but then how is PokeMMO still operating ? Weren't they both using game assets and creating an emulator essentially? Or did Turtle step out of bounds? It's a legally gray area so hard to find more details.
PokeMMO does not include any game assets itself. It is also not an emulator but its own engine. You’ll need to obtain the ROMs from elsewhere and place them in the appropriate folder so that the PokeMMO client can extract the files. In many countries it is legal to recreate a game as long as you do not use any code or assets from the original. The player is the one committing copyright infringement if they do not dump the ROM from their own cartridge.
>if they do not dump the ROM from their own cartridge
That is a common myth. It can even be more illegal in the case of DS games as you also break the DMCA by circumventing the DS's protection scheme of their games.
(i) Video games in the form of computer programs embodied in physical
or downloaded formats that have been lawfully acquired as complete
games, when the copyright owner or its authorized representative has
ceased to provide access to an external computer server necessary to
facilitate an authentication process to enable gameplay, solely for the
purpose of:
(A) Permitting access to the video game to allow copying and
modification of the computer program to restore access to the game for
personal, local gameplay on a personal computer or video game console;
or
(B) Permitting access to the video game to allow copying and
modification of the computer program to restore access to the game on a
personal computer or video game console when necessary to allow
preservation of the game in a playable form by an eligible library,
archives, or museum, where such activities are carried out without any
purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and the video game
is not distributed or made available outside of the physical premises of
the eligible library, archives, or museum.
It's a bit of a stretch, but one that would be enough of a headache that it wouldn't be worth pursuing against a particularly stubborn person.
I see. What about modifying a memory of a loaded ROM with like hex codes? Is that what PokeMMO is doing as well to change gameplay like show another player's location and inventory?
Nintendo is probably THE most aggressive company in the industry in terms of going after people for using their IP in unauthorized ways. They don't have a blind eye.
I am p sure Showdown only still exists because it would crater their official VGC league if they'd shut it down. And with Champions out now it is slightly more likely they would go after it, but they know that it isn't possible to iterate and test teams as fast in it as it is in Showdown (and I doubt they plan on changing that considering the limitations seem very intentional).
