You talk about convincing people into emulation, but can you even do that on moderated websites? I mean, helping them get ROMs without going into “wink wink nudge nudge” communication or risking Nintendo’s lawyers invading that site.
Speaking plainly, I still buy games and hardware the normal way because I don’t want that complication. It’s not worth the effort and hassle just to risk putting viruses on my computer.
I’d like to think Lemmy is still small enough that talking about piracy of their games and stuff is flying under their radar for now, which is why I don’t care. Also, fuck Sintendo. I ain’t afraid of their corporate stasi.
Also, on Steam Deck, Emudeck takes away the vast majority of complications regarding getting multiple emulators set up by having pre-configured configurations for each emulator you install to try and make sure game compatibility and running them is as smooth as can be for most games.
The emulators are generally easy to get. The struggle is in getting the games themselves.
Even if you’re unafraid of Nintendo’s stasi, you aren’t the one assuming risk. Takedown notices tend to go to the hosting / discussing sites, not individual users. It’s not very brave to order Lemmy hosts to battle those notices in court on your behalf.
I legit cannot remember the last time I got a virus pirating a game. Probably in the Limewire days, ~20+ years ago.
So, anytime people say this, I’m compelled to remind them: Unlike movie depictions, malware is generally incentivized to not be apparent.
You install something, they infect, and then they do their best to ensure you don’t know that for the next few months, if ever. Meanwhile, anything as subtle as key logging or checking wifi-connected devices can give them info for some other attack.
So, I can only say I hope I don’t have a virus right now - but I don’t really know. And I’m pretty sure those pirating groups have profit incentives beyond littering their sites with ads.
