Retron 5 Allegedly Using Licensed Emulator Code without Creator’s Permission

Hyperkin has been accused of using RetroArch's open-sourced emulation software in its RetroN 5 console without permission.

According to Game Politics, Hyperkin's RetroN 5 console, which plays Famicom, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis and Game Boy Advance cartridges, illegally contains coding from the RetroArch emulation software, which violates its general public license. For those who don't know, the RetroN 5 plays retro cartridges by downloading the contents of the cartridge onto the system so that its on-board emulator can play it directly onto a TV.

RetroArch's makers claim that Hyperkin, the makers of the RetroN 5, also used the emulation coding of Libretro, SNES9x Next, FCEUmm, VBA Next and other programs without the permission of the original programmers.

The programmers of Libretro and RetroArch said the following about the RetroN 5:

"...as it stands right now in its current state the product is using parts of our software illegally. There were also some other things found that were legally questionable like a Microsoft-licensed Verdana font which is covered by a End-User License Agreement, so there are multiple license violations here at play."

What this means for those involved remains to be seen, but we'll definitely be keeping a close eye on further proceedings. As this isn't the first time Hyperkin has received such allegations, there could be some changes in the future for the multi-purpose console.

If you're going to play retro games on the RetroN 5, then you should check out these commercials: