Poll: A Rant About Emulation!

likalaruku

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Tara Callie said:
From what I understand, no company has ever complained about emulation in particular. It's people who steal modern day games that pisses everyone off.

likalaruku said:
I have a collection of ROMs for 4th-6th gen consoles. I have a rule where a game has to be 10 years old before I'll get a ROM of it.

Now if legal emulations exist, like SEGA's PC port classic collections on STEAM
Okay, I gotta ask... why do some people All-caps the word "Steam"?
BECAUSE! :p
 

CardinalPiggles

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lacktheknack said:
CardinalPiggles said:
Of course we now have places like GOG giving another brilliant option.
They're not another option, because they run all the oldies on DOSBox... an emulator.

Seriously. Go open an early 90s game you bought from gog.com, and you'll see a second window that looks like a command prompt pop up. That's the emulator.
Sorry, I guess I should clarify, free emulation. I assumed that that was just an unspoken guideline.
 

Ashadowpie

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i grew up with Nintendo and i have most of my Snes games bought from my Wii but fuck you Nintendo for not giving back Yoshi's Island! the best platformer of all time, right next to DK2 of course.

most of the emulator games i have are games that are impossible to either play now, find or download legally through Wii. so i feel like i have a right. i didnt grow up with a PS1 so theres no games besides Final Fantasy 7,8,9 and i have the physical copy of them i just play them on my PS2

what i dont agree with is cracking or stealing/selling recent games, making emulators for Wii/360/PS3/PC games where it actually hurts the company. i dont think downloading a free Rom of Super Mario World for the Snes is going to hurt Nintendo even a tiny bit. so go nuts, jus dont touch anything over 2006 or something. i dont know.
 

FireAza

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Emulation can never be as perfect as playing the game on the original hardware, so it will always be flawed. And in terms of control, a PC's peripherals are not what the game was designed to use, so some parts in games can be hard to control. Plus, it's fun to collect the original hardware and use cartridges and stuff (Hu-cards are awesome!)
 

Yan007

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As I currently live in China at the moment, emulation of older games (by older, I really mean the generations before 3D) is pretty much my only option when I want to play oldschool games. Consoles are illegal to begin with (unless they are Chinese brands. Btw, computer games are NOT video games here, legally speaking). Consoles were banned in 2000. There IS a gray market of consoles here, but then again even if you do find one it will be a "good copy" or an original console that was chipped to play copies because stores don't sell originals of any games here, even new ones.

I buy most of my games on steam, gmg,gog and so on. I did bring a wii here with me, but the wii store is blocked in my region. I think emulation in this case is perfectly fine, even when you don't own the game itself as it is entirely unavailable and the action of playing on a console is illegal to begin with.

Also, I think laws should be changed in Western countries to reflect that games are also art and have an impact on society and they should be preserved. Publishers should be legally obligated to provide the source code of a game or allow its emulation a certain time after it is not sold anymore. For example, I think games like the original Mario Bros are fine to emulate if you own a copy, but that other games as old that are completely out of print and unavailable more than a decade after its original release should be legally playable with or without prior ownership, such as Diablo 1 for example.

I also think the case against piracy and emulation of stolen ROMs is much stronger when you argument from a moral point of view than a legal point of view. I guess most here would agree that we consider piracy wrong because it steals revenues from the producers of the goods we enjoy. As such, we should also agree that once something has been de-facto abandoned by its creators then it should fall into the public's hands.
 

Keneth

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Tara Callie said:
Okay, follow up question. What exactly is Steam?
Steam is a digital distribution platform for purchasing and downloading games. It's owned and operated by Valve. The guys who made Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Portal.

synobal said:
Anyone remember the game Nightshade on the NES? Loved that, grabbed it and an emulator recently still great. I'd love to see it revived honestly.
OMFG I loved that game as a kid!
 

Swishdude

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Tara Callie said:
likalaruku said:
Tara Callie said:
From what I understand, no company has ever complained about emulation in particular. It's people who steal modern day games that pisses everyone off.

likalaruku said:
I have a collection of ROMs for 4th-6th gen consoles. I have a rule where a game has to be 10 years old before I'll get a ROM of it.

