Cemu

Last updated
Cemu
Original author(s) Exzap
Petergov
Developer(s) Team Cemu
Initial releaseOctober 13, 2015;8 years ago (2015-10-13) [1]
Stable release
1.26.2 / February 12, 2022;2 years ago (2022-02-12) [2]
Preview release
2.0-66
Repository github.com/cemu-project/Cemu
Written in C, C++
Operating system Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS (experimental)
Size 24.0 MB compressed (Windows)
Available inEnglish
Type Video game console emulator
License Mozilla Public License 2.0
Website cemu.info

Cemu is a free and open-source Wii U emulator, first released on October 13, 2015 for Microsoft Windows [1] [3] [4] as a closed-source emulator developed by Exzap and Petergov. [5] Experimental builds currently support Linux and macOS, in addition to the Windows environment available from launch. Though still under development, it is able to run the majority of games smoothly, assuming compatible hardware. [6] [7] [8] The popularity of the emulator spiked with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017 as Cemu successfully booted and ran the title within hours of its release. [9]

Contents

Development

Designed as a proof-of-concept, the initial release of Cemu could successfully boot Mario Kart 8 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD yet lacked Wii U GamePad support and audio and suffered from stutters and video glitches. [10] Cemu could run on 64-bit Windows operating systems and only supported OpenGL 3.3 on release. Despite the Wii U sharing a similar name as its predecessor, the Wii, the emulator was built independently from Dolphin, a Wii emulator, as the systems only shared their CPU architecture in common. [11] The emulator would rapidly progress from this state and increase its compatibility with the Wii U game library and add more features.

A couple of days after The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released, Cemu was able to boot the game - though running at a sluggish framerate, without audio, and filled with many glitches. The anticipation for emulation of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild caused the emulator's Patreon to increase monthly donations to $7,400 per month [12] and later $22,317 per month. [13] Developers of Cemu expected that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be playable with only a few months worth of work, [9] and had a rudimentary version of the game's tutorial playable within weeks of its release. [14] Cutscenes were made available with a community-made add-on called Cemuhook, though Cemu 1.18.0 removed the need for the plugin. [15] [16]

Reception

The emulator has received positive reception on its ability to play Wii U games on PC at higher resolutions than 1080p, the base resolution of the console, via the usage of community graphics packs. For example Mario Kart 8 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be run in 4K resolution on compatible hardware. [17] [18] Many mods and enhancements have been developed for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; [19] in August 2017, a hack to Cemu Emulator developed by Cemu community member Xalphenos allowed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to run at 60 frames per second (FPS), higher than the game's native 30 FPS limit. [20]

Unlike other emulators, Cemu was notably not open source from its inception until 2022. Exzap explained that it allows for quick progress and for more control of its development. However, the decision drew criticism from other emulation developers. Higan creator Byuu, later known as Near, condemned the Cemu's closed-source nature, arguing that Cemu benefitted from the work of previous emulators without contributing back. Pierre Bourdon, a Dolphin developer, also disagreed with its commercial status, expressing concern that high paying donors could influence the emulator's development team to favour certain bug fixes or games to support. [21] In January 2022, Exzap revealed Cemu's roadmap, stating that Cemu is planned to go open source in 2022. [22] Seven months later, in its 2.0 release, Cemu became open source under the Mozilla Public License, and introduced its first builds for Linux, [23] [24] and later for macOS. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Legend of Zelda</i> Video game series

The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship, Vanpool, and Grezzo. The gameplay incorporates action-adventure and elements of action RPG games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shigeru Miyamoto</span> Japanese video game designer (born 1952)

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in video games, he is the creator of some of the most acclaimed and best-selling game franchises of all time, including Mario,The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Pikmin. More than 1 billion copies of games featuring franchises created by Miyamoto have been sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Zelda</span> Video game character

Princess Zelda is a character in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the original 1986 game The Legend of Zelda. As one of the central characters in the series, she has appeared in the majority of the games in various incarnations. Zelda is the elf-like Hylian princess of the kingdom of Hyrule, an associate of the series protagonist Link, and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Link (<i>The Legend of Zelda</i>) Protagonist in The Legend of Zelda

