Would you please expand upon this point? I have never heard this specific complaint and am very interested in learning more.
https://gamingshift.com/how-long-do-switch-cartridges-last/#:~:text=This will vary from one game to another,,under normal conditions if you store them properly.
How long do Switch cartridges last? This will vary from one game to another, based on the frequency with which you use the cartridge and the conditions in which you store it. Generally speaking, Switch cartridges should last 10 years under normal conditions if you store them properly.
Now, this sounds like a long time, and some other
articles say it's 20 years, but they aren't as durable as Sega Genesis cartridges (as an example I know well).
My Sega Genesis cartridges are mostly around their 30s, and they mostly still work (
Phelios stopped working for some reason, and
Shadowrun has a bad battery. Most of them have no problems, even the weird Electronic Arts cartridges.). I just used one of these to back them up
https://www.tindie.com/products/xdeath/usb-megadrive-genesis-cartridge-readerwriter/#:~:text=MD Dumper is an USB cart
The other system I worked on backing up my cartridges for is the GameBoy Advance, even though Gameboy family cartridges are also very durable. I used this masterpiece to do that:
https://www.epilogue.co/ I can't really sing the praises of the Epilogue GameBoy Operator enough. If you have a large cartridge collection it's great.
I'm old enough now that I wonder why I care that things are going to stop working 20 years from now, but I still play my old NES, SNES, Genesis, GBA, and DS games today and some of them are quite old.
I don't see how this eliminates that threat to other emulators now that the methods for purging them by force has been made clear to every company and copyright holder who feels like doing it.
The specific method Nintendo is using probably won't work on older systems due to the way copy protection works on them. Sony managed to use their lawyers to kill
Bleem! back in the day, but long term Sony PS1 emulation seems fairly entrenched. Clean room emulation has legal precedent, but what Nintendo is using is the DMCA which basically makes it illegal to get around encryption. It's why when you install your GPL DVD ripper you have to download that DeCSS decryption file off of some server in France.