Last month, Valve began sending out the first copies of its highly anticipated Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC which takes many cues from Nintendo’s Switch.

Compared to the Switch, the Steam Deck is much more versatile under the hood, able to run a wide variety of PC games as well as emulation software. The latter feature in particular has made it a highly attractive piece of hardware for gamers looking to play both modern and retro titles on a singular handheld console.

However, not everyone is so enthusiastic about the Steam Deck’s emulation potential. According to some reports, videos covering the topic have been started receiving take-downs on Youtube.

One of the most high-profile of these were a set of Switch and Gamecube/Wii emulation tutorials by YouTube channel The Phawx (Cary Golomb over on Twitter), which gave instructions on how to get popular emulators Yuzu and Dolphin to run on Steam Deck, although they did not cover how to get actual game roms for emulation.

But… but.

I have diplomatic immunity. pic.twitter.com/znNUcQ9wft

— Cary Golomb (@carygolomb) March 2, 2022

Although not explicitly confirmed, fans believe that the videos were most likely taken down by Nintendo, who adopts a harsh stance against emulation of any kind. This speculation has of course led to a wave of criticism directed at Nintendo, who many believe is overstepping their bounds by trying to stamp out emulation, which is one of the only ways to play their discontinued games as well as not technically against the law. This is especially true for emulation of Gamecube/Wii games, of which there are few ways to play legitimately.

On the flip side however, others have argued that Nintendo’s actions are justified, as emulation is unfortunately quite often used as an avenue for piracy. This view would apply more specifically to Switch emulation, as the Switch is still in the middle of its life cycle and its games are readily available. Indeed, although The Phawx’s Yuzu video did not cover where to get game roms, it still showed the Steam Deck running games like Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World and ARMS, which could be seen as encouraging owners to seek out these roms, even if it was never the video’s intent.

In the end however, emulation still remains a grey area that will likely continue to be hotly debated in years to come. Only time will tell whether Nintendo will eventually become more accepting of the practice, or continue to bring the hammer down to protect their interests.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.