I don't think it's very stupid, it has led to a solid core of a fandom that is literally immune to every criticism of the company and ultimately people do still buy up this slop and even more since Rom Hacks despite being very accessible is very risky to develop

People who run Rom Hacks are likely split between pirates and fervent fans, opening the gap would only encourage more people to join in the fun for free, i have known people buy a switch just for emulation because they can't bother on PC, or more often, because they're scared of viruses and have money to burn