Emulation is one of the most controversial subjects on the internet.  For those of you who don't know, emulation is using a program (an emulator) to make a computer act like another computer, in this case a video game console system such as the NES, Super Nintendo, or Nintendo 64. 

    If you e-mail Nintendo about it, they will say that emulation is illegal and you should not download an emulator or use one since it is a copyright violation.  I agree with this because why would anybody spend $99 for a Nintendo 64 and then $50-$70 per game when they can download it for free on the internet?  All emulators for the Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo are not capable of reproducing the games exactly the way they were intended to look/sound/be played on the original system anyways.  In addition to this, Nintendo loses tons of money from people downloading emulators of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 systems, because every time someone downloads one of these emulators, Nintendo loses the sale of a system and/or a game, which makes games more expensive for people who actually pay for them because Nintendo has to raise their prices in order to still make a decent profit.

    The only time it should be acceptable to download an emulator of the Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64 and any games for those systems is if you already own the system AND the game you're downloading.  Some people just want to see how an emulator performs compared to the original system, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as they already own the game and system they're downloading.  Nobody loses any money from that happening.  Maybe your Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64 is broken and you still want to play your favorite game while it's getting repaired.  Since you own the game and system, again nobody is losing any money, and there's no problem with doing that. 

    You might have noticed that I mentioned nothing about the original 8-bit NES in the previous two paragraphs.  That is because I think that emulation of the NES is perfectly acceptable.  It is impossible to find a new NES anywhere.  I have e-mailed Nintendo about it and they said that they no longer make the system or the games anymore.  Since it is very difficult to find a working NES anymore, I see no reason why someone shouldn't download an emulator to be able to play the great games on the NES.  Nintendo loses no money from emulation of the NES, and if it affects their sales at all, it would increase them because somebody might download a NES emulator, and realize that a sequel to the game is available for the Super Nintendo or Nintendo 64 and want to buy that.  In addition, the NES is the only system where the emulator is almost as good as the real thing.  The graphics and sound on most NES emulators are almost the same as the original system.  The main difference is play control.  You cannot use the NES controllers on the computer.  You can, however buy a $10 gamepad which will be close to the original controller. 

    To conclude, since Nintendo is still making money from the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64, but not the 8-bit NES, emulation should not be used with either the Super NES or Nintendo 64, but is perfectly acceptable for the NES since it is difficult to find, Nintendo no longer makes it, and when you do find one, it usually does not work.