There are a lot of reasons why people Buying steam decksValve’s new gaming laptop. It allows them to take their beloved Steam games on the go. Others use it to get the most out of Xbox Game Pass on PC. Some people use it to run a Nintendo Switch emulator called Yuzu. Valve admitted this in a recent YouTube video showing off the Switch-like HDMI dock.
You had to be super excited to spot the reference in the YouTube clip that’s under three minutes long, but Nibel, a Twitter gaming expert, did it, and He mentioned it in a tweet that exploded instantly. Yuzu’s thumbnail appears on the home screen only for a split second, but it’s just there, presumably downloaded by anyone at Valve who helped create the YouTube video.
Before the end of the day, Valve removed the video and Replace it with a new one Where Yuzu’s thumbnail has been replaced by art for Gate 2. But the damage has been done: one of the world’s largest gaming companies has officially introduced a taboo topic: video game simulation. One commenter wrote: “The Streisand effect is strong with this.” “I will definitely be emulating Switch on the Steam Deck.”
As an emulator, Yuzu lets people play Switch games on non-Switch devices. Traditionally this means computers, but because of Valve and flood of others Portable gaming computers Hitting the market, there are other options now too. While some people will likely pirate any Switch games they use the emulator for, it is also possible to legally purchase a Switch game and dump a ROM on a PC, and then use Yuzu or another emulator to play it, often at Higher Resolutions and Framerates than is possible on a Nintendo device. (People who want to support game developers often pay for the game and then download the ROM separately, which is completely illegal, but is a wash in many people’s minds.)
The Mario Maker has historically taken a very hard line against any form of mimicry. Once the DS and 3DS were hacked, they became notorious hotbeds of piracy, not only for decades and out-of-circulation games, but for new games as well. Earlier this year, anti-piracy company Denuvo About a new range of products It specifically targets developers who have games on the Switch, promising to protect them from attempts to play them elsewhere with a new type of proprietary DRM.
steam surfaceMeanwhile, it’s become a hotspot for all kinds of other emulations besides the Switch, including Game Boy Advance, GameCube, and PS2. If you’ve ever heard anyone embrace the benefits of Valve’s new Switch competitor, its capable emulation capabilities are probably among the major franchises. However, Valve usually doesn’t state this clearly. I can only imagine how quickly Nintendo founder Gabe Newell began receiving phone calls from a Nintendo attorney, although we currently have no evidence that the latter was involved in the video’s removal.
Valve and Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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