Woah woah woah this is some BS. First, as I've explained before, it's highly unlikely the emulators themselves are illegal copyright infringements, for the same reason that tape recorders survived legal challenges at the US Supreme Court. Second, even if they are illegal, Section 230 prevents Discord from being held liable for any potentially illegal communications posted by other people. Third, discussion of illegal activity itself is generally constitutionally protected, with the primary exception being inciting imminent lawless behavior.
Now, Discord is within its legal rights to take these channels down, none of what I've explained protects the creators against Discord. But Discord is nearly bulletproof from any legal claims by Nintendo so it's upsetting to see them cave like this.
For everybody here hating on zero-hour contracts, ask yourselves what the alternative is. Because the realty is that the alternative is not having a job at all. Here at least the employee has some opportunity for performing paid work without having to apply and be hired. And in the meantime they can still do other work and they're free to quit completely. It's not a great situation, no, but it's better than just losing their job completely.
@-wc- The game itself yucked my yum, I'm just sharing my experiences I never buy into this idea that you shouldn't criticize things other people like. I don't look down on anybody who likes the game. I did too, for a short time.
I bet in a week people will be regretting this score and shaking their head that they thought this could be GOTY. This game does not have staying power. It gets old and repetitive real fast. It's just a big number cruncher, the goals of what you're trying to do are very limited.
Plus I think the devs seriously goofed in balancing straights and flushes. In traditional poker, a flush is harder to make than a straight, so is a higher-ranking hand. The devs ported that over without much thought to this game, ignoring that it is WAY easier to build your deck to make it easier to create flushes instead of straights (1 - lots of ways to change suits; 2 - wild cards for suits but not ranks; 3 - removing one card makes a flush easier but not a straight)
They aren't exactly the same, of course, but when home video recorders came out, there were big legal fights claiming that the manufacturers of these technologies were responsible for any copyright violations committed by their owners (e.g., recording and distributing/selling TV shows and movies). It went all the way to the US supreme court, which held that the VCR company was NOT violating copyright. Key to that ruling was that there were legal uses of the copying technology. Specifically, fair use generally permits creating an archival/backup copy of something you own or have a license to use for your own purposes.
Analogizing here, Yuzu is like the VCR. It enables infringements of copyright, but I would argue it itself is not committing any copyright infringements. You have the right to a copy of a game you own, for your own use, to protect against degradation/loss (however, you should not be distributing the copy and if you transfer the original to someone else you can't keep the copy).
Nintendo feels they have an argument around that. I'll admit I don't know really what they mean by ""accessed Switch games from a hacked unit and made copies of games." Maybe that's enough different and an infringement by itself.
So this is going to be on the top of the NL feed every day, isn't it? Is that really necessary to "report" that the next free crappy game is available?
This game was originally announced on (or at least reported on) April 1, so I had always thought it was an April Fool's joke until I actually saw it on the eshop.
I had the opposite experience. A fair length into TOTK I had gotten bored and was googling things and looking forward to when I had finished it and could set it aside. After BOTW it felt stale. The world felt smaller somehow.
@NinjaNicky Consoles have some amount of auto-aim to compensate.
Oh this is so much more fun than it's been in awhile. Everything's a little sparser, resources are more scarce, and most importantly, weapons are simpler and not as good! Spreads are larger, it all takes a little more skill.
But is it fun to play? Seriously, we play games where we do things that would be absolutely horrendous both legally and morally ALL THE ***** TIME. We don't need moralizing.
@aresius Generally you're correct, but it's possible that the original contract permitted changes like this in the future. Or it didn't cover past installs originally, which fees are a condition for continued use of Unity products. Or something else. Lawyers are very good at doing things like this, and I expect that they've taken into consideration the general rule you identify and have, if not a rock-solid argument, an argument with a reasonable likelihood of success.
It's a remarkably different take than when writers et. al ask for more money for work they've already done in the past.
