Nintendo has a long history with ROMs (Read only Memory) which allowed people to play Nintendo games on Emulators or Nintendo handhelds without paying. There are dedicated websites such as GBAtemp or LoveROMS which provide people a hub to download ROMS. As of 2018, Nintendo has been cracking hard on websites and forcing them to shut down. Today, Nintendo won a lawsuit against Jacob Mathias and Cristian Mathias, and their Arizona-based company, Mathias Designs L.L.C for $12 million.
Whether the Mathias’ will have to pay for the full amount remains to be seen. The huge fine may be more a warning against the other ROM sites. If you check out loveroms.com, you’ll see a final message from Jacob and Cristian.
Our website, LoveROMS.com/LoveRetro.co, previously offered and performed unauthorized copies of Nintendo games, in violation of Nintendo’s copyrights and trademarks. LoveROMS.com/LoveRetro.co acknowledges that it caused harm to Nintendo, its partners, and customers by offering infringing copies of Nintendo games and has agreed to cease all such activities. To access legitimate Nintendo games online, please visit http://www.nintendo.com for information about the Nintendo Game Store.
This looks like the end of ROM dedicated website by Nintendo. While many users are angry with Nintendo’s approach, it is still a business. Whether you bought the game or didn’t, Nintendo doesn’t want people distributing ROMS to the public.
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This is ridiculous, they offer roms for games not even on sale which are so old nobody in their right mind would pay for them. Its a vital service to retain in the public domain part of our cultural heritage and like it or not thats what games are now. There was no harm to nintendo but this judgement is a harm to the public interest. That judge is a travesty.
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