Now if legal emulations exist, like SEGA's PC port classic collections on STEAM
Okay, I gotta ask... why do some people All-caps the word "Steam"?
BECAUSE! :p
Okay, follow up question. What exactly is Steam?

A friend of mine did a video on why he doesn't like it, but if someone could fill me in, because I see a lot of people shower it with praise.
Steam is a digital marketplace created by Valve Software of Half-Life fame. Originally created as a method for Valve to release and manage their own software. Steam has since expanded to sell a whole bunch of PC games from various developers and publishers. I imagine your friend doesn't like steam for it's DRM practices, since it requires you to be online. However Valve has treated it's users well and in good faith Steam has continued to grow in popularity every single day.

Also, Nintendo has complained about fan emulation in the past I believe. Companies see it as a legitimate threat to losing sales. Several companies have sent legal notices to and have shut down Rom & Emulation sites for hosting information and software that leads to emulation. Also, there have been lots of examples of sites being closed down that offer or sell hardware based emulation.

For example: 'Bleemcast!' for the original Dreamcast. Software that was developed for the Dreamcast to emulate PS1 games on Sega Dreamcast's stock hardware. Sony fought them until they had to shut down because of court costs.
 

Vylox

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I run an emulator on my tablet, my phone and my netbook. There really isn't much wrong with it, to me.

I see zero reason to purchase something that I still own, but can not play on its original device because said device is 25 years old and no longer functions. Then there comes the cost. Price of a working Sega Genesis, plus Sega CD, plus original European release of NightTrap is pretty hefty, and that's assuming you can find them all, in working condition.
There are other games that I play, but that is a good example. Several of the games that I enjoy playing, aren't available on newer consoles, and of those that are, I see absolutely no point in spending the money on said console in order for me to then purchase (again) something that I have in my possession.
Maybe I'm odd, but I have in a box, 3 dozen Sega genesis games, plus 17 Sega CD games, 21 TGX16 games, 38 NES games, 24 or so SNES games, and 7 Sega Master system games.. (good luck trying to find a functioning master system) and, since I own these things, and like to enjoy playing them, especially when I'm bored, I do.

There are titles that I would download and "digitally pirate" the ROMs of, and have, because those are games I was/am interested in, that weren't released regionally to the US... and I am not willing to spend money on a console that I'll barely use in order to play those titles. Especially considering that I do most of my emulator playing in between classes at college.
How many of you, who are against emulation, would willingly take your console to school?
 

V da Mighty Taco

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Adeptus Aspartem said:
V da Mighty Taco said:
Adeptus Aspartem said:
Is this a thing now? Being anti-something-that-never-ever-was-a-problem?

This thread is literally the first time i heard anyone in rl & on the internet say something negative about emulating - except raging that the emulator doesnt work :p
I take it I'm alone in avoiding using emulators for this very reason then - it seems to similar to piracy to me for me to do it. As much as I'd like to run Turok 2 on a system that can actually handle it, my massive insistence on adhering to my morals causes me to just stick with playing it on the N64.
Nice hidden passive-aggressive high-horse riding there.
You really think you're doing something morally wrong by playing a game you own.. on a diffrent system it was made on?

Mkay.
What the flying fuck are you talking about? I wasn't trying any passive-aggressive bullshit, I was simply stating my opinion on the matter. The fact that you and many others never even heard of anyone having an issue with emulators surprised me. Nothing more. How about you get off your high horse and accept that not everyone agrees with you, or better yet make an actual argument on the matter rather than just insulting me?

To answer your question, I see that as a grey-area that I can't quite decide on, so I go the "safe than sorry" route and don't do it. My morals mean a LOT to me, so doing something that may defy them isn't something I'm fond of. There is some hypocrisy with it, which I'm continuing to try to figure out, but people like you blatantly insulting me instead of making a polite counter-argument isn't helping matters in the slightest.
 

