Avoid any Nintendo Switch "Emulators"

The Nintendo Switch is certainly an appealing system, isn’t it?

No? Well, some of its games are most certainly is. While every console has it’s evangelists, even the PS4 and Xbox One nerds are looking on The Legend of Zelda with envy, even with so many weeks for the hype to wane. And it’s tempting to believe, beyond a distant hope, that a day might someday arrive when they get a chance to play it themselves… either by getting enough money to buy a Switch or… if there was some way it could be played on PC?

Well, unfortunately, that promise has been circling the net for a while now: folks promising that there is, in fact, a Nintendo Switch emulator out on PC, that will let you enjoy Nintendo’s greatest masterpiece without buying Nintendo’s latest questionable console. But unlike the PC “port" which was shown off earlier this year, this particular promise of a Switch Emulator (which is showing up in ads, forums, and videos: sometimes even with official Nintendo logos) is, in fact, a scam, as reported by the FCC.

“If you can’t get your hands on a Nintendo Switch gaming system, you may think an emulator is the next best thing. Think again. Online ads for emulators, sometimes with Nintendo branding, say they can run Switch’s games on your desktop. But there is no legit Nintendo Switch emulator. It’s a scam.”

Yep. This “Switch Emulator” that’s circling the net these days is, unsurprisingly, just a virus that will infect your PC with all sorts of troubling junk if you decide to download it. The FCC recommends you don’t download such a thing making a claim, and keep your security software up to date to keep you safe from malware like this. Oh, and to report it any time you see it.

Sad, of course, we’ll have to wait a long time before any real emulators roll around, but in the meantime, you can always play nearly any other Zelda game that’s been made on your PC. All it takes is a lil’ piracy!