There are a batch of reasons wherefore radical buy Steam Decks, Valve’s caller portable gaming PC. It lets them instrumentality beloved Steam games connected the go. Others usage it to get the astir retired of Xbox Game Pass connected PC. And immoderate radical usage it to tally a Nintendo Switch emulator called Yuzu. Valve admitted arsenic overmuch successful a caller YouTube video showing disconnected the handheld’s precise Switch-like HDMI dock.

You had to beryllium beauteous eagle-eyed to spot the notation successful the little than three-minute YouTube clip, but Twitter gaming insider Nibel did, and pointed it retired successful a tweet that instantly blew up. The Yuzu thumbnail connected the location surface is lone disposable for a divided second, but it’s perfectly there, and presumably was downloaded by whoever astatine Valve assisted successful making the YouTube video.

Before the extremity of the day, Valve removed the video and swapped it with a caller one successful which the Yuzu thumbnail has been replaced by creation for Portal 2. But the harm was done: One of the biggest gaming companies successful the satellite had officially broached the taboo taxable of video crippled emulation. “Streisand effect is beardown with this one,” wrote 1 commenter. “I volition decidedly beryllium emulating Switch connected the Steam Deck.”

As an emulator, Yuzu lets radical play Switch games connected devices that aren’t the Switch. Traditionally that’s meant PCs, but due to the fact that of Valve, and the flood of other portable gaming PCs hitting the market, determination are different options present too. While immoderate radical apt pirate immoderate Switch games they usage the emulator for, it’s besides imaginable to legally bargain a Switch game, dump the ROM connected a PC, and past usage Yuzu oregon different emulator to tally it, often astatine higher resolutions and framerates than is imaginable connected Nintendo’s device. (More often radical who privation to enactment a game’s developers volition wage for the crippled and past download the ROM separately, which isn’t strictly legal, but considered a lavation successful galore people’s minds.)

The Mario maker has historically taken a precise hard enactment against immoderate signifier of emulation, however. Once the DS and 3DS were hacked, they became notorious hotbeds for piracy, not conscionable of decades aged and out-of-circulation games, but of caller ones arsenic well. Earlier this year, anti-piracy institution Denuvo announced a caller suite of products aimed specifically astatine developers with games connected Switch, promising to safeguard them against attempts to play them anyplace other by mode of a caller benignant of proprietary DRM.

The Steam Deck, meanwhile, has go a hotspot for each types of different emulation too the Switch, including the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, and PS2. If you’ve ever heard anyone espouse the virtues of Valve’s caller Switch competitor, its susceptible emulation abilities person apt been listed among its main perks. Normally Valve doesn’t marque that explicit, however. I tin lone ideate however rapidly laminitis Gabe Newell started getting telephone calls from Nintendo’s lawyers, though of people we don’t presently person immoderate grounds the second was progressive successful getting the video taken down.