Nintendo has long been known for its aggressive legal stance against emulation and piracy. In March 2024, the developers of the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu were mandated to pay $2.4 million in damages following a settlement with Nintendo. This was followed by the cessation of development for the Switch emulator Ryujinx in October 2024 after "contact from Nintendo." Additionally, in 2023, the team behind the Gamecube and Wii emulator Dolphin was advised against a full Steam release by Valve's lawyers, prompted by strong legal warnings from Nintendo.

In a notable case, Gary Bowser, associated with Team Xecuter products that enabled bypassing the Nintendo Switch's anti-piracy measures, was charged with fraud in 2023 and ordered to repay Nintendo $14.5 million, a debt he will be servicing for life.

At Tokyo eSports Festa 2025, Koji Nishiura, a patent attorney and Assistant Manager of Nintendo’s Intellectual Property Division, shed light on the company's perspective on piracy and emulation during a panel discussion with Capcom and Sega. Nishiura clarified the legality of emulators, stating that while emulators themselves are not inherently illegal, their use can become illegal if they copy programs from the games they emulate or disable a console's security features.

This stance is influenced by Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act (UCPA), which, while only enforceable within Japan, complicates Nintendo's international legal efforts. An example cited was the Nintendo DS "R4" card, which allowed users to play pirated games. After legal action from Nintendo and 50 other software companies, sales of the R4 were effectively banned in 2009 for violating the UCPA.

Nishiura also highlighted the issue of "reach apps," third-party tools like the 3DS's "Freeshop" and the Switch's "Tinfoil," which enable the download of pirated software within emulators, thereby infringing copyright laws.

In the legal action against Yuzu, Nintendo claimed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was pirated one million times, facilitated by Yuzu's Patreon page, which offered subscribers "daily updates," "early access," and "special unreleased features" to games, generating $30,000 per month for its developers.