But it does seem amazingly short sighted. I predict this will backfire horribly (which I would've predicted even before I saw developers threatening to stop doing business with them)
1 - Dang I loved BOTW's story. 2 - Neat idea to have a recap like this 3 - Can we have whoever did the VO for this recap switch places with the Zelda VA?
This game is the perfect kind of thing for Gamefly. I've got it now, and I'm enjoying playing through it, but I'm reliving the nostalgia more than anything else.
@LN3000 "Ignore" is a little strong. Never ignore a subpoena. You can go to the court and argue "Hey, this subpoena is improper, I want it quashed" (voided).
N64 controllers are soooo bad. I get that companies were experimenting with designs a lot in that time period, but wow did the PS2 controllers blow them out of the water. They were uncomfortable, confusing, and flimsy.
Comments 1,116
Re: Japanese Man Arrested For Selling Hacked Scarlet And Violet Pokémon
What a stupid thing to make criminal, wow.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Uniqlo Range Officially Announced
Is "range" a particular UK term? I would expect "line" or something else there.
Re: Discord Reportedly Removing Servers And Creator Accounts For Switch Emulators
Woah woah woah this is some BS. First, as I've explained before, it's highly unlikely the emulators themselves are illegal copyright infringements, for the same reason that tape recorders survived legal challenges at the US Supreme Court. Second, even if they are illegal, Section 230 prevents Discord from being held liable for any potentially illegal communications posted by other people. Third, discussion of illegal activity itself is generally constitutionally protected, with the primary exception being inciting imminent lawless behavior.
Now, Discord is within its legal rights to take these channels down, none of what I've explained protects the creators against Discord. But Discord is nearly bulletproof from any legal claims by Nintendo so it's upsetting to see them cave like this.
Re: Staff At UK Retailer GAME Reportedly Facing Redundancies
For everybody here hating on zero-hour contracts, ask yourselves what the alternative is. Because the realty is that the alternative is not having a job at all. Here at least the employee has some opportunity for performing paid work without having to apply and be hired. And in the meantime they can still do other work and they're free to quit completely. It's not a great situation, no, but it's better than just losing their job completely.
Re: The Apocalypse Gets Cosy In 'Highwater', Sailing Onto Switch Next Month
Spiritfarer meets Flame in the Flood meets... random tactical RPG thrown in? I guess?
Re: Review: Balatro (Switch) - Devilishly Compelling Cardplay, And A Clear GOTY Contender
@-wc- The game itself yucked my yum, I'm just sharing my experiences I never buy into this idea that you shouldn't criticize things other people like. I don't look down on anybody who likes the game. I did too, for a short time.
Re: Review: Balatro (Switch) - Devilishly Compelling Cardplay, And A Clear GOTY Contender
I bet in a week people will be regretting this score and shaking their head that they thought this could be GOTY. This game does not have staying power. It gets old and repetitive real fast. It's just a big number cruncher, the goals of what you're trying to do are very limited.
Plus I think the devs seriously goofed in balancing straights and flushes. In traditional poker, a flush is harder to make than a straight, so is a higher-ranking hand. The devs ported that over without much thought to this game, ignoring that it is WAY easier to build your deck to make it easier to create flushes instead of straights (1 - lots of ways to change suits; 2 - wild cards for suits but not ranks; 3 - removing one card makes a flush easier but not a straight)
Re: Nintendo Sets Its Sights On Switch Emulator Yuzu In New Lawsuit
They aren't exactly the same, of course, but when home video recorders came out, there were big legal fights claiming that the manufacturers of these technologies were responsible for any copyright violations committed by their owners (e.g., recording and distributing/selling TV shows and movies). It went all the way to the US supreme court, which held that the VCR company was NOT violating copyright. Key to that ruling was that there were legal uses of the copying technology. Specifically, fair use generally permits creating an archival/backup copy of something you own or have a license to use for your own purposes.
Analogizing here, Yuzu is like the VCR. It enables infringements of copyright, but I would argue it itself is not committing any copyright infringements. You have the right to a copy of a game you own, for your own use, to protect against degradation/loss (however, you should not be distributing the copy and if you transfer the original to someone else you can't keep the copy).
