It's software and Steam exists to host software. It's like asking, "what's the point in Retroarch being on Google Play?" There are a few benefits, such as not needing to go to desktop mode on SD, using the Steam update system and cloud saves.
It’s already super simple to get up and running on the Steam Deck so it doesn’t matter at all IMO. I’d rather get open stuff from open sources anyways.
I can see the appeal. Of course it would be easier for the average user, for Steam integration (eg: with Steam Deck), but the real killer feature would be cloud save syncing. Add in the Community features, like forums (good resource), and the potential for guides, on getting settings optimized for a game.
Sometimes I think the developers of these kinds of projects sometimes drink too much of their own Kool aid – yes emulation as a concept is legal but 99% of dolphin users are not ripping and emulating their own legal games and they know that
Honestly, I don’t need my FOSS stuff from Steam. Steam is a great platform, but I’d rather get open software from an open platform (meaning my distro’s package manager, or flathub as a fallback). Let FOSS support FOSS. Let Steam be a way to keep the proprietary stuff contained in its own walled garden (even if the walls on said garden aren’t very high).
i can see it both ways. for technical folks, nothing beats a package manager. in terms of getting your emulator i’m front of the masses there is absolutely no question that Steam is the platform that makes that easiest.
I kinda doubt Steam would allow for cloud saves on an emulator because they wouldn’t want potentially copyrighted data ending up in Steam cloud saves if a game saved DLC content or something to a save file. RetroArch is on Steam but I don’t think it supports cloud saves last time I tried it on my Steam Deck. In RetroArch’s situation, the non-Steam version has more core support than the Steam version so I end up using the non-Steam version (which is also provided via EmuDeck).
Edit: I’ve been corrected, looks like Steam Cloud would be a legitimately useful reason for Dolphin on Steam. I didn’t realize saves worked on RetroArch.
And to all the armchair lawyers out there, the letter to Valve did not make any claims that we were violating a US copyright by including the Wii Common Key, as a short string of entirely random letters and numbers generated by a machine is not copyrightable under current US copyright law. If that ever changes, the world will be far too busy to think about emulation.
Lol is that how they did it? Do they have documentation about it (I’d assume to actually be clear of copyright they’d need to show their work, similar to ibm compatibles of old)
It sounds like it's the same situation as the TI calculator signing key which I think was brute forced many years ago, allowing custom firmware to be developed. And also any DVD ripping program which is able to bypass CSS which is also based on a master key that was figured out or leaked. There's a decent pedigree of master keys not being copyrightable, much to the MPAA / TI lawyers chagrin
Yeah, if the information in phone books isn't in scope of copyright for failing to meet a minimum standard of "creativity" surely a random number shouldn't be either.
But yeah. It sounds like the legal tactic Nintendo used to scare Valve (well, Valve was complicit, but anyway) was about the anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking parts of the DMCA.
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