Quoted from Thermionic:That was my first thought. They are VERY tight with their IP and have aggressively pursued the emulation community much more vigorously than any other company in recent years, resulting in numerous web sites being taken down or severely neutered of content.
I think securing a license would be an expensive exercise in frustration, and probably not worth the effort given all the other good properties out there which can be licensed much more reasonably.
Nintendo can be very difficult to work with. Their branding/IP team makes Disney look like a bunch of pushovers. I have done several deals with Disney.... and they can make you want to pull your hair out. I have only done 1 with Nintendo - and it was much more challenging.