Technology

They’re probably talking about the BMG rootkit from the early 2000’s. Basically, when you inserted a Sony CD into your computer, it would automatically and silently install a rootkit on your PC, which introduced a backdoor on your PC that was being actively exploited. It was also notoriously difficult to remove, as it would reinstall itself even if you deleted every visible trace of it (and improperly installing it could disable access to your CD drive entirely.)

Then when shit hit the fan and Sony was making headlines for it, they released a “fix” for it. The fix didn’t actually remove the rootkit, and simply hid files with specific names (the rootkit files) from the users. This only introduced another vulnerability, where hackers could just name any virus the same as the rootkit, and it would automatically be hidden.

It led to several very large lawsuits and state investigations. Sony was raked over the coals by multiple state attorneys general, and the FTC even published warnings urging consumers not to buy Sony CDs.

All in the name of DRM. The rootkit was initially meant to stop you from ripping and copying the CD. Oh, and the rootkit contained sections of improperly credited open source code. So Sony stole from OSS programmers while claiming that they were trying to prevent IP theft.

It was a while ago. And it was scummy. Probably their response to Napster or Limewire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DIn_2005_it_was_revealed%2Cto_interfere_with_CD_copying.?wprov=sfla1

Yep! Feels like going through a rom pack or multi-cart and only finding good games.

Yeah, N64 speedrunners even went as far as replacing their aging analog sticks with machined steel sticks. Because as the console ages, so do the controllers. And stick drift became a major problem for speed runners who used genuine consoles. There was even a case where an aging controller led to the discovery of a new glitch, when a speedrunner’s NES controller had gotten so old that it allowed him to press button combos that wouldn’t have been possible with a new controller. And that button combo allowed him to perform glitches that would have been otherwise impossible on a console.

The larger issue is accessibility. If speed running requires a genuine console, it severely limits the number of people who can afford to participate. There would be a big financial barrier just to buy the console and game(s), and since no new consoles are being made it will inevitably lead to the death of speedruns as consoles die out and nobody can continue playing.

One of the original goals of emulation was data preservation, since it quickly became evident that game companies wouldn’t bother preserving their own games. And as consoles age, that will only become more and more important. I personally have backups of all of my legitimately purchased Nintendo games. But that’s only because I enjoy data hoarding and have a NAS that can actually store all of it. Not everyone has that luxury, and it means that (again) there will be a big financial barrier to anyone wanting to be able to play the games that they legally purchased and have the right to play.

It's more about accessibility. It's not like they make the games anymore and the emulators they have on the Switch are lackluster. You could buy shit on eBay but if it's a super niche game it'd probably cost a lot of money. Money that doesn't go back to Nintendo. It's not like they're going to lose money for someone playing a super rare game on an emulator.

Boom! That's the case. But what YouTuber can stand against Nintendo in court?

Anbernic devices in particular are known to ship with an SD card that's preloaded with a fairly large game library. I own a RG351M which did indeed include a cheap card loaded with both the OS and a collection of games by Nintendo, Sega, and many others, plus some strange rom hacks. I immediately swapped that card out for a better one with a better CFW and my own files.

Most other notable names in the emulation handhelds space like Retroid, Ayn, and Ayaneo expect users to be able to provide their own files instead, which I'd say makes more sense.

Should is the key word here. You pay a lawyer to find out, which probably isn't worth it.

These days it's all about the Retroactively Amended Personal Experience: changing the terms after the sale.

I have altered the deal, pray I do not alter it further.

It's not. They've definitely lost lawsuits before.

I tried GenAI. It simply doesn't get the vibe right, as it makes both Mario and Pikachu a bit too cheerful and tries to make the picture a bit too dynamic.

I'm trying to trace the characters over to see if I can output a somewhat decent sketch. At least to give people an idea of what I mean.