Link is a character and the protagonist of Nintendo's video game franchise The Legend of Zelda. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Link was introduced as the hero of the original The Legend of Zelda video game in 1986 and has appeared in a total of 20 entries in the series, as well as a number of spin-offs. Common elements in the series include Link travelling through Hyrule whilst exploring dungeons, battling creatures, and solving puzzles until he eventually defeats the series' primary antagonist, Ganon, and saves Princess Zelda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganon</span> Video game character

Ganon is a character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series and franchise, as well as the final boss in many Zelda titles. In his humanoid Gerudo form, he is known as Ganondorf. A massive and malevolent pig-like creature, Ganon first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda game in 1986, while his alter ego, Ganondorf, was introduced in Ocarina of Time. He has since appeared in the majority of the games in the series in various forms. He is the archenemy of the protagonist Link and Princess Zelda of Hyrule and originally the leader of the Gerudo, a race of humanoid desert nomads before becoming the ruler of his demon army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master Sword</span> Fictional weapon

The Master Sword is a fictional divine magic sword in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. It is also known as "The Blade of Evil's Bane", the "Sword of Resurrection", the "Sword that Seals the Darkness" and the "Sacred Sword". It was introduced in the 1991 action-adventure video game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and has since appeared in most other games in the series.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</i> 2006 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a 2006 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii. Originally planned for release exclusively on the GameCube in November 2005, Twilight Princess was delayed by Nintendo to allow its developers to refine the game, add more content, and port it to the Wii. The Wii version was a launch game in North America in November 2006, and in Japan, Europe, and Australia the following month. The GameCube version was released in December 2006 as the final first-party game for the console.

The Virtual Console is a defunct line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphin (emulator)</span> Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulation software

Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator for GameCube and Wii that runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword</i> 2011 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a 2011 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A high-definition remaster of the game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, was co-developed by Tantalus Media and released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mii</span> Avatar on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps

A Mii is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. The name Mii is a portmanteau of "Wii" and "me", referring to them typically being avatars of the players. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the DS, 3DS, the Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices such as Miitomo. Miis can be created using different body, facial and clothing features, and can then be used as characters within games on the consoles, either as an avatar of a specific player or in some games portrayed as characters with their own personalities. Miis can be shared and transferred between consoles, either manually or automatically with other users over the internet and local wireless communications.

The Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony, which was created in 1996 as the CESA Awards. While it represents the Japanese video game industry, it is not limited to Japanese video games, but also includes international video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wii U</span> Home video game console by Nintendo

The Wii U is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</i> 2017 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U. Set at the end of the Zelda timeline, the player controls an amnesiac Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying the world. Players explore the open world of Hyrule while they collect items and complete objectives such as puzzles or side quests. Breath of the Wild's world is unstructured and encourages exploration and experimentation; the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion.

<i>Mario Kart 8</i> 2014 video game

Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous games in the Mario Kart series, with players controlling a Mario franchise character in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario platform series and are populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races. Different difficulties are selectable prior to a race; harder difficulties make gameplay faster. In the new anti-gravity sequences, players drive on walls and ceilings. Mario Kart 8 contains a variety of single-player and local and online multiplayer games modes, including Grand Prix racing and arena-based battle modes.

<i>Amiibo Tap: Nintendos Greatest Bits</i> 2015 video game

Amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, known as Amiibo Touch & Play: Nintendo Classics Highlights in the PAL regions, was an application developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U's Nintendo eShop in 2015. The application was used to play demos of 30 popular Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System video games by scanning, Amiibo figurines, Nintendo's toys-to-life series of products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development</span> Division of Nintendo

Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development Division, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EPD, is the largest division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The division focuses on developing and producing video games, mobile apps, and other related entertainment software for the company. EPD was created after merging their Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD) and Software Planning & Development (SPD) divisions in September 2015.

