It’s even worse than that. The only way to back up save files for games like Animal Crossing, which can represent a ton of playtime, is to pay for their online service. The save games aren’t saved to the cartridge like they were with 3ds and you can’t back up saves locally on the SD card either.

I feel like this was the origin story for the computer in I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.

The Video Game History Foundation conducted a study that showed that 87% of video games are commercially unavailable and therefore in danger from a preservationist point of view. To summarize, they want allowances built into copyright law to provide the same level of preservation and accessibility that other media, like books and movies, enjoy. The Completionist recently did a video on it with members of the foundation that talk about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyhsZE6QIJ4

Nerrel also has a good video that touches on how emulation is a gray area with court case rulings that contradict on another: https://youtu.be/yj9Gk84jRiE