Nintendo feels they have an argument around that. I'll admit I don't know really what they mean by ""accessed Switch games from a hacked unit and made copies of games." Maybe that's enough different and an infringement by itself.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 24th)
Pocket Jockey was the last game I bought on the 3DS eshop. It's super fun!
Re: Octopath Traveler Dev Is Launching A New Dungeon Crawler Next Month
@Ralizah But real time instead of turn based? I guess? It seems weirdly slow...
Re: Random: Super Mario Sunshine's Mysterious Language Has Been Translated
And this was some impressive work!
Re: Random: Super Mario Sunshine's Mysterious Language Has Been Translated
"gelato" actually looks like "gelato"
Re: Nihon Falcom's Original 'Ys' RPG Arrives On Switch This Week
@EarthboundBenjy (also on the TG-CD)
Re: New Unicorn Overlord Trailer Showcases The Upcoming Tactical RPG's Exploration Features
Great, another tactical RPG that shoehorns in a million things besides tactical battles.
Re: No Gravity Games Is Giving Away 12 Free Switch Games This Month (North America)
So this is going to be on the top of the NL feed every day, isn't it? Is that really necessary to "report" that the next free crappy game is available?
Re: 3DS Title Fragrant Story Launches "Free DLC Expansion" Papaya's Path Today
This game was originally announced on (or at least reported on) April 1, so I had always thought it was an April Fool's joke until I actually saw it on the eshop.
How do you get the DLC since the Eshop is closed?
Re: Soapbox: Six Months Later, Tears Of The Kingdom's Sense Of Wonder Is Still Unmatched
I had the opposite experience. A fair length into TOTK I had gotten bored and was googling things and looking forward to when I had finished it and could set it aside. After BOTW it felt stale. The world felt smaller somehow.
Re: Fortnite's Original Island Returns In New 'Season OG' Update
@NinjaNicky Consoles have some amount of auto-aim to compensate.
Oh this is so much more fun than it's been in awhile. Everything's a little sparser, resources are more scarce, and most importantly, weapons are simpler and not as good! Spreads are larger, it all takes a little more skill.
Re: Zelda Voted 'Favourite' Tears Of The Kingdom Character In Recent Famitsu Survey
@Dom_31 Which is 100% why I turned it to Japanese.
I really liked Purah and wish she played a bigger role throughout the game and not just at the beginning.
Re: Random: This Drink Driving Game Is A Nasty Blemish On The Switch eShop
But is it fun to play? Seriously, we play games where we do things that would be absolutely horrendous both legally and morally ALL THE ***** TIME. We don't need moralizing.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Wario Land: Shake It!
I dunno, Japan's is super washed out and Europe looks like so many other covers.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Actraiser
584 votes still 50/50.
I agree both are pretty bad, but NA's is so boring. I have no idea what this game is going to be.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
Japan's is weeeeird. Combination of three distinct styles (pixel, smooth cartoon, and... I guess a magazine ad? Yuck.
Re: Round Up: Developers React To Unity's New 'Runtime Fee' Policy
@aresius Generally you're correct, but it's possible that the original contract permitted changes like this in the future. Or it didn't cover past installs originally, which fees are a condition for continued use of Unity products. Or something else. Lawyers are very good at doing things like this, and I expect that they've taken into consideration the general rule you identify and have, if not a rock-solid argument, an argument with a reasonable likelihood of success.
Re: Round Up: Developers React To Unity's New 'Runtime Fee' Policy
It's a remarkably different take than when writers et. al ask for more money for work they've already done in the past.
But it does seem amazingly short sighted. I predict this will backfire horribly (which I would've predicted even before I saw developers threatening to stop doing business with them)
Re: Charles Martinet On His New Role As Mario Ambassador: "I Don't Know What That Is Yet"
He's already bad at it.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Sea Of Stars
Really? Japan is so busy. And everything mushes together. And "put all your characters in an overlapping pile" is so overdone. Yech.
