Look, if you have dipped your toe into emulation software anytime in the last two decades you have likely encountered one particular aquatic brand of software – Dolphin Emulator.
Dolphin is an open-source console emulator for both the GameCube and Wii, which has the very attractive price tag of being entirely free. It also runs natively on a ton of platforms – but for the discerning PC enthusiast, it has now been listed on Steam:
— Dolphin Emulator (@dolphin@dolphin-emu.org) (@Dolphin_Emu) March 28, 2023
The store page for Dolphin is now live, with a “Q2 2023” date set for people should they wish to… well, wishlist. The entire store page is quite tongue-in-cheek when it comes to describing the purpose of the software, and does include the expected stipulation that you must own an original copy of any game you wish to run via Dolphin.
The discourse surrounding emulation is an interesting one, with many considering it to be against the law – but in reality it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Emulators themselves are actually completely legal – it’s the ownership and distribution of ROM’s that end up in the legally worrisome part of the law, so can’t really endorse or recommend any of those practices. Kotaku actually did a piece fairly recently addressing the ownership of ROMs within our sunburnt country, with some great references to the laws and Fair Use principles that are impacted – well worth a read if your interest is more than fleeting.
Surprised to see Dolphin on an official store front? Curious to see what it might be like when paired with a Steam Deck? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
