It all started October 14th 2004 with a Super Famicom emulator under the name bsnes which over the course of time only grew and became a larger project called higan in 2012 and finally ares in 2020. byuu aka near have sadly passed away on June 27th 2021. What he did for Super Famicom/Super Nintendo emulation and the emulation scene as a whole can and never will be forgotten. It's a very very sad day and never will things be the same again. I have been using bsnes since 2010 and have actively followed the project all these years, I have played my Super Famicom collection flawlessly and enjoying every moment of it. Never, never again will there be an official update from the late genius byuu aka near....
This quote is from Hector Martin who knew Near: "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." Source @marcan42 Twitter