The source code for a controversial Nintendo 64 emulator has been published on the Net in the hope that it will be picked up by the open-source software community.
Programmer GossiTheDog posted the code for UltraHLE (Ultra High Level Emulator) to his Web site and Dextrose, a Nintendo news and information site, late last week.
GossiTheDog's UltraHLE code is a conversion of the original C++ code. It is not complete and fails to compile, he explained on his Web site.
"I've decided to make my efforts of converting UltraHLE to C++ public. I want to make HLE open source, if possible." But he wondered, "What legal position does this put me in? To be honest, I'm not sure."
A source of considerable controversy, UltraHLE is a software emulator that simulates a Nintendo 64 game console on a Windows PC. The emulator, written by two programmers, Reality Man and Epsilon, was originally available only briefly for download from the Emulators Unlimited Web site.
The emulator has been unavailable since Emulators Unlimited yanked it two weeks ago only hours after its release. The software was pulled on the same day Sony announced plans to sue Connectix for copyright infringement following the release of the US$49 Virtual Play Station, a Sony PlayStation emulator for the Mac.
Nintendo has a reputation for aggressively clamping down on pirates. Unlike PlayStation games, which ship on standard CD-ROMs, Nintendo 64 titles are encoded on special ROM cartridges that must be plugged into a console to be played. To play them on an emulator, the games must be illegally copied with special hardware and distributed via the Internet or on Zip disks.
Nintendo says it is considering legal action against UltraHLE's original programmers, but was unaware that copies of the original source code had been posted to the Net.
"Emulators are illegal, and they continue to support counterfeiting and piracy," said Nintendo spokeswoman Beth Llewelyn. "We are looking at all our options, which include legal action. This infringes on our intellectual property rights, and that's something we actively protect."
GossiTheDog is right. The issue of software emulators is a legal gray area. To date, most emulators simulate old games or game systems that are no longer sold. Though potentially illegal, developers generally haven't bothered to clamp down.
However, emulators like the Connectix Virtual Game Station and UltraHLE let gamers play popular contemporary titles like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The pending court case between Sony and Connectix will likely set a legal precedent.
Meanwhile, Bleem, a software company based in San Diego, is busy working on a Sony PlayStation Emulator for Windows PCs.
