Discontinued Emulation

[Mr. 47]

What are your views on the ethics on the emulation of discontinued (FULLY discontinued, no re-release) video games? I believe that discontinued games, which have not been re-released at any time (or at any recent time), or are availble from the producer of said game, are perfectly ethical to emulate. If you want an NES game, which has not been re-released, and cannot be bought from Nintendo, what are you to do? Buy a used copy of it? If you buy a used copy of it, Nintendo does not get any of the profits of the game, the original owner does.

 

[Fayathon]

My stance is pretty straightforward: if it's damn near impossible to get a game legally then I use alternate methods. I do, however tend to use every trick I can think of to get the game legitimately, I much prefer to have a physical copy of a game than a download.

 

[DEAD34345]

Ethically, I think it's perfectly fine. If there's really no way for money to end up with the developer (or publisher or whatever), then emulating is causing harm to no-one and gives you a nice game to play. It's not exactly a win-win situation, but certainly a win-no effect one.

This is even supported legally in many cases (I think), as if software is not sold any more and it's rights are not defended anywhere it becomes "abandonware", meaning it can be legally downloaded.

 

[mikey7339]

I'm with the Extra Credits crew on this. If it is not possible to get the game by any other means, go for it. Though keep in mind alot of games are unavailable for a long time then get re-released. I'm actually picking up FFIV on the PSN after work because of this.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

Wait...did I read that correctly?

I'm with the Extra Credits crew on this. If it is not possible to get the game by any other means, go for it. Though keep in mind alot of games are unavailable for a long time then get re-released. I'm actually picking up FFIV on the PSN after work because of this.

OT: I'm with the consensus on this. If the dev is disbanded or bankrupt or something like that, and there's no way to get it used or from something like GoG, then yeah, emulate. Another reason to emulate in my opinion would be if you already own the console and game, but want to play it on the road or something along those lines, so you get an emulator and the rom for your laptop. Otherwise, nope, it's not justified.

 

[Chibz]

If the IP owners no longer exist then it's legal to download & emulate it.

 

[cainx10a]

Just glad Disgaea 1/2 are now available on PSN for the PSP. Boxed copies of the game are almost a rarity it seems, and I didn't feel like buying any of them used.

 

[evilneko]

As I said on the other thread about this which I don't feel like digging up right now: it falls into that grey area of "illegal but not often enforced." Abandonware falls into this category as well.

Note that applies to only the games. Emulators by themselves are legal to own, make, and distribute.

 

[FalloutJack]

There's no REAL money in protecting anything pre-Playstation at all. Developers have run off, companies have moved on, licenses have expired, and so on. And even if they haven't, there's no money in an old 8 bit, 16 bit, 32 bit game anymore. People who are selling 'em are actually trying to sell an updated product, mostly, but the ones that aren't are just being dishonest.

There is no reason at all for why I should pay to play Bionic Commando, Mega Bomberman, Revenge of Shinobi, and so on in THIS day and age. That's a ridiculous sentiment. Their days of raking in cash are over and they live in our old school memories to entertain only. Classic games are like old english gentlemen joining a club whose purpose is to benefit others. They're in retirement, no longer supporting the industry, just reliving the good times with their fans.

 

[Odbarc]

My brother recently sold a bunch of old games.
Legend Of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES). How much do you think it's worth on eBay? He sold it with 3 other games for $20.

 

[Hungry Donner]

If the IP owners no longer exist then it's legal to download & emulate it.

Except when most developers and publishers close shop they generally sell their IPs and the publishing rights to their old games. It is possible that these have lapsed instead and the game has entered the public domain, but just because the original studio is gone doesn't mean the IP no longer exists.

 

[cainx10a]

If the IP owners no longer exist then it's legal to download & emulate it.

IP owners always exist. It may not be the origional owner but somebody will always own the IPs.

Just glad Disgaea 1/2 are now available on PSN for the PSP. Boxed copies of the game are almost a rarity it seems, and I didn't feel like buying any of them used.

Do you the ps2 or psp versions of the games. I see the psp versions in basically every single game store but the ps2 versions are slightly rarer. I actually had to resort to paying $10 each for my copies on ebay. I believe it is disgaea 2 that you can actually still buy brand new fron the developer.

PSP version. Couldn't find any in the gamestop/ebgames store that are close to where I live (Toronto).

 

[Chibz]

just because the original studio is gone doesn't mean the IP no longer exists.

When did I say "original owners" in my post? It's possible for an IP to be ownerless. It's just VERY rare to happen anymore.

Is infocom going to come and defend "Beyond Zork" for example?

I have a HUGE list of abandonware that is legal to download & play.

 

[Verlander]

Like movies and literature, games should enter the public domain after a set time. It should, however, be significantly less time, seeing as how dependant they are on technology, which changes quickly.

Developers should also have the right to put their games into the public domain if they wish, like Rockstar did with the original GTA's

 

[evilneko]

Minor nitpick: Rockstar did not put its games in the public domain. It released them for free. This is not the same.