Re: Feature: Harvest Moon 64’s Relationship With Alcohol, The "Magic Liquid" Of Flowerbud Village
@Princess_Lilly
HM64 - 1999. Fortnite - 2017. So 18 years apart (Goat_FromBTW did not say 20 years ago, they say 20 years later than Fortnite).
Re: Cat Quest III Sets Sail With "Furrst" Gameplay Trailer
@Balladeer Agreed, my daughter and I just loved it!
Re: The GameCube And Wii Emulator Dolphin Is No Longer Coming To Steam
Were they going to charge for it on Steam or would it have been free?
Re: Shakespeare Gets A Comedy RPG Twist In 'This Way Madness Lies', Coming To Switch Next Week
@Expa0 I had the same thought, with the single character "floating" on a piece of ground on the right.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Huh, I'm in the clear minority here, but I think Europe is much too busy. I like cleaner presentations.
Re: Feature: The One Thing Wii Did Much Better Than Switch
Motion controls are like the FLUDD. A fun novelty that shouldn't be the core function of any game.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
I don't like any of them. That long white silhouette is weeeird.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel - The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
I dunno, the Europe/Japan is very cliched I feel. NA is more interesting & unique
Re: Current Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Tera Raid Battle Events Suspended Due To Reward Bug
Tara Reid is in Pokemon?
Re: Nintendo's Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom TV Ad Might Be Its Best One Ever
In pretty much any context, scripted attempts to recreate people muttering to themselves while doing something never come across sounding realistic.
Re: Video: Get Ready For Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom With Nintendo's Breath Of The Wild Recap
1 - Dang I loved BOTW's story.
2 - Neat idea to have a recap like this
3 - Can we have whoever did the VO for this recap switch places with the Zelda VA?
Re: Feature: Best Royals In Nintendo Games - Who's Your Favourite?
As much as I love Princess Zelda in a couple of the games, in most of them she has little to no personality (or presence). I went with Bowser
Re: Exclusive: Fall Of Porcupine Brings A Healthcare Worker's Adventure To Switch Next Month
Gives me Spiritfarer vibes.
Re: Random: Think You Know BOTW's Hyrule? Test Your Zelda Knowledge With This Map Quiz
I haven't played this game in years, it's really a mark of how well designed it was that I remembered these locations pretty well - 21,375
Re: Soapbox: It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
@timp29 I agree with you. I have no desire for a Zelda 1 remake partially because BOTW took that sense of wandering discovery to a new level.
Re: UK Charts: Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Tumbles Out Of The Top Ten
This game is the perfect kind of thing for Gamefly. I've got it now, and I'm enjoying playing through it, but I'm reliving the nostalgia more than anything else.
Re: FTC Reportedly Wants Info From Nintendo On Call Of Duty Deal (North America)
@LN3000 "Ignore" is a little strong. Never ignore a subpoena. You can go to the court and argue "Hey, this subpoena is improper, I want it quashed" (voided).
Re: Talking Point: Which Is Your Favourite Nintendo Controller? Every Nintendo Pad Ranked
N64 controllers are soooo bad. I get that companies were experimenting with designs a lot in that time period, but wow did the PS2 controllers blow them out of the water. They were uncomfortable, confusing, and flimsy.
Re: Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Has Been Released From Prison
@H3X3NH4MM3R He was criminally convicted. This isn't one of Nintendo's lawsuits.
Re: Nintendo Hacker Gary Bowser Has Been Released From Prison
Um, he was criminally convicted. You shouldn't be saying "purportedly" and "allegedly".
Re: Talking Point: Should Link Have Voice Acting In The Next Zelda Game?
Better question is whether ZELDA (meaning the whole game) should have voice acting.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom's Final Pre-Launch Trailer Is Absolutely Stunning
Matt Mercer has such an incredible range in his voice.... why does Ganon just sound like a wooden Matt Mercer? That roar was just cringe.
And yet again, Zelda sounds like she's on the verge of tears in every single thing she ever says.
Sigh.
Re: GameStop Fires Employee For Leaking Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Switch
Even if Nintendo didn't pressure them, the employee should've been fired. That's basic game industry stuff.