The Nintendo data leak, also known as the Nintendo Gigaleak, is a series of leaks of data from the Japanese video game company Nintendo on the anonymous imageboard website 4chan. The leak started in March 2018, but became most prominent in 2020. Ten main sets of data leaked on 4chan, ranging from game and console source code to internal documentation and development tools. The name "Gigaleak" mainly refers to the second leak on July 24, 2020, which was 3 gigabytes in size. The leaks are believed to have come from companies contracted by Nintendo in the design of these consoles, and/or from individuals previously convicted of intrusion into Nintendo systems. An earlier, much smaller leak had also occurred in 2018 which contained the Nintendo Space World 1997 demos for Pokémon Gold and Silver.

Emulators of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo's current eighth-generation video game console, have been in development since 2017, less than a year after the console's release. Multiple emulators have been in development, the most well-known being the now-defunct Yuzu, and Ryujinx. Switch emulators have been widely noted by video games journalists for the swift and significant progress of their abilities to accurately emulate the console, as they are already able to run existing and new titles for the console in a playable state, sometimes within days of their release, as well as able to run on a variety of devices, including PCs running Microsoft Windows and Linux, and the Steam Deck.

References

  1. 1 2 Plunkett, Luke (14 October 2015). "Wii U Emulation Is Coming Along". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Cemu changelog". cemu.info. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  3. ↑ Khan, Imad (16 May 2016). "Cemu Wii U emulator runs Mario Kart 8 almost flawlessly after update". Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Hassan, Ahmed. "CEMU 1.5.1 Perfectly Runs Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Mario Kart 8 & Super Mario Bros U - TechFrag". Archived from the original on 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Khaw, Cassandra (14 October 2015). "Cemu, the first working Nintendo Wii U emulator, publicly released". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Mendoza, Menchie (16 December 2015). "You Can Now Play 'Mario Kart 8' On PC With Cemu Wii U Emulator [Video]". Tech Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Khan, Imad (16 May 2016). "Cemu Wii U emulator runs Mario Kart 8 almost flawlessly after update". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Cemu Compatibility List". Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  9. 1 2 Phillips, Tom (March 7, 2017). "Zelda: Breath of the Wild already up and running on PC". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Wii U emulator (almost) runs 'Mario Kart 8' on your PC". Engadget. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  11. ↑ Khaw, Cassandra (2015-10-14). "Cemu, the first working Nintendo Wii U emulator, publicly released". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  12. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-03-07). "How the Cemu emulator's devs got Zelda: Breath of the Wild running in just a few hours". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  13. ↑ "Wii U emulator team has huge parts of Zelda: Breath of the Wild working on PC". VentureBeat. 2017-03-23. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  14. ↑ Williams, Mike (March 22, 2017). "Breath of the Wild Nearly Running on PC Via CEMU Emulator". USgamer . Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  15. ↑ Becht, Eli (May 2, 2017). "'Breath of the Wild' CEMU 1.7.5 Update". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  16. ↑ Meo, Francesco De (2020-04-06). "Wii U Emulator Cemu 1.18.0c Released; Vulkan Performance Improved For Zelda Breath of the Wild and More". Wccftech. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  17. ↑ "Mario Kart 8, Running At 4K". Kotaku. 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  18. ↑ "Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Looks Awesome In 4K". Kotaku. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  19. ↑ Morton, Lauren (2017-11-20). "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's PC mod scene is bizarre and amazing". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  20. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-08-18). "New Cemu emulator hack enables 60 fps in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  21. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-03-28). "The ethics of emulation: how creators, the community, and the law view console emulators". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  22. ↑ "Roadmap - Cemu Wiki". Cemu Wiki. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  23. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2022-08-24). "Here's why Wii U emulator Cemu going open source is a big deal for emulation—and for the Steam Deck". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  24. ↑ "CEMU, the Wii U Emulator, has now become Open Source". OC3D. 2022-08-24. Archived from the original on 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  25. ↑ "Cemu macOS Compatibility Chart". cemu.emiyl.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.