A video showing off the emulation capabilities of the new Nokia N900 could land the company in hot water, as Nintendo is now investigating to see whether the mobile device infringes upon any of its copyrights.
Nokia posted a series of videos touting the capabilities of the new N900 mobile device on its blog last week, including one (which has since been removed) talking up the unit’s advanced emulation capabilities. The video showed the device running software from various other platforms, most noteworthy among them the Nintendo NES, SNES, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. The company did apparently note that ROMs would have to be acquired “elsewhere” but added, “Most publishers allow individual title usage provided that the user is in possession of the original title.”
But the aforementioned Nintendo takes a very dim view of such things, as it has not yet licensed its flagship Mario franchise for the platform. As a result, the company’s lawyers are having a very close look at Nokia and the new device to determine whether there is grounds for legal action. “We take rigorous steps to protect our IP and our legal team will examine this to determine if any infringement has taken place,” Nintendo U.K. rep Robert Saunders told the Independent.
Emulation is nothing new but I honestly can’t remember a major manufacturer ever pimping it so blatantly as a selling feature. Was this perhaps just an oversight, a message posted by a bottom-rung blogger who went a little too far with his enthusiasm? I’m inclined to think so, based on the sudden disappearance of the video and any mention of emulation on the Nokia site, but whether or not Nintendo agrees is another matter entirely.
Published: Nov 30, 2009 05:11 pm