In a strange turn of events, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) shut down the Suyu emulator on GitLab. Suyu is a copy of the now-defunct Yuzu project, which was made for Nintendo. The goal of the project was to make games that work on the Nintendo Switch. It was taken down after a request from an unknown “rightsholder.” The Suyu team is eager to keep going, even though they don’t know who the accuser is.
Origins of the Suyu Saga: Suyu rose from the ashes of Yuzu, which had its own legal problems after Nintendo sued Tropic Haze1, the company that made Yuzu. The Suyu team thought they could avoid the same problems.
DMCA Trouble: Section 1201 of the DMCA was used in the DMCA request to say that Suyu broke copyright by using Yuzu’s software. In particular, it was accused of getting around Nintendo’s security steps and decrypting illegal copies of Switch games.
Hosting Yourself: Even though GitLab was shut down, Suyu goes on. The open-source files for the project are now stored on a self-hosted Git folder on the Suyu website. You can still access compiled files on a different GitLab repository.
Not a Case Yet
What Role Did Nintendo Play? Did Nintendo plan the takedown? Suyu donors are still unknown. A Discord user who went by the name Princess Twilight Sparkle said that they might have to go to court to get back their GitLab2.
Do you have copyright? Because the warning isn’t very clear, some people think the person who sent the DMCA might be a copyright troll. Troy, one of the main developers on Suyu, was skeptical about Nintendo’s direct involvement.
What’s Next for Suyu
The Suyu team has a tough fight ahead of them. Their determination to self-host shows how strong they are, but legal problems are on the horizon. Suyu is still a shining example for people who believe in open-source copying, even though they are being careful.
Read the original stories for more information.
