Are Emulators Considered Piracy?

[triggrhappy94]

I've always wondered.
A friend and I want to do some gameboy games for our LP series but also want to keep things as legitimate as possible--and cheap.
I've also always shied away from talking about them on this site because I wasn't sure if it'd be considered condoning piracy.

 

[shrekfan246]

It's a grey area, and as such the general rule here is that if you're not sure, it might be better to avoid it.

The reason it's so complicated is because if you own a physical copy of the game that you paid for, there's really no reason you shouldn't be able to emulate a digital version. Playstation and Playstation 2 emulators will even boot the games right off of their physical discs from a normal PC DVD player. But a lot of companies liken it to piracy because they're often distributed the same way, there's really no safeguard to ensure that only people who own the game will do it and there's no way of verifying that the person actually owns the game anyway, so that becomes more of a personal moral justification than any legal claim.

On the other hand, especially for older games, most websites that host Let's Plays won't care if you're emulating or not and the major companies haven't really taken any steps toward stopping videos of emulated games like Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog, or Super Mario Bros. 3 from popping up on the Youtubez.

So in conclusion, I won't speak for its full legality one way or the other because I just don't really know, but from a moral standpoint if you're unsure, then don't do it; at the very least not if you don't own the games already, because then it almost assuredly would be piracy.

 

[Private Custard]

I wouldn't consider it piracy if you can no longer purchase a brand new copy of whichever game you want. The original developer/publisher/manufacturer won't be losing anything.

That's my opinion anyway, that ethically it's not wrong. There's probably some form of law against it though......there almost always is!

 

[Bostur]

It depends. The emulators themselves are usually not, but the ROM images that they often need can be. The user software running on the emulator can be pirated as well, just as on any other device.

If you copy the ROMs from your own devices and copy your own games to emulate, you are probably not doing anything illegal. If you have permission to use software from third party sources you are probably not doing anything illegal either.

National laws and license agreements can make it a bit more fuzzy as well.

If you want to publish it on the interwebz it matters not whether it is legal or not. The only thing that matters is if some big company disagrees with you, and if your host have the balls to ignore unfounded legal threats.

Emulation is by itself no more illegal or legal than word processing or image processing. It's how it's used that matters.

 

[Windcaler]

Emulators themselves are not. The ROMs are another issue though. If you have the knowhow to copy a ROM from a product you own and put it on your PC through en emulator then youre fine. That ROM is your property and you can do whatever you want to with it.

If you take a ROM via torrent or some other means where you dont own the product then yes that is piracy

 

[Exius Xavarus]

If you don't own a physical copy or a digital copy that you have paid for, it most certainly is. It's one giant grey area with many justifications and rebuttals.

The way I see it, emulation is only okay for dead formats(like Sega Genesis and SNES) if the title in question has not been recently remade for a more modern console.

Or if you own a physical or digital copy(although emulation is redundant if you own a digital copy) that you have paid for, or have previously paid for and your copy is lost to you through means entirely out of your control.

Like if there was an accident and your game was destroyed or otherwise damaged beyond use, or say it was stolen and is not retrievable. Then I think it's okay to emulate. It is not okay, however, if the game is no longer available to you, through your own choice. Like if you traded it in to a game store or if you gave it away to a friend or deliberately got rid of it in some way, through your own willing choice.

That's just my stance on emulation. But as shrekfan264 stated, the general rule of thumb is that if you're unsure of whether something will get you in trouble or not, it is best to avoid said topic. Better said than sorry, ja?

 

[madwarper]

It seems it depends on the company about how they deal with emulators.

Microsoft doesn't seem to care if you own a legal copy of the game.
Nintendo is completely against it, regardless of if you own a legal copy of the game.
Couldn't find Sony's stance on the matter.

Spoiler: Nintendo

http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#download_rom

Can I Download a Nintendo ROM from the Internet if I Already Own the Authentic Game?

There is a good deal of misinformation on the Internet regarding the backup/archival copy exception. It is not a "second copy" rule and is often mistakenly cited for the proposition that if you have one lawful copy of a copyrighted work, you are entitled to have a second copy of the copyrighted work even if that second copy is an infringing copy. The backup/archival copy exception is a very narrow limitation relating to a copy being made by the rightful owner of an authentic game to ensure he or she has one in the event of damage or destruction of the authentic. Therefore, whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a Nintendo ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play a Nintendo ROM from the Internet.

Spoiler: Microsoft

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...emulator/fbff71d8-8932-4c67-af37-0435d7dd3aae

Emulators themselves are not illegal. Neither playing games on the specific emulator is not illegal. However, downloading, and playing games (ROMS) from the internet, without having the original game in your possession for the system that you are emulating, is illegal.

You are also allowed to backup your original game console cd's or cartridges with special hardware, to play (emulate) them on a computer. this only, when you are an owner of the game.

However, I think if you could get the console's output to lead into your PC's input and record it that way, it should remove the whole headache of emulators legality all together.

 

[Bostur]

It seems it depends on the company about how they deal with emulators.

Interesting to see how much Nintendo and Microsoft disagrees on the legality. One of those statements has to be wrong. ;-)

 

[Esotera]

The emulator is legal, the ROM can be legal as long as you copied it yourself from a copy you bought. That said copyright law differs massively across countries so your position depends on where you are. Ethically I don't see it as a big issue as long as you have bought the game and it's not available as a paid option on the platform where you're running the emulator.

 

[Mullac]

I wouldn't consider it piracy if you can no longer purchase a brand new copy of whichever game you want. The original developer/publisher/manufacturer won't be losing anything.

That's my opinion anyway, that ethically it's not wrong. There's probably some form of law against it though......there almost always is!

Yeah, that's pretty much my view on it.

But as the Law goes, fuck the POLICE! Am I right guys? hu? hu? no?...oh...

 

[Smooth Operator]

As long as you acquired the software you put in them legally it's all good, even though companies would happily sue you for it.

 

[Insomniac98338]

My personal policy for emulating games is if the original company/developer/publisher isn't making money off of it anymore and as long as you yourself are not making money off of the video, in that case I would have no issue with it. If it's been remade and/or redistributed digitally, such as Mega Man, Sonic, Mario, Metroid, insert popular franchise etc. here, then you probably shouldn't do it if the company is still making money off of it.