pirates who are too cheap to pay for products they want.

@awaltzforvenus Your case for emulation-pirating of current gen games is that Nintendo may one day cease to allow you access to stores.

Has Nintendo ever denied anyone access to their estore purchases in the past?

@Discostew
I feel like people think they are entitled to play any game they want, regardless of if they buy it or not. Yeah it may suck if a game isn’t for sale any more, but that still doesn’t give you the right to steal it.

@blindsquarel
Exactly, some or many use excuses to later cover up their real reason, play new games for free and at the same time, defy the laws, and that's the problem with Nintendo.

I could bet that Nintendo would not attack emulation if people used it well and legally, but since some try their best to do what I mentioned (piracy, accept it), they just get "the wrath" of Nintendo and as we know how it is Nintendo, they don't care if they damage up to preservation in order to eliminate their main problem.

Why does anyone ever float this idea that Nintendo is thinking they're stopping emulation altogether? They go after greedy fools trying to turn a profit on emulation and the even more foolish who are offering a free alternative to purchasing a flagship Nintendo title. The retro emulation scene gets splash damage sometimes but it isn't the main target. Their legal arm isn't hassling anyone for modding their 3DS or Wii U. But don't let facts get in the way of the smug comments I guess.

Well... yeah, the Switch is available in store with the majority of its games still for sale. This isn't a Wii U or 3DS. Don't know why they're shocked. Although, I could picture the outrage if someone found a way to hack PS5 first party game to play on higher PCs for free. Everyone lives to protect Jim Ryan.

@solarwolf07

Nope, there is no better way of doing it. If they want an android "Switch", release your own android console then.

I am very happy Nintendo is finally tackling Switch piracy/emulation. They should've done this sooner.

@Cashews
"Has Nintendo ever denied anyone access to their estore purchases in the past?"

You mean other than the closure of the Wii, Wii U and 3DS eshops?

Not sure why anyone bothers with this kind of work anywhere that Nintendo has an ability to enforce legality. Like if you're doing this work, do it in a country where Nintendo's lawyers have no real effect.

It continually perplexes me why there’s any debate around Nintendo emulation efforts. If it’s not running on a Nintendo console, that means Nintendo don’t like it and there’s a good chance their legal team will crush you to preserve their profits. It’s capitalism.

Any sort of justification skirting around the edges of the issue is just irrelevant.

It's open source so it's not like it's stopping lol. Tons of countries with talented developers that don't have such over protective laws out there. Plus PC emulation isn't stopping over it.

Still, it's absolutely amazing playing Binding of Isaac: Repentance anytime anywhere on my phone without having to bring my Switch. Can't wait for the continuation even if we won't get to see Nintendough lose in court for overstepping their bounds to kill video game preservation.

@HeeHo How so very wrong you are. Ever seen BoTW on PC with mods/upscaling? Same game but one doesn't look like total ass and can run at a solid higher frame rate.

Emulation software is legal as long as the devs didn't copy software from the console it's an emulation of

@IceClimbersMain Iphone xr which is released at 2018 can play genshin impact at 60 fps, now we're already have iphone 14. Smartphone tech is already way past nintendo switch power from 5 years ago.

Of course that didn't means anything for games quality on smartphone because nearly all smartphone users only play free to play games.

No sympathy for those who play and/or promote “emulated” current gen games and get busted. Especially games that haven’t even been released yet. They deserve everything they got/had coming to them.

Plus hearing Kotaku’s reaction to being blacklisted by Nintendo and not receiving an early copy of TotK was hilarious, bunch of scumbags there.

@CharlieGirl seems a lot of people here are being mislead by the title or misreading it as being that skyline was targeted when it wasn't, only lockpick was. skyline just made itself to dependent on lockpick which backfired on it.
hell, the switch has emulators that nintendo themselves put in it...

besides, nintendo can't even legally target emulators and have already lost court cases over this type of thing.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140124173040/http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/nintendo-can-only-block-illegal-video-games-eu-court-rules_314047.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20091206100841/http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=38047

In the age when so many Android games have been moving over to Switch, the idea of playing Switch games on Android feels... peculiar.

@blindsquarel what about those that want better performance and mods?

It shouldn't be a problem to legally source your own roms and keys for that.

That they didn’t see anything wrong with this especially when modern games being used as the primary exploitation is beyond me. They might as well put up a giant sign that says “Nintendo please cease and desist us”.

@CharlieGirl “This won’t stop them so why try”

Yet pirate sympathizers such as yourselves that think they are Robin Hood fail to comprehend that way of thinking is stupid.

“Why did these pirates try when Nintendo can shut them down with one letter.” is what I can easily say back with that logic.

If you honestly think Nintendo will just “give up” on rightfully protecting the integrity of their IP from leeches with Nintendo just spamming cease and desists [which takes almost no effort on Nintendo part because they have a legal division specifically for this crap] that scares these pirates then you have ZERO clue on protecting IP.

Also the “game preservation” meme people like you love to throw around as an all encompassing shield is always hilarious when the vast majority of the emulations is games not even out yet. Not some ancient Game Boy game lol.

