The Status of the Site

tl;dr most of the links on the site are broken

You may have noticed that the links on this site have become increasingly unreliable. And if you check today, there are more broken links than working links. Let me quickly go through the events that lead up to this.

1. A couple months ago, Google Drive changed the permissions for a large number of older files. This meant that you would have to request permission to download these files. In other words, most of the Google Drive links were basically broken. Luckily, most of the popular rom hacks had a back up Mediafire link. I was also slowly but continuously fixing these broken links.
2. Around a month ago (end of Jan), Mediafire suspended my account after people reported copyright claims on certain files. I tried reaching out to Mediafire support but they've been effectively ghosting me and I haven't been able to get my account or files back.
3. On Feb 22nd, Google Drive suspended my account for similar reasons. If you try to download a file from Google Drive, it'll probably say you need to request access or that the file is missing.

The Mediafire and Google Drive links make up pretty much all of the links on this site. So with both my accounts taken down, most hacks no longer have working download links. And given that I have a full-time job, I don't really have the time (or motivation) to go locate, re-patch and then re-upload all these rom hacks.

I have not yet decided to shut down the site - but it is something I am considering. It just doesn't feel right for a site that is for downloading roms to stay up if the links don't work..

Closing words (?)

People who have been visiting the site for a while may have noticed that things are slower nowadays in terms of uploading new hacks or just updates in general. Up till a couple years ago, I used to be very proactive - scouring the depths of the internet to find new hacks and getting updates out within a few hours of their release.

But lately, majorly from having no free time due to work, I haven't been as motivated to spend time on the site. Truth is, I stopped playing Pokemon rom hacks myself many years ago. I just felt I had to keep the site going since so many people found it useful (I think, anyway). But maybe this is a boon in disguise. After checking up on the site almost everyday for what, 8 years, it might be time to take a break. I never really expected for the site to stay up this long in the first place - but I definitely didn't picture it going down this way. Feels a bit weird it being due to my file accounts being suspended.

I won't pretend that I've been doing something noble - because let's be real, I just reupload hacks that other people worked on, though perhaps in a more convenient format. To be honest, I did start this site to make a few bucks on the side back in school. But especially since getting a job, the money part has been pretty insignificant and mainly just goes into the paid accounts like Disqus I need to keep the site running. As far as rom sites go, I like to think that I did a decent job of making stuff easy to download, by which I mean not hiding the links behind a million popups and ads.

The above paragraphs read like I've already decided to shut down the site - I haven't as of typing this but if the site goes down overnight, you'll know what's up.

Anyway, thanks for using this site. Have a good one.

Edit: Feel free to share any good Pokemon rom hack sites you know of in the comments in case others aren't aware.

Edit 2: Thanks for all the kind comments! I'm tearing up reading them. Sorry that I can't seem to think of anything creative to reply. Also, after all this, it might be a bit awkward if I don't shut the site down lol..

(I'm half asleep typing this; not sure if it makes any sense. Just felt that I owed an explanation. May edit/delete later.)