I’d like to point out that Nintendo is in fact, 100% wrong. You can play back TASes on 100% stock equipment. Standard NES, standard cart. The only thing non-stock is the machine pushing inputs through the controller port. See: AGDQ/SGDQ TAS blocks.

Here is the real bullshit though.

If he owns a legitimate copy of SMW for his SNES, is it still unauthorized if he makes a ROM backup of it on his PC and plays that version? Were there specific terms and conditions printed on the cartridge/its box talking about this back in the SNES days?

Nintendo still doesn’t realize the year is 2015, and not 1992.

Except NO!!! it’s not necessarily using a pirated copy of a game. It’s fair use to back-up your own software.