Nintendo has had a difficult relationship with emulation, and that's putting it mildly. The company has often legally pursued emulator developers and ROM websites, and its website makes it clear that it's not ok to copy or download older titles, nor download a ROM for emulation even if you own the original game, lest you fall foul of various copyright laws.
Twitter user @ChrisMack32, however, seems to have made a rather embarrassing discovery. They've posted a video of a SNES controller being disconnected (via USB, no less) from a booth at the official Nintendo Museum in Japan, and it turns out it makes a rather familiar noise—the "ding dong dun" of a Windows USB device disconnect.
@BobWulff pic.twitter.com/6HjWqN4DRHOctober 14, 2024
Hmm. While we only get a brief look at the screen, it appears whatever device the controller was connected to seems to be playing Super Mario World. That's a SNES title, of course—which suggests that its being emulated on a Windows PC underneath.
Well, it is the superior machine, of course. Still, for a company that has keenly banged the drum against emulators and sites distributing ROMS—even if they're used by those that own an original copy of the games they wish to emulate—it does seem a bit rich. Nintendo has even argued that emulation "harms innovation", which also seems like a bit of a stretch.
On the other hand, what did we really expect? A proper SNES running in every booth at the Nintendo Museum? Sounds like a nightmare to maintain, to me. You could always run them officially on the Nintendo Switch of course, to keep things above board.
But that's a Windows sound effect for sure, so unless this video's been edited, it looks like the Nintendo Museum may have taken the easy route and booted them up on a good old fashioned PC, via an emulator.
And that's sort of the whole point, isn't it? While ROMs and emulators exist in the minds of many in a sort of moral grey area, I don't think I'd be blowing too many minds if I said that people are drawn to them for the sheer convenience, among other things. It's just, y'know, not actually legal.
As several Twitter users pointed out, the fact the controller was easily disconnected also means that, thanks to that open USB cable, this particular machine could now be connected to by any number of devices—and thereby very easily compromised.
So, a fail on the emulation front, and a cybersecurity whoopsie all in one go. Good stuff. Anyways, one simple little sound effect, one slightly embarrassing reveal. I could hark on about this being a massive tacit win for the PC and emulation as a whole, but it seems in poor taste at this point. I think someone at the Nintendo Museum may be about to receive a nasty letter, and that's enough to ruin anyone's day.
