eh, i'm no hypocrite since i've never really given my view on this topic. And although it's been beaten to death and although i have trouble comprehending why anyone cares what some anonymous internet persona thinks, i'll give it a (probably long-winded and non-sensical) go.
The short answer: When it comed down to it, who really cares? If you don't like romz, don't use them. Simple as that.
The long answer: There are very few black or white issues in life, and romz usage certainly isn't one of them. Yes, it's illegal. So's smoking reefer. Whoops, lock my ass up. But more importantly for me is the question: is it immoral? It can be, if you're a total romwhore and take the viewpoint of "fuck that, i want free shit". But that's not me. I pump plenty of dollars into the videogame industry and try to support smaller software developers as much as possible. I own an AES (along with ten or so other consoles) and eight badass games for it. I buy SNKP ports and will one day hopefully pick up a cab and among the shitload of MVS carts i buy, hopefully there will be a KOF 03, SSVS, etc.
I also play teh romz. OHHHHH shit!!!
For me, it's a question of practicality. I'm not interested in collecting a thousand NES carts so i can play certain games sparingly. Most romz i have are games i would never purchase. If i love a game, i buy it no doubt. In fact, i've spent at least $1500 on videogame shit in the past year alone. I have enough games i've hardly played yet, i don't need hundreds more sitting and collecting dust. Fuck, it's a pain in the ass to even have to hook up all my different systems to play a game. I'm not into collecting a bunch of shit (though that seems to be happening regardless), i'm into playing videogames and having fun. And romz are an easy way to have fun. Then there is the whole jpn issue, in that there are certain games i'll never be able to find without going to japan and maybe not even then, and other games i never would have even known about if it wasn't for emulation.
I don't talk too much about NEO romz specifically out of respect to the people here who have spent thousands and thousands on their carts. Like i said, collecting isn't really my thing, but i don't try to piss people off by being like, "OMG i get 2 play gamez 4 fr33!!!" cuz that's just lame and i'm not some fourteen-year-old dipshit. In fact, i see very little of that here. I only mention it because some members seem to think peeps with modded xboxes try to rub it in other people's faces. If anything, there may be a joke or sarcastic remark once in a while, but for the most part, i'd advise those complaining cats to lighten up a little.
And i doubt there's anyone here that would claim romz are better than the real thing. Between memory errors, bad checksums, corrupt files, glitchy emus, and the annoyance of having to actually find romz, they're often more trouble than they're worth. THen there's all the badass jpn box and manual art one misses out on, plus the intagible satisfaction of actually owning a significant game.
In closing, i feel like i've written a rushed and half-assed opinion piece that will be ravaged by my professor tomorrow, But i haven't been a college student for over a year now, so fuck it. I think i'll go have a beer.
edit - regarding the hypocrisy: the people that get flamed are usually the romwhore types i cited above. They register at a board devoted to the NEO hardware and legit software for the express purpose of asking "who's got teh romzzz?" That's just fucking dumb, not to mention lazy. If you really want romz at least spend some time figuring the shit out and getting them yourself.
Or just repeatedly PM fats until he gives you shit in order to shut you up. This method is untested, but highly recommended.
