first reported by GBAtemp (opens in new tab)Nintendo seems to be responding aggressively to Kingdom Tears leaks (opens in new tab) It targets a key part of the Switch emulation ecosystem, namely the Lockpick and Lockpick_RCM programs that dump Switch game decryption keys and allow emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx to decrypt and open game files.
Nintendo has issued multiple DMCA takedown requests to GitHub, including Lockpick, a tool for dumping keys from your own Switch. /QePiLPTjmmMay 4, 2023
The first signs of this move came from developers and security researchers Simon Aarons (opens in new tab) On Twitter, I tried to fork the Lockpick repository on Github (i.e. make a copy of the source files and iterate and experiment with them). Aaron has received a copy of his DMCA request sent to GitHub via Lockpick and Lockpick_RCM, but there may be other projects affected. At the time of writing, picking supplies (opens in new tab) GBAtemp notes that the site may have a grace period before complying with the removal request, but is still accessible on GitHub.
Alleged Nintendo takedown request shared by Aaron and another Twitter user, @llIllIIIlII1 (opens in new tab), alleging that “reported repositories provide and provide access to circumvention software that infringes on Nintendo’s intellectual property rights,” and further that “decrypted keys are copyrighted by Nintendo.” promotes copyright infringement by allowing users to play pirated versions of game software on systems with Nintendo console TPMs or systems with Nintendo console TPMs disabled.” We have reached out to Nintendo to confirm that they have issued We will update the story as soon as we receive a reply.
Lockpick has been around for a while, and what else is the publisher doing in response to leaks two weeks ago of its long-awaited next installment, Tears of the Kingdom, attacking the Switch modding and emulation community? It’s hard to think. of the Legend of Zelda series. The move seems to have already had a ripple effect in the Switch emulation scene. GBAtemp reports that the developers of Skyline, a Switch emulator for Android, have stopped development and released the source code of their work-in-progress online. and potential actions on them in the future.
It’s legal to dump and emulate your own game. Only subsequent distribution of these files is legally permissible. Nintendo claims Lockpick undermines its copyright and security measures, but Lockpick has taken its rightful place as a tool for dumping its own Switch games for emulation, and the original It often yields better performance than can be obtained with hardware.
I also sent a dmca to the people who hosted prod.keys on github. This is mine and I must have accidentally forked it long ago. pic.twitter.com/bPWJDRQoJyMay 5, 2023
Whatever legal defenses can be made against Lockpick, it is unlikely that the team behind it has any practical recourse when faced with this takedown request. There are already innumerable cases of , and new solutions will inevitably emerge. Tears of the Kingdom is also playable on PC. Optimized version of the game (opens in new tab) It performs better than the Switch at or around launch.
This isn’t the first time Nintendo has actively used its legal influence over Zelda modding and emulation recently.Last month, the company followed Breath of the Wild modders (opens in new tab) and YouTuber point claw (opens in new tab) After he released BotW’s multiplayer hack on an emulator.
