Steal hearts, not sales
Earlier today Atlus issued a DMCA takedown notice for the emulation development group Nekotekina and theirPatreon pagefor RPCS3, a popular PS3 emulator being used to playPersona 5.
The group in question was responsible for the PC emulation ofPersona 5. While Atlus hardly needed to justify defending their own intellectual properties, the company put up ablog postexplaining why they felt taking action was necessary.
The post opens by explaining that Atlus feels their games are best experienced on the platforms for which they were developed.
“We don’t want their (players) first experiences to be framerate drops, or crashes, or other issues that can crop up in emulation that we have not personally overseen. We understand that manyPersonafans would love to see a PC version. And while we don’t have anything to announce today, we are listening! For now, the best way to experiencePersona 5is on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.”
They go on to say that they appreciate the buzz and awareness around the emulation community and are excited to see that they are lovingPersona 5. When their content is made available on formats they didn’t intend and sometimes for free, it can undermine their ability to deliver new content by diverting any support from a new audience.
This is, however, not the entire story. Some people have noticed that every mention ofPersona 5has been removed from every page onRPCS3.net, including the compatibility list.
Atlus had filed the DMCA directly to Patreon requesting the immediate takedown of the entire page. Atlus stated that while the PS3 emulator did not infringe on their rights, no version ofPersona 5should be playable on the platform.
Patreon informed Atlus that removing the entire page seemed unreasonable since it doesn’t specifically infringe on Atlus’s IP and that to their understanding the emulator falls under fair use. Atlus then alleged that to makePersona 5work on the emulator, the user would have to circumvent DRM protections.
Instructions on RPCS3’s siterecommend dumping your own PlayStation 3 games and software. This act would require a PS3 with some custom firmware and software tools. The developers of RPCS3 have stated that making personal copies of legally purchased games is legal where they host their web services and where the developers live.
Patreon didn’t comply with Atlus in the end, but the developers of RPCS3 have removed every reference toPersona 5on their Patreon page and website. It seems this has resolved the situation for now, but it’s best the developers tread lightly.
Atlus and Emulation[Atlus]
Atlus USA attempts to shut down Nekotekina’s & kd-11’s Patreon page for RPCS3 development[Reddit]
