Some fallout from the early leak of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom appears to be taking place. As players are loading the game into emulators and playing them unofficially on their computers, prior to the launch date, Nintendo is taking action to prevent that from happening. Lockpick and Lockpick_RCM are homebrew tools that allow users to dump unique keys from their Nintendo Switch console, which are required for numerous Switch hacking-related programs, including the Ryujinx and Yuzu Switch emulators. While Lockpick has been around for years, Nintendo has reportedly decided to go after it, by issuing a DMCA takedown to the GitHub project page, igniting concern and discussion within the community.

At the time of writing, Lockpick_RCM's repository is still active, it could be due to GitHub providing a grace period following a DMCA notice. Twitter user Simon Aarons was made aware of the takedown, after forking Lockpick, and allegedly receiving an email from GitHub, on behalf of Nintendo of America's legal team, who asserts that Lockpick is "circumvention software that infringes Nintendo’s intellectual property rights. Specifically, the reported repository provides Lockpick to users. The use of Lockpick with a modified Nintendo Switch console allows users to bypass Nintendo’s Technological Measures for video games; specifically, Lockpick bypasses the Console TPMs to permit unauthorized access to, extraction of, and decryption of all the cryptographic keys, including product keys, contained in the Nintendo Switch. The decrypted keys facilitate copyright infringement by permitting users to play pirated versions of Nintendo’s copyright-protected game software on systems without Nintendo’s Console TPMs or systems on which Nintendo’s Console TPMs have been disabled. Trafficking in circumvention software, such as Lockpick, violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the United States (specifically, 17 U.S.C. §1201), and infringes copyrights owned by Nintendo."

Shortly after this, Skyline Emulator, a Switch emulator for Android devices, made the decision to shut down development, via a post on their Discord Server. Since you need the keys dumped from Lockpick in order to run Skyline, the team behind the emulator is concerned that it means Nintendo will target them for also violating their copyright.

It is with great sadness that we bring you this news. Recently, Nintendo has issued a DMCA takedown notice against Lockpick RCM which will likely come into effect on Monday, Lockpick is a core part of legally dumping keys from the Switch. They claim that it circumvents their copy protection (TPMs) and therefore violates their copyright. We find ourselves in a position where we are potentially violating their copyright by continuing to develop our project, Skyline, by dumping keys from our own Switches.

The Skyline team will be making their incomplete source code public, at the very least, and will keep the emulator's GitHub page active. Other homebrew projects are rumored to have been hit with DMCA notices as well. Ryujinx's emulator team stated that they will not be shutting down, following worries after Skyline.

 

[impeeza]

LockPick and LockPick_RCM got mirrored on intosanctuary.com:

https://intosanctuary.com/index.php...ockpick-and-lockpick-rcm-tools-and-source.13/

 

[stanleyopar2000]

so if this DMCA was fake....is GibHub going to reverse the removal? (very likely no since it has received so much attention across the internet now)

 

[JeepX87]

so if this DMCA was fake....is GibHub going to reverse the removal? (very likely no since it has received so much attention across the internet now)

Don't know but Shchmue seems quiet on those issues right now.

 

[M7L7NK7]

Don't know but Shchmue seems quiet on those issues right now.

Someone needs to be penalized for file a fake DMCA under Nintendo's name since Nintendo faced the consequences, especially boycott, reputation damage and erosion of trust with fans.

They wouldn't care, a legal repository they are against was taken down and they didn't have to do it themselves. And lol at boycotts, rep damage and trust erosion.. the homebrewers who are affected probably represent like 0.1% of their user base and most of them probably pirate anyway

 

[Kioku]

They wouldn't care, a legal repository they are against was taken down and didn't have to do it themselves. And lol at boycotts, rep damage and trust erosion.. the homebrewers who are affected probably represent like 0.1% of their user base and most of them probably pirate anyway

0.1% is ludicrously generous. They’re not even a dot on Nintendos radar… so it would seem. Especially if someone not even officially associated can claim DMCA..

 

[Dark_Ansem]

In the end, it wasn't even Nintendo issuing these "DMCA"

 

[Bladexdsl]

so the dmca was by a pissed off nintendrone because zelda was leaked?!!

 

[Dark_Ansem]

so the dmca was by a pissed off nintendrone because zelda was leaked?!!

and the sad thing is, everyone complied like a bunch of p****s.

 

[Bladexdsl]

so is lockpick coming back than?

 

[Dark_Ansem]

Lockpick? I'm more worried about Skyline never coming back.

 

[Arck]

this idiot took the leak more seriously than Nintendo did, lmao

 

[TomSwitch]

In the end, it wasn't even Nintendo issuing these "DMCA"

I suppose markedly is authorized by Nintendo to act on their behalf

 

[Bladexdsl]

Lockpick? I'm more worried about Skyline never coming back.

i think they just wanted out anyway

 

[godreborn]

Is only Nintendo hater allowed to express opinion?

I'm not a Nintendo hater. what they do doesn't affect me, because I'm a legit user. it's more so I'm disappointed in them for dmca after dmca and lawsuit after lawsuit. they don't really reflect a company I want to do business with, so almost all game purchases of mine have shifted to the ps5.

 

[JeepX87]

I'm not a Nintendo hater. what they do doesn't affect me, because I'm a legit user. it's more so I'm disappointed in them for dmca after dmca and lawsuit after lawsuit. they don't really reflect a company I want to do business with, so almost all game purchases of mine have shifted to the ps5.

If I was you, I would ignore them and they aren't worth your time.

I found few members nitpicked me that annoyed me but ultimately, I concluded that isn't worth my time to respond to their posts.

Please don't let members to stop you and you are free to speak whichever you want.

 

[godreborn]

If I was you, I would ignore them and they aren't worth your time.

I found few members nitpicked me that annoyed me but ultimately, I concluded that isn't worth my time to respond to their posts.

Please don't let members to stop you and you are free to speak whichever you want.

if I feel an argument is about to ensue, I just put the person on my ignore list, so I don't feel compelled to answer their posts if they piss me off further.

 

[JeepX87]

if I feel an argument is about to ensue, I just put the person on my ignore list, so I don't feel compelled to answer their posts if they piss me off further.

I understand, as for me, I have a lot of respect for TomSwitch because he works hard to make the cheat apps and cheats for games.

 

[M7L7NK7]

I'm not a Nintendo hater. what they do doesn't affect me, because I'm a legit user. it's more so I'm disappointed in them for dmca after dmca and lawsuit after lawsuit. they don't really reflect a company I want to do business with, so almost all game purchases of mine have shifted to the ps5.

They're a company protecting their assets, that's how it works

 

[godreborn]

They're a company protecting their assets, that's how it works

Except I don't see Sony or Microsoft doing the same thing. I don't know if it's incredibly naive or incredibly stupid to think you can completely stop piracy on your system by issuing a few dmca takedowns. And, don't get me started on fan games, which is a total fuck you to their fans, simply because Nintendo can't profit off of them.

 

[linuxares]

@godreborn Geohotz wouldn't agree with you.