Unpopular opinion: These leaks are probably the reason for Nintendo being so ruthless on emulators.
It’s difficult to know how much of a difference it makes, but I also think it’s at least a reason. Given Nintendo is also going after sites like Vimm’s Lair, which does not host recent consoles ROMs, it’s not the only reason.
Certainly not. But with Vimm’s lair you could argue that it’s definetly illegal, while emulation is generally considered legal.
There’s tons of illegal things that people do every single day that the law turns a blind eye to because reality is complicated. Piracy of games not being sold by the company anymore is certainly by-the-books illegal, but everyone obviously recognizes that it’s an entirely harmless “crime”. Like smoking weed in illegal states. Everyone knows it’s bullshit, so if you defend locking people up for a few grams of weed you’re a bootlicker.
Actually, sorry, but it does. Covering your investment is one thing, being an asshole because you can is an entirely different thing. Nintendo has made it their goal to show the world they are all about the latter one.