EmuParadise has removed its entire library of retro game ROMs and ISOs

[Greg2600]

That's like justifying sneaking into the Louvre since Vincent Van Gogh isn't receiving a check every time someone buys a ticket.

Difference is the Van Gogh is available.

There are union workers in the game industry. Just look at the whole big deal involving voice actors not that long ago.

Even if the individual programmers, graphic designers, etc. aren't getting royalties or some such (and sometimes the big-shots do, like how Koichi Sugiyama owns all of his music in Dragon Quest, so Square Enix can't use it or re-release any of the old games without his approval and compensating him), if piracy hurts a small developer/publisher, they may have to lay people off or keep their salaries stagnant. There are also a lot of freelancers in the industry, so they may not be offered additional gigs or their pay rates might not increase, when the developer/publisher may have used their services more often or offered them a higher pay rate otherwise. Like I was saying before, not everybody in the industry is a mega corporation or working for one. It's like Walmart versus a mom & pop store. You may argue that shoplifting won't hurt the former, but it can definitely hurt the latter, both the business owner(s) and the employees. And publishers deserve credit for games too, not just the specific individuals who make them. If not for the publisher funding a project, the individuals wouldn't have a job, and the game wouldn't get made. So acting like it's a victimless crime because you're not stealing DIRECTLY from one of the game's creators is disingenuous.

Even if we're talking about IPs changing hands and none of the original staff behind a game still working for the current IP holder, the current IP holder still has their current staff to pay, and if the current IP holder is re-releasing those old IPs, then the current staff is working to make those games available on current platforms, providing all the programming, asset creation, marketing, customer support, etc. necessary. I've bought recent ports/remakes like Romancing Saga 2 and Secret of Mana, and I don't know who among their original staffs are still working for Square Enix (obviously not Secret of Mana's artist, who passed away some time ago). But I'm still not about to pirate the SNES/SFC versions of the games instead just because I can't necessarily compensate the original creators. I still appreciate the work Square Enix put in to make the games available on modern platforms, so I want to compensate them for that. And they're one of the aforementioned huge corporations. I all the more want to support tiny publishers, like when I buy games from MangaGamer, a company plagued with piracy.

Guys, I already said pirating current games is a no-no, yes that hurts the publishers. However, what I and most have argued is for totally defunct properties and games. The overwhelming majority are not re-released in any form. Even when they are, there's a reason AtGames, GOG, Intellivision Lives, etc. existed. There was a market for fans who don't have the patience or preference for using emulation. Anyone who argues that AtGames is harmed by 2600 games being pirated are simply not realistic. Or GOG harmed by the people who download Maniac Mansion, and haphazardly played it on an Ouya, or a modded 360 or whatever. The vast majority of gamers prefer fully-refinished releases of nostalgia, because they will be plug and play. Yet again, you can't get the stuff, because they're not offered, and probably never will be. Further, come on, The Secret of Mana? Seriously, how many people who even have heard of the game let alone wished to play a remake without sampling the original via emulation? I'm not defending the legality, more the practicality. I know it's infringement, but don't give me a counter argument about lost royalties or harming re-releases, because that's simply not the case.

There are still torrential amounts of places to get full sets of roms.