EmuParadise removes ROM downloads in fear of legal issues

The controversial gaming website EmuParadise will stop offering ROMs of old games. The administrator of the site fears for lawsuits from game publishers, according to a message posted on the website.

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For 18 years, EmuParadise offered downloads links to old ROMs from old games. This allowed users to play classic console games from e.g. Nintendo, Sega and Sony on a computer, smartphone or tablet.

In July this year, Nintendo sued two similar websites for copyright infringement because they offered ROMs of old Nintendo games without a license. In addition, the Japanese game developer accused the sites of unfair competition and trademark infringement.

Administrator of EmuParadise, MasJ, writes in his message: “Many of you are aware that the situation with regards to emulation sites has been changing recently. What you probably don't know is that we at EmuParadise have been dealing with similar issues for all 18 years of our existence.”

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“From receiving threatening letters in the early days to our hosts suddenly shutting down our servers due to complaints, we've seen it al”, MasJ writes. “We've always complied with takedown requests but as you can see, that is no guarantee of anything.”

MasJ fears that the situation can escalate and therefore doesn't want to bring the volunteers, that help manage the site, in danger. Therefore, also hoping to prevent a legal battle from Nintendo and other game companies, he has decided to remove all downloads and links to ROMs.

The website will remain online and from now on will only offer legal content.

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