App Turns Your Phone Into an Illegal Portable PlayStation

[blankedboy]

Well, PS1 games are hardly for sale anymore, so it's not like the devs are really losing money if their PS1 games get pirated. I don't see the issue, they're old enough to be released as freeware anyways.

I love PS1. Best console ever made, EVER.
Unless you have PS1 Classics on a PS3. That makes sense.

 

[NLS]

Wait, have people never heard of emulation before? Why is this "breaking news"?

 

[PhantomCritic]

Just me or does the control layout seem a bit awkward?

OT: Anyways as long as the person using the app actually owns the games they're playing with, I don't see any legal problem.

 

[TheGreenManalishi]

It may use some sort of new emulation which doesn't require any PSX BIOS, in which case it is PERFECTLY legal.

I think that many emulators these days can bypass the need for BIOS because they're illegal and, thus, hard to get hold of.

 

[pneuma08]

I am impressed to see how much misinformation still exists about copyright law, much of it the same misinformation I've seen for over a decade now, namely, that owning a copy of the game does not give right to make a copy.

As far as piracy is concerned, my opinion is that, it is a crime (albeit a victimless one), and it is morally reprehensible (reason: the pirate is getting an undeserved benefit, although there are some ethically grey spots such as owning a copy of the game - most if not all pirates are merely leeches, however).

#1: Pirated disk-based media are NOT reffered to as "roms", but as "isos".

Files made from disks using the .iso format are iso's. Kinda daft to call a .bin file an ISO. Considering the game copy doesn't save the data within it's own file, ROM is more accurate.

The correct generic computer science term is "image" - .iso and .bin (typically associated with a .cue) are CD or DVD images, whereas "rom" in this case is short for "read-only memory image" - which is also technically correct because CD(-ROM) and DVD(-ROM) are stored information that is not easily modified and thus classified as a type of "read-only memory". Fun fact: pirated roms are in fact no longer read-only, and are therefore not ROM at all.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Yeah, because Sony sure is missing out on sales for PS1 games...

 

[Danzaivar]

I am impressed to see how much misinformation still exists about copyright law, much of it the same misinformation I've seen for over a decade now, namely, that owning a copy of the game does not give right to make a copy.

As far as piracy is concerned, my opinion is that, it is a crime (albeit a victimless one), and it is morally reprehensible (reason: the pirate is getting an undeserved benefit, although there are some ethically grey spots such as owning a copy of the game - most if not all pirates are merely leeches, however).

#1: Pirated disk-based media are NOT reffered to as "roms", but as "isos".

Files made from disks using the .iso format are iso's. Kinda daft to call a .bin file an ISO. Considering the game copy doesn't save the data within it's own file, ROM is more accurate.

The correct generic computer science term is "image" - .iso and .bin (typically associated with a .cue) are CD or DVD images, whereas "rom" in this case is short for "read-only memory image" - which is also technically correct because CD(-ROM) and DVD(-ROM) are stored information that is not easily modified and thus classified as a type of "read-only memory". Fun fact: pirated roms are in fact no longer read-only, and are therefore not ROM at all.

Yeah, but the emulator treats it as ROM. Savings done in an external file. Which I always find funny, since cartridge games (What people call ROMs) used to save to the cartridge whereas a CD game isn't called a ROM, even though the CD was treated as ROM.

Either way it's small beans I guess, it's like people calling regular cola coka-cola. It's adequate, but your kinda advertising a brand.

[Edit: Yeah calling it an image is totally fine, since that's what it is. Lumping them all together as ISO's is what peeved me]

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

The fact that you can't really buy Playstation games any more kinda averts that copyright thing though doesn't it?

 

[Danzaivar]

The fact that you can't really buy Playstation games any more kinda averts that copyright thing though doesn't it?

Nope because they still hold the license. The fact that you can't legally obtain it anymore is irrelevant.

Which is kinda funny really, since it means in a lot of cases you are breaking the law by just finding a way to play their game.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

The fact that you can't really buy Playstation games any more kinda averts that copyright thing though doesn't it?

Nope because they still hold the license. The fact that you can't legally obtain it anymore is irrelevant.

Which is kinda funny really, since it means in a lot of cases you are breaking the law by just finding a way to play their game.

Although, I think you could pretty easily argue in court (if it ever came to that) that the only other way to get the game would be through 2nd hand channels. Which they don't make any money on anyway. And since the basis of their suing you would be on "loss of profits" I think they'd lose.

 

[Hairetos]

Three issues with your post:

#1: Pirated disk-based media are NOT reffered to as "roms", but as "isos".

#2: One may, depending on what country you reside in, legally make your own isos.

#3: Depending on whether (or not*): it may the app:
a) Comes with a ripped PSX BIOS
or b) Requires you to provide your own BIOS
It may be illegal in and of itself, or merely using it without ripping your own PSX BIOS may be illegal.


*It may use some sort of new emulation which doesn't require any PSX BIOS, in which case it is PERFECTLY legal.

Actually, I read that ePSXe is allowed to use the BIOS because they actually reverse-engineered it themselves, rather than stealing it, so if I had to guess, that's how this emulator did it.

 

[Danzaivar]

The fact that you can't really buy Playstation games any more kinda averts that copyright thing though doesn't it?

Nope because they still hold the license. The fact that you can't legally obtain it anymore is irrelevant.

Which is kinda funny really, since it means in a lot of cases you are breaking the law by just finding a way to play their game.

Although, I think you could pretty easily argue in court (if it ever came to that) that the only other way to get the game would be through 2nd hand channels. Which they don't make any money on anyway. And since the basis of their suing you would be on "loss of profits" I think they'd lose.

Well...it depends. Back in 2006 you could use that logic to pirate say, Final Fantasy 9. But then last/this year they re-released it on PSN. There's easily a case for 'loss of future profits' or something if they wanted to be really crafty.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

The fact that you can't really buy Playstation games any more kinda averts that copyright thing though doesn't it?

Nope because they still hold the license. The fact that you can't legally obtain it anymore is irrelevant.

Which is kinda funny really, since it means in a lot of cases you are breaking the law by just finding a way to play their game.

Although, I think you could pretty easily argue in court (if it ever came to that) that the only other way to get the game would be through 2nd hand channels. Which they don't make any money on anyway. And since the basis of their suing you would be on "loss of profits" I think they'd lose.

Well...it depends. Back in 2006 you could use that logic to pirate say, Final Fantasy 9. But then last/this year they re-released it on PSN. There's easily a case for 'loss of future profits' or something if they wanted to be really crafty.

True, but most of the games I "would" download "would" be the ones that have a ridiculously small chance of being re-released.