I have to admit.... The prices here in the west are just so expensive. I recently opened an Ali express account for a side business and when I saw this price I just thought I'd roll the dice and see what happens. It was all circumstantial and impulsive.

I will not be voting for any person who does not support Ukraine, even if it means straying from my normal political views.

I wish people, regardless of personal beliefs, experiences, or values, would learn to appreciate one another for the things they have in common, and stop being triggered by the expressions of those characteristics that we don't.

I love so many people that don't vote, worship, recreate, or otherwise live life like I do. That doesn't change who I am, and I would never want to change who they are.

Stop hating each other FFS.

Whew. I hear you so hard. FWIW, I did actually win the cartridge in this auction as well, but since it's just a cartridge and no box, I didn't think many people here would appreciate a pic of a cart as much as they would a pic of the manual.

I'm also an old man yelling at clouds so I'm right there with you. Isn't it crazy that we've found ourselves here so quickly?

And also, mad props for referencing Jon Lajoie. A very talented individual who doesn't get enough credit. I love his work! For anyone reading this thread who has never heard of him, I encourage you to check him out. He has an awesome sense of humor!

I commiserate with you. The days of manuals are gone. And for what it's worth, the Zelda material is super sad for me as well because my late baby sister and I bonded tightly over the Zelda games. So these games are just super bitter sweet to me as well for so many reasons. When I play these games, I hear her laughter and feel her next to me. The games mean more to me than most, I suspect.

You're not alone. In fact, it sounds like you're my favorite kind of people! Thanks so much for commenting. I wish it weren't true, but the day of the manual has come to a close and you and I are the minority. But you are not alone. Let's appreciate what we have left. The next generation will never be so fortunate!! Do not be discouraged. Sounds to me like you're pretty rad!

We all have sad days. You are not alone!

Haha I know what you mean. Replacing with a backlit screen or at least replacing the lens did cross my mind at first, too. As I thought about how many years of memories I had with it, and how treasured it was by my kin at one time, I just didn't have the heart. There's an old saying about car restoration that I think applies to this situation.

"It's only Original once."

This guy makes great content. This vid made me subscribe.

I didn't even think about the risk of duplicate certificates and Nintendo's adverse reaction to it. Quite concerning.

I buy almost all games used. Moving forward, I think I'll have to buy new or via discounted digital download code. MiG Switch (Russian owned) probably didn't even think or care about that impact to the market.

But the idea of playing my own carts on PC via the adapter is quite appealing. I don't want to give this company any money but would love to play my own cartridges with improved performance.

A US company is held accountable to US law and more importantly, by the US citizens.

If you hand your data to Facebook and they abuse it, there are at least some ways to hold Facebook accountable publicly and financially.

If you hand your data to Chinese sponsored corporations, there is even less accountability.

Make no mistake, all corporations are collecting and exploiting your information, but if you are a US citizen, you should seriously consider not giving persona and biometric data to a foreign power that can't be held accountable.

Yeah there are lots of reasons. Tiktok has been proven to be harvesting browsing habits, biometrics (facial ID and fingerprints), voice identification, key logging, and more.

You are giving your face, fingerprints, and voice to a state sponsored entity in the age of deep fakes and broad sweeping intelligence operations.

If you're pro China, then this is a good thing. If you care about identity theft, deep fakes, or your credentials being sold on the dark web, then tiktok is a Very Bad Thing.

There's a lot more to this than "LeTs HaTe ChINa!"

Do your research. The bipartisan effort to ban a state owned app has merit. I wish that our leaders would be more educated on other efforts of foreign nations to amass US user data.

Frankly, I hope that this leads us to look inward at how our own US incorporated entities amass and exploit our data. I recognize the trend toward improving that line of effort but feel like it can only go so far.

I guess since our congressmen invest a significant sum of money in big tech, while simultaneously receiving millions in lobbyist dollars, they'll probably continue to ignore a lot of the problems at home.

It seems that the American people vote with payouts in mind, and our elected officials do the same. Unfortunate.

"Rich person doesn't understand how to save money!"

Haha what a joker. Everyone knows you don't go to the ER for lightheadedness. You gotta self medicate, use WebMD, and ride that wave until you can get seen by your grandmama, your buddy who's a volunteer 1st responder, your friend's wife who's a nurse, or, if push comes to shove, the N.P. at the CVS Minute Clinic.

You never go full E.R. Gotta clip those coupons.

(Tongue in cheek.)

If it were exclusively the "Republican way" then this issue could have been resolved at several inflection points throughout US history.

It's not a problem exclusive to any political party. It's a problem because people like money. That's the end of it. Politicians invest in corporations. Lobbyists provide kickbacks to politicians. Politicians bias their legislation to ensure maximum personal profit.

To isolate this issue to any particular political party or orientation is to perpetuate it.

Blame all of them. And vote accordingly.