Just own up that pirates just want to play new videogames for free and not doing some “noble cause” like “fighting evil corporations” or “keeping games safe” lol.

@shaneoh did you not have an opportunity to buy those games before it shut down? Can you not download any game you purchased, right now, on the eshop?

spoiler alert: you did and you can.

You had multiple years before those shops closed down to get what you wanted. If you are stealing stuff that you cannot buy on the wii u/3ds eshop it is because you never intended on paying for it. You are using it as an excuse to steal.

I find those people pathetic. I enjoy watching Nintendo, or any other company, go after them. I hope they go harder and really do a number on their lives they will struggle to recover from. Even the small fish who just just suckle at the teat of the more (wasted) talented people who make the emulation possible.

I think all artists deserve to get every bit of financial recompense for the hard work they put in to entertain people.

Give it time, the PC emulators are still out there. Play where you want and pay what you want.

@Arawn93 Similarly, emulation of all kinds - be it for retro gaming or piracy - will always exist. And so life goes on.

I already bought the game... and I'm going to play it on PC, and probably on Switch too, because I will play it where I damn well please, not where Nintendo damn well pleases.

@Cashews
" Can you not download any game you purchased, right now, on the eshop?
spoiler alert: you did and you can."

Not on the Wii you can't. Whether or not you've had access in the past, it's still a denial of access now. The 3DS and Wii U eshop will soon be in the same position despite the fact they are now overcharging people to maintain their awful online infrastructure with their online pass.

@shaneoh I haven't booted up a Wii in 1000 years but according to everything on the net you can still download purchases.

And heck, even if you can't - you had 15 years to get it done.

But let's take the Wii out - for Wii U/3DS it just went down. They gave us almost two years to make our amends, get what we wanted. And now you can download everything for the foreseeable future.

But it really doesn't matter. people making the argument are simply rationalizing theft for their own egos. It is hard to admit you are a pos thief. You have to trick yourself into thinking you aren't. I was a 23 year pos once - using Limewire - I get the mentality.

@ArcticSin
Do what you want, still doesn’t make current gen emulation right.

@blindsquarel it also doesn't make criminalizing it right either.

@blindsquarel Well said. Emulating games no longer on sale, or in all honesty hacking your Wii U or 3DS is fair as you cant get the games any other way than crazy prices on Ebay. But hacking your Switch, a very active console with multiple options to buy the games, or emulating the switch, you are just straight up stealing. 100s of people put thousands of hours into making those games and you may not think stealing it will effect the sales too much but it can, its stopped films from getting sequels and it will do the same with games.

@PixelTavern except piracy will now increase as people won't be able to source their own keys

@CharlieGirl get a load of this guy.

@CharlieGirl All pirates deserve to go to prison all people who support pirates need to learn the difference between right and wrong

@Cashews I find it to be theft to not carry over your purchases to new Nintendo hardware and recharging everyone for the same thing. But meh, maybe that's me.

@SteamEngenius how do you plan on paying Nintendo for your stolen games

@FawfulsFury when does Nintendo plan on giving him a PC port to buy?

@FawfulsFury they don’t want to, it’s entitlement.

@CharlieGirl Good for Nintendo

@Cashews
"But let's take the Wii out"
Cherry pick all you want. Nintendo is stealing from people as well. Time frames are irrelevant.

@shaneoh how so

@shaneoh put it back in then. Rationalize stealing all you want., Like I gd said earlier, You can still download the wii games. By all accounts on the nintendo website - you can download purchases.

"but i didn't purchase it!"

well then f you - I, nintendo, and working non-thieves everywhere say.

@zgillet you can play it on the old hardware. who is forcing you to buy it on new hardware?

if I have an old vinyl record and I scratch the living hell out of it - I have to buy a new one. Or I can upgrade to a new format. No one owes me anything.

@Cashews old vinyl is your example? Everyone I've ever known in existence makes a digital copy of their vinyl records to play when not around a record player... THE EXACT SAME THING AS MAKING A DIGITAL DUMP COPY AND EMULATING A GAME. Enthusiasts can get a modern machine that plays some old cartridges, but guess what those (not ridiculously expensive ones) use? Emulators! Nintendo even takes open-source emulators to use on their systems for crying out loud.

No respect for those stealing the game, especially before it's even out.

But buying the game and giving yourself the choice of how to play it? I know that's blasphemous to Nintendo, but what did that matter once I've given you my money?

Maybe I'm in the wrong forums but I sincerely don't see the same level of vitriol and support for piracy regarding things that Sony and Microsoft didn't provide. I didn't see cries to emulate/steal non-backward compatible games when Microsoft and Sony had their new consoles either.

I know there was backlash regarding provision for backwards compatibility but nothing approaching the backlash to Nintendo

Because you don't have the rapfile 😂 😁

It's open source, somebody else is going to take it and make it better.

@Discostew you're 100% right. I love that Nintendo makes all their games available and I can play Satellaview, Virtual Boy, and even 64DD games easily with Nintendo Switch online! They're amazing when it comes to preservation /s

@zgillet you're exactly right. Not to mention every new vinyl comes with a digital download code these days which saves you the step of making the copy yourself.

@Jokerwolf That's already happened.