This is a very touchy and confusing issue that we're all having, not just on this forum but this question has been asked soooo many times around the internet :( I also question these practices too. But I agree with what @Aureus_Lunae was saying, if you're not distributing it then it's okay, but the sites that are letting people download them is the issue :P @JessicaSix does have legitimate points, but should the person playing the game on [Emu] be in trouble, the person/site that's distributing them, or both????
It's good to see that people are concerned about playing and sharing the games they love to others legally. It should be an open, Socratic discussion, not a fistfight <3
SOMEONE REALLY NEEDS TO GET THIS STRAIGHT! >.<
That makes sense, thanks Aureus. I wont ask for roms again then. also, i dont think it should be illegal after a stipulation, such as, they are no longer making games for the console. Im sorry, but when is the last time nintendo sold a nes game to a retailer? No ones making or losing money on it in my opinion. Now, xbox360, ps3/4/psp/xbox1/ds/3ds I can see as being a totally legitimate claim, even though 360 and ps3 arent really manufactured aymore either. just my opinion on the matter.
If a game is being sold by Nintendo on a Virtual Console, then whenever someone downloads the game for free on a ROM site, Nintendo loses money. Additionally, if Nintendo ever ¤does¤ decide to release a Super Super NES or SNES reboot or whatever, they will lose sales because there are many people who might otherwise have purchased the game, but now won't because they have already experienced the game via pirated copies.
Nintendo is still selling these games; they were never abandoned: http://www.nintendo.com/games/virtual-console-games
But this isn't strictly a money issue, it's a rights issue. If you created something, then decided to stop selling it for a while for whatever reason, the fact that you decided to stop distributing it does not justify other people duplicating your stuff and distributing it to potential future buyers. If you purchase something, then you can mix and mess with your own personal copy for non-profit purposes, but you can't make copies and mass-distribute something if you don't own the rights to do so.