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Emulators have been a long-debated issue of morality in the gaming community. Using an emulator without purchasing the video game is video game piracy, however, it's oftentimes the only way players have access to certain games. PlayStation and Xbox have made many of their older titles available on modern consoles in some way or another, and publishers often port games to the timeless PC, meaning Nintendo's oldest titles can be the least accessible.
Nintendo Switch Online brings hope that the Japanese developer-publisher will change that, especially with the recent announcement that Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 titles will soon be added to the service via the Expansion Pack. This means that highly coveted games would be brought to the current generation of gaming, including Paper Mario, which was last seen on the Wii U, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, which came to the Wii via an anniversary bundle, and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which was remastered for the 3DS. But while this means most of Nintendo's best games for the N64 will be made available to Switch owners, there's one big reason why some gamers will continue to turn to emulators.
Why Gamers Use Emulators
On the whole, emulators grant access to game titles, most regularly retro titles that cannot be easily found on modern hardware. Though Game Boy Pokemon titles were added to the 3DS for a mere $10, FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance are trapped on the console. Even if someone had a GameCube with the Game Boy Player bottom attachment, most TVs and monitors aren't made to support RCA cables anymore.
Another key example is EarthBound, the second game in the beloved Mother series, which is missing from Switch Online's database of SNES games despite fan demand. It was also released for the 3DS, but it's been discontinued, meaning players are forced to peruse the aftermarket, not to mention that the eShop is starting to get shut down as well. Furthermore, its predecessor EarthBound Beginnings (otherwise known as Mother 1) was last seen on the Wii U, and Mother 3 was never localized, but fan translations via emulators solve that problem.
And players aren't always tied to their desks or laptops to get the pirated copies of games as some gamers have made it possible to download emulators on mobile devices, allowing for the same portability that Nintendo's Game Boy line had, but with better backlighting. Speaking of Game Boy titles, previous rumors suggested they'll be brought to Nintendo Switch Online. It's possible some players only want to return to select titles from their childhoods; if their goal is to only play Super Mario Land or Pokemon Crystal, for example, Switch Online Expansion Pack's worthiness is debatable, especially at the price of $50 per month. Folks likely won't want to pay the price of an entire database to play one or two games.
The downside to emulators is that finding bug-free copies of the ROMs can be difficult to find, and getting set up with an emulator isn't always as easy as popping a disc in, even if it is cheaper. Also, there's been difficulty translating many of Nintendo's titles ranging from the 3DS to the Wii U, especially in regards to the Wii motion controls, which many games base their mechanics on, but again, players have found legally gray workarounds for those issues as well.
The reality is that Nintendo could do all of these things—bring Game Boy games, GameCube titles, and the revered EarthBound to Nintendo Switch Online, and perhaps there are plans in place to do this—but some will choose to use emulators regardless. Even if many gamers own Switches now, others won't want to put down hundreds of dollars to play nostalgic titles when they have a PC or smartphone, despite the legality. The bigger answer could be Nintendo finally deciding to port games to PC, but some folks would still take the less lawful route.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack will be available October 25, 2021.