I made it a rule to myself to not write about any game I don't have a legal access to. This rule worked for me so far. It also made me pirate games less and less, as time I spent on a game I'm planning to review never feels wasted. Lately, I've been uploading footage of my gameplay on Youtube too, and I write about it here on HIVE.
Still, I'm only limited to PC gaming when I record footage. The Nintendo Switch I have is a Switch Lite. It doesn't have a video-out functionality. Even then, I don't have a capture card, though I wish to invest for one in the future.
Back to the topic at hand, due to Nintendo's recent behaviors. Rising prices. Banning users. Removing features... I started to feel less guilty about pirating their stuff.
Before this year, I never pirated any Nintendo Switch game, and I only played the 3DS games I owned on my Hacked 2DS. Never having the option to record video footage and relying solely on short vids and screenshots limited what I could showcase about my Nintendo Switch gaming, but it didn't bother me much...
Pirating Nintendo Switch games THAT I OWN to emulate them on Steam Deck was a tempting idea from the beginning, but I didn't bother to actually do it...
I needed to find a Safe Source to download the games from (because I don't plan to hack my Switch to backup my games by myself) and learn how to set up the Emulator, which wasn't easy, as Nintendo took over its website, and main development team! I also respected Nintendo, so I wanted to access my games by legal means as much as possible. It was their current generation system, after all! Even if I knew emulation could be a better experience!
After a bunch of Nintendo Switch 2's controversies... Sigh~ Let's just say I respect Nintendo Company less now.
So, when I heard that the FBI seized a bunch of Pirate Sites dealing with Nintendo content. A sense of urgency overcame me! I decided it's time to have backup copies of the games I OWN. Even if it meant sailing the high seas!
So, I downloaded the Emulator. I set it up with pirated Firmware and Product Keys (this part was debatably illegal.) Then I learned how to download the games (which were compressed) and how to use the tools to decompress them with my (pirated) product keys.
I have two downloaded so far, and I probably will download the rest in the coming weeks.
I don't know if I'm going to expand for games that I don't own, but if I did, I plan to not write about them online, as per the rule I mentioned above.
Finally, I don't think I'll stop buying Nintendo games, as long as I can afford them. I still want to play the Xenoblade Chronicles series, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I want to buy them on a good sale, if they ever go on sale in the future.
However, I won't feel guilty about downloading a Pirated Copy of any Nintendo game THAT I OWN, so I could emulate it on my devices!
Thanks for Reading!
- First image is a screenshot of my Nintendo Switch Lite's home screen. The second image is a screenshot of my Nintendo Switch Emulator's home screen.