(Source : EDGE magazine issue-69 pages 8/9 typed by Gibster)

N64 Emulator Thrills PC Gamers
Windows users rush to Download N64 ROMS as breakthrough emu UltraHLE emerges

The following excerpt from a README.TXT file contains information that could change the face of console gaming forever.
'Epsilon and RealityMan are very proud to introduce you to what we think may well be the emulation release of 1999 - UltraHLE. Ultra High-level Emulator is a Nintendo 64 Emulator for win98/98 and WinNT-based PC systems. Taking full advantage of pentium processors 3Dfx(glide) graphics cards, this emulator enables you to play some of the biggest releases to date that Nintendo 64 has had. Games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 run superbly on PII 300mhz systems. But PII 3XXMhz systems can run this emulator just as well with Voodoo 1 based technology, and also with Voodoo Banshee.

Picking up the trail
Only hours after the emulators release on January 28, 1999, UltraHLE's authors removed the downloadable file, and closed their website. However, the small size of the compressed executable - around 220k - had allowed hundreds of visitors to access the file. Mirror sites were established with 
astonishing speed, while the emu code was posted to numerous Usenet newsgroups.
	Epsilon and RealityMan later issued another statement, attempting to assure readers - in particular, those working for Nintendo - that UltraHLE was not intended as an instrument for piracy. Indeed their specified reason for beginning the project was, 'to see if it could be done'. They also claimed that the project was effectively discontinued.

Promoting piracy
Nintendo was quick to issue a response and is apparently examining the option of filing a lawsuit. "Emulators such as this are illegal," said NOA spokeswoman Beth Llewelyn. "They obviously had to circumvent our security chip. It promotes continued piracy."
	Coming so soon after Sony's dispute with Connectix over its Macintosh Virtual Game Station software, Nintendo's words have alarmed the emulation fraternity. Many retrogaming enthusiasts have been quick to damn the release of UltraHLE, claiming that it jeopardises the future of all emus. With the combined weight of Sony and Nintendo, there's a danger that legal precedents set by the Atari-vs-Coleco and IBM-vs-Compaq cases, which effectively legitimised the emulation of computer hardware could be overturned.


Manageable downloads
UltraHLE's creation has far darker implications than Connectix's Playstation emulator. While PS games must be purchased for the Virtual Game Station, N64 ROMS are relatively manageable downloads, and therefore widely available on Usenet. Websites are easily located and closed by industry bodies such as the IDSA and ELSPA, but for every Homepage erased another replaces it.

The Bigger Picture
The existence of N64 'backup' units such as the Z64 and Doctor 64, and used by many for piracy, means that virtually every game released is posted on the internet literally hours after its release. One source even went so far as to claim that over three terrabytes (3,000,000Mb) of N64 ROM images changed hands on Sunday, January 31. This figure may well be exaggerated, but the fact remains: Nintendo is unfairly losing out.
	Edge will freely admit to admiring UltraHLE as a piece of coding. To emulate the N64 hardware to the extent that it does - from sound chip to 100MHz RISC processor - is an astounding achievement. The issues and complexities that it introduces are less palatable.