Cemu
{{short description|Emulator for Wii U software}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Cemu
| screenshot = Cemu Screenshot.png
| logo = Cemu Emulator Official Logo.png
| logo size = 64px
| caption = Cemu 1.22.6c running on Windows 10
| author = Exzap
Petergov
| developer = Team Cemu
| released = {{Start date and age|2015|10|13}}
| latest release version = 2.6
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2025|02|06}}{{Cite web |title=Cemu changelog |url=https://github.com/cemu-project/Cemu/releases/tag/v2.6 |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=cemu.info}}
| repo = {{URL|https://github.com/cemu-project/Cemu}}
| programming language = C, C++
| operating system = Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
| size = {{Nowrap|25.0 MB}} compressed (Windows)
| language = English
| genre = Video game console emulator
| license = Mozilla Public License 2.0
| website = {{URL|https://cemu.info/}}
}}
Cemu is a free and open-source Wii U emulator, first released on October 13, 2015 for Microsoft Windows as a closed-source emulator developed by Exzap and Petergov. With the release of Cemu 2.1 on August 27 2024 it gained stable support for Linux and macOS. Though still under development, it is able to run the majority of games smoothly, assuming compatible hardware.{{Cite web |title=Cemu Compatibility List |url=http://compat.cemu.info/ |access-date=2022-12-29 |archive-date=2022-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229124434/http://compat.cemu.info/ |url-status=live }} 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.
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.{{Cite web|title=Wii U emulator (almost) runs 'Mario Kart 8' on your PC|url=https://www.engadget.com/2015-10-14-wii-u-emulator.html|access-date=2021-03-02|website=Engadget|date=14 October 2015 |language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413084527/https://www.engadget.com/2015-10-14-wii-u-emulator.html|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Khaw|first=Cassandra|date=2015-10-14|title=Cemu, the first working Nintendo Wii U emulator, publicly released|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/cemu-the-first-working-nintendo-wii-u-emulator-publicly-released/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|archive-date=2015-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015011205/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/cemu-the-first-working-nintendo-wii-u-emulator-publicly-released/|url-status=live}} 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{{Cite web|last=Fenlon|first=Wes|date=2017-03-07|title=How the Cemu emulator's devs got Zelda: Breath of the Wild running in just a few hours|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/how-the-cemu-emulators-devs-got-breath-of-the-wild-running-in-just-a-few-hours/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306002036/https://www.pcgamer.com/how-the-cemu-emulators-devs-got-breath-of-the-wild-running-in-just-a-few-hours/|url-status=live}} and later $22,317 per month.{{Cite web|date=2017-03-23|title=Wii U emulator team has huge parts of Zelda: Breath of the Wild working on PC|url=https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/22/wii-u-emulator-team-has-huge-parts-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-working-on-pc/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419085107/https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/22/wii-u-emulator-team-has-huge-parts-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-working-on-pc/|url-status=live}} Developers of Cemu expected that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be playable with only a few months worth of work, and had a rudimentary version of the game's tutorial playable within weeks of its release. Cutscenes were made available with a community-made add-on called Cemuhook, though Cemu 1.18.0 removed the need for the plugin.{{cite news|last1=Becht|first1=Eli|title='Breath of the Wild' CEMU 1.7.5 Update|url=http://heavy.com/games/2017/05/breath-of-the-wild-cemu-wii-u-emulator-1-7-5-update-performance-4k-frames-per-second/|accessdate=December 28, 2017|work=Heavy.com|date=May 2, 2017|archive-date=December 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228112328/http://heavy.com/games/2017/05/breath-of-the-wild-cemu-wii-u-emulator-1-7-5-update-performance-4k-frames-per-second/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Meo|first=Francesco De|date=2020-04-06|title=Wii U Emulator Cemu 1.18.0c Released; Vulkan Performance Improved For Zelda Breath of the Wild and More|url=https://wccftech.com/wii-u-emulator-cemu-1-18-0-performance-vulkan/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=Wccftech|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-02-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227034601/https://wccftech.com/wii-u-emulator-cemu-1-18-0-performance-vulkan/|url-status=live}}
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.{{Cite web|title=Mario Kart 8, Running At 4K|url=https://kotaku.com/mario-kart-8-running-at-4k-1797582638|access-date=2021-03-02|website=Kotaku|date=7 August 2017 |language=en-us|archive-date=2021-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416172416/https://kotaku.com/mario-kart-8-running-at-4k-1797582638|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Looks Awesome In 4K|url=https://kotaku.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-looks-awesome-in-4k-1797696064|access-date=2021-03-02|website=Kotaku|date=9 August 2017 |language=en-us|archive-date=2021-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302072518/https://kotaku.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-looks-awesome-in-4k-1797696064|url-status=live}} Many mods and enhancements have been developed for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild;{{Cite web|last=Morton|first=Lauren|date=2017-11-20|title=The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's PC mod scene is bizarre and amazing|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wilds-pc-mod-scene-is-wonderfully-weird/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123183243/https://www.pcgamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wilds-pc-mod-scene-is-wonderfully-weird/|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Fenlon|first=Wes|date=2017-08-18|title=New Cemu emulator hack enables 60 fps in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/new-cemu-emulator-hack-enables-60-fps-in-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029212949/https://www.pcgamer.com/new-cemu-emulator-hack-enables-60-fps-in-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/|url-status=live}}
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.{{Cite web|last=Fenlon|first=Wes|date=2017-03-28|title=The ethics of emulation: how creators, the community, and the law view console emulators|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ethics-of-emulation-how-creators-the-community-and-the-law-view-console-emulators/|access-date=2021-03-02|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118222042/https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ethics-of-emulation-how-creators-the-community-and-the-law-view-console-emulators/|url-status=live}} In January 2022, Exzap revealed Cemu's roadmap, stating that Cemu is planned to go open source in 2022.{{Cite web|title=Roadmap - Cemu Wiki|url=https://wiki.cemu.info/wiki/Roadmap#Going_open-source|access-date=2022-02-21|website=Cemu Wiki|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221205512/https://wiki.cemu.info/wiki/Roadmap#Going_open-source|url-status=live}} Seven months later, in its 2.0 release, Cemu became open source under the Mozilla Public License, and introduced its first builds for Linux,{{Cite news |last=Fenlon |first=Wes |date=2022-08-24 |title=Here's why Wii U emulator Cemu going open source is a big deal for emulation—and for the Steam Deck |language= |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-why-wii-u-emulator-cemu-going-open-source-is-a-big-deal-for-emulationand-for-the-steam-deck/ |access-date=2022-08-25 |archive-date=2022-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824213007/https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-why-wii-u-emulator-cemu-going-open-source-is-a-big-deal-for-emulationand-for-the-steam-deck/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2022-08-24 |title=CEMU, the Wii U Emulator, has now become Open Source |url=https://overclock3d.net/news/software/cemu_the_wii_u_emulator_has_now_become_open_source/1 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=OC3D |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824132720/https://www.overclock3d.net/news/software/cemu_the_wii_u_emulator_has_now_become_open_source/1 |url-status=live }} and later for macOS.{{Cite web |title=Cemu macOS Compatibility Chart |url=https://cemu.emiyl.com/installation |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=cemu.emiyl.com |archive-date=2022-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229124434/https://cemu.emiyl.com/installation |url-status=live }}
See also
{{Portal|Free software}}
- Citra, the first Nintendo 3DS emulator
- Yuzu, a Nintendo Switch emulator
- List of video game console emulators
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
{{Cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Tom |title=Zelda: Breath of the Wild already up and running on PC |work=Eurogamer |date=March 7, 2017 |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-07-wii-u-fans-working-on-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-pc-port |accessdate=March 24, 2017 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=March 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326051727/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-07-wii-u-fans-working-on-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-pc-port |url-status=live }}
{{Cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Mike |title=Breath of the Wild Nearly Running on PC Via CEMU Emulator |work=USgamer |date=March 22, 2017 |url=http://www.usgamer.net/articles/breath-of-the-wild-nearly-running-on-pc-via-cemu-emulator |accessdate=March 24, 2017 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=October 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026110310/http://www.usgamer.net/articles/breath-of-the-wild-nearly-running-on-pc-via-cemu-emulator |url-status=dead }}
}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://cemu.info/}}
{{Nintendo emulators}}
{{Portal bar|Video games}}
Category:Formerly proprietary software
Category:Software using the Mozilla Public License
Category:Windows emulation software