If you’re not familiar with Dolphin emulator, we’ll condense it here: it is an emulator famed for running old school Nintendo games, primarily from the GameCube and Wii era. On that note, fans and gamers who grew up with it may be happy to know that the emulator will officially be landing on Steam.
According to PCGamer, the Steam version of Dolphin was already in development for a while now but has yet to go live. However, the emulator is listed for a release in Q2 this year but again, when exactly is up in the air.
One contributor to Dolphin said that when the emulator finally launches on Steam, it will come with a feature article that details the process and features of it on the digital platform. One thing to note is that despite being known for emulating Nintendo games, it doesn’t actually use the word Japanese game brand’s name anywhere in its fluff.
This is because, understandably, emulating popular games derived from publishers such as Nintendo or Sony is still very much frowned upon, as it is still a form of piracy. It’s also dangerous from a cybersecurity point of view too; as with all emulators, Dolphin requires ROMs that can be found in forums. The problem is, many of these ROMs can be laced with some really nasty and malicious malware that could be unleashed on your PC just through downloading them.
“Using emulation to play your games comes with many advantages. Dolphin can surpass the capabilities of the original hardware with enhancements like increased resolution, widescreen hacks, HD texture packs, and patches to increase the frame rate. While playing a game, features like quick saves (save states), slow motion, and turbo can make playing through annoying sections a breeze. You can even take your favorite local multiplayer games online with Dolphin’s built-in netplay. Once you’re bored of a game, you can breathe new life into it by playing community-made mods like randomizers and custom level packs.”
With the advent of the Steam Deck, the Dolphin emulator is certainly beginning to look like a more viable alternative to the other semi-roundabout methods of getting older, non-Steam titles to work on the portable console. That, and the possibility of it bringing on a new controller-friendly UI.
