Microsoft’s Edge extensions store is believed to be “pirated copies” of classic games such as Mario Kart 64 Super Mario Bros. and various other titles such as Sonic the hedgehog Pac-Man and TetrisEven Microsoft’s IP address Minecraft used to be unofficially available.
According to The Verge, the developers were behind these offers not Microsoft, Nintendo or “any other” related parties. While the pages were immediately removed, some user reviews for these game uploads presumably date from last October – meaning these lists have essentially gone unnoticed until now.
In addition, Microsoft Edge Dev’s official Twitter account was reportedly promoting these ‘vintage’ games. Here’s an image, apparently taken before the tweet was deleted, calling out all Mario Kart enthusiasts:
A daring person with the name @olynative on Twitter took a gamble with the Mario Kart 64 extension and said it downloaded a ROM of the game.
Some lists now no longer available apparently made it clear that they had no affiliation with the game companies that created the titles. Obviously, this is still not enough.
“IMPORTANT: This emulator is not affiliated with Nintendo and is not endorsed by Nintendo. All images, games and other multimedia are copyrighted by their respective owners and authors. This game is for ALL Mario fans!”
Action has now been taken again and most of these game lists have been removed. We doubt the Nintendo ninjas would have been too impressed if they encountered them. Crisis averted.