Good question. I recently got Melee on the Dolphin emulator and think it is very well done! I will not pretend to know everything about it, but here's the few problems I have with it:
1. To run Melee on the emulator without any trouble (especially FoD), you need to have a decent computer and better than decent graphics card. For any big computer gamer, this is not an issue, but for someone without the proper machine, it would cost at least a couple hundred if they only needed a graphics card upgrade.
2. It takes a certain amount of computer know-how to set-up and use Dolphin: Tweaking the settings, downloading the right files, figuring out how to start a match, etc. Again, if you are proficient with computers, that may not seem like a big deal, but I believe that many console gamers either do not have that proficiency or do not want to take the time to deal with it. They just want to pop it in and play, which brings me to my last problem.
3. Even assuming the Netplay runs flawlessly everytime (I'm sure it doesn't), there's still the time of setting it up, finding a person to play (I don't believe you can just search for a match, right?), and having a smaller crowd of people to play with.
So, to finally answer your question: For those with the equipment and knowhow, who are happy with Dolphin's performance, Melee Online HD will still offer access to a broader audience of players which will enrich the community, as well as a streamlined interface: For finding matches, viewing rankings, hosting private or public tournaments, creating crews and having crew battles, and the list goes on!
If there's any additional way to create value for you or any other questions or concerns, let me know. That's why I shared my Kickstarter here first!
