An overwhelming number of Metroid Dread fans are against players emulating the game. The new Metroid video game was released on October 8th, 2021, and has already seen rave reviews from critics and fans. Metroid Dread has brought joy to long-time Samus players, but some people's videos of Metroid Dread gameplay have sparked anger.
Metroid Dread has been praised for its story, and the building tension in the game's atmosphere, noted by the clicking and beeping sounds of the near-unbeatable EMMI robots in EMMI zones, adds to the survival horror-nature of the video game. Perhaps Metroid Dread's most impressive feature is the potential for endless exploration in ZDR. The in-game world is teeming with a variety of biomes, environmental hazards, flora, and fauna. With such a great design and vibrant background, it's not surprising that some fans emulated Metroid Dread on their PC to play in 4K resolution.
As evidenced on Twitter, many players are upset that some people are emulating Metroid Dread. If the use of a free software to emulate a video game is made available, there are undoubtedly players who will not buy a copy of that game. Accordingly, that game will not make as much money. As proposed by Mike Drucker, it's probable that Nintendo did not make another Metroid game because the franchise has not always performed well financially; "Not gonna get into the morality convo, but it’s worth remembering that Nintendo didn’t make a new Metroid for years because they don’t sell well. The best selling Metroid game (Prime) sold about 2.84 million units. The *16th* top selling Zelda game (Spirit Tracks) did 2.96 mil." Other tweets vying for players to support the Metroid series by buying the game have also mentioned the importance of emulation. It's a well-known fact that emulation can be useful in preserving older video games. Voice actor Tom Schalk and game designer Joe -The Groblin King- state that though emulation can be a blessing, players should buy the games they love, especially since buying the games support the franchise.
Though the forecasted sales figures of a new installment in the notoriously poor-selling Metroid franchise may have caused a delay in the development of Metroid Dread, there have been other reasons for the wait. Yoshio Sakamoto, the producer of the game, mentioned that limitations in hardware were the main cause of the delay. Sakamoto originally envisioned Metroid Dread when the Nintendo DS was still popular. Once the Nintendo Switch was developed, it was possible to make his version of the game. This means that Metroid Dread was in development for nineteen years. However, if the new video game doesn't achieve Nintendo's desired sales figures, there may be a chance that fans will have to wait another decade or two before getting another 2D entry in the franchise.
Nintendo has yet to formally respond to emulations of its game, but the company has been known to sue websites hosting emulators. Either way, if fans want to show their support and love of the Metroid series, it would be best not to emulate Metroid Dread and buy it instead.
Metroid Dread is now available for the Nintendo Switch.
Sources: Mike Drucker/Twitter, Tom Schalk/Twitter, Joe -The Groblin King-/Twitter