The entire emulation community is in grief over the passing away of Near, a legendary Bsnes(later known as Higan) emulator.
In a tweet by Hector “Marcan” Martin has confirmed Near’s demise with the Japanese local authorities.
Content Warning – Trigger, Mental Health, Bullying
I have spoken to the police department in charge of the investigation, and they have confirmed that Near passed away yesterday, June 27th 2021.
In respect of their privacy, I will not be seeking out any further information. Please don't ask.
— Hector Martin (@marcan42) June 28, 2021
Hector confirmed the news that Near, who identifies as non binary, has passed away. He recounted the continued bullying, harassment, and doxing over the past couple of months.
Near Wrote
But Kiwi Farms has made the harassment orders of magnitude worse. It’s escalated from attacking me for being autistic, to attacking and doxing my friends, and trying to suicide bait another, just to get a reaction from me. I lost one of my best friends to this. I feel responsible.
The Google document further talked about online harassment, bullying.
Why do we tolerate this? “Harassment”, “online bullying”. How are these any different from terrorism, from someone grabbing a gun and taking the lives of others? Why does it matter that a physical bullet was not involved? The objective and the end result are the same.
Leaving Behind Legacy
Near put himself on the map with the development and eventual release of bnes, an SNES emulator. It was later renamed higan, which is the most accurate SNES emulator available.
In order to enhance accuracy, Near personally scanned over 1,200 games for cycle-accurate emulation. This has ensured seamless compatibility and preservation for their beloved console.