StBishop

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Sep 22, 2009
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Swishdude said:
I invite you to listen to me go on a brief little rant about video game emulation.

Video Removed. Please do not link your own works on the forum.-Mod Edit

I know everyone here at the Escapist can be super opinionated about emulation, so let's hear it. Do you feel emulation is wrong or right?
Due to the mod edit, there's no discussion value in this topic any more.

Swishdude, can you please edit in a summary of the video?
 

Yan007

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Jan 31, 2011
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StBishop said:
Swishdude said:
I invite you to listen to me go on a brief little rant about video game emulation.

Video Removed. Please do not link your own works on the forum.-Mod Edit

I know everyone here at the Escapist can be super opinionated about emulation, so let's hear it. Do you feel emulation is wrong or right?
Due to the mod edit, there's no discussion value in this topic any more.

Swishdude, can you please edit in a summary of the video?
Well he can't link to his own work. I guess someone here could link back to it again because it's not theirs?
 

StBishop

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Sep 22, 2009
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Yan007 said:
StBishop said:
Swishdude said:
I invite you to listen to me go on a brief little rant about video game emulation.

Video Removed. Please do not link your own works on the forum.-Mod Edit

I know everyone here at the Escapist can be super opinionated about emulation, so let's hear it. Do you feel emulation is wrong or right?
Due to the mod edit, there's no discussion value in this topic any more.

Swishdude, can you please edit in a summary of the video?
Well he can't link to his own work. I guess someone here could link back to it again because it's not theirs?
That's why I asked for a summary. People are allowed to reiterate points they've made elsewhere in the forums. That's what (s)he'd be doing.

Also, I recall (Gavin) Miracle of Sound posting his videos here and not being given any grief for it. Now he's a legit content creator. That said, he had about 500,000 posts at that stage.
 

Windcaler

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Heres the original video for those that didnt get to see it. Since Im not the publisher it shouldnt be agaisnt the rules for me to link it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vP7sZaIBBis

V da Mighty Taco said:
I take it I'm alone in avoiding using emulators for this very reason then - it seems to similar to piracy to me for me to do it. As much as I'd like to run Turok 2 on a system that can actually handle it, my massive insistence on adhering to my morals causes me to just stick with playing it on the N64.
If I may ask, what is your morale problem with Emulation? To take your turok example, you could take the files off of your cartridge and put them on a PC. All the emulator does is take the files from one system and make them playable on another system. In this case the company already got your money and they havnt rereleased it so they arent saying they want more of it for the product. What do you do if your N64 or the cartridge itself breaks? and why do you feel emulation is piracy when you already bought the game?

I just dont see a morale quandary in there
 

Reyold

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Jun 18, 2012
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Emulation's great, if you ask me. There's a LOT of games I wouldn't be playing right now if I didn't use emulators, plus it's a great way to keep all my favorite games for years to come.
 

Snotnarok

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Ung, I'm sure I'm going to hear it for this but why the hell can't we post things that we made? Okay I get it, it diverts people off the site to look at something else but is hopping on youtube or another site for 5 seconds going to divert someone from returning to the escapist? I'm saying this because a mod has apparently removed the link to the video, so the discussion value has now been shot down a bit. I've wanted to discuss artwork but I'm not allowed to link my website here, even if my site has no ads and I make no money off it, it actually costs me money to run.

OT: Emulation is fine, I know there's someone who's going to tell me I'm wrong because it's illegal. All I have to say is if SEGA tried to crack down on me for playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles I'd just drop the 5 duplicate copies I own and say "Yeah well sorry I figured I was covered after 5 purchases".
 

RevRaptor

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Mar 10, 2010
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Very much for emulation. Here's the way I see it, to play old console games you need the original console and a CRT Tv a modern HD Tv simply does not work the same. The CRT Tv's had true 1:1 scale display but the modern Tv's have to upscale the video input to display it, some Tv's handle this kinda ok but most are really terrible adding a lot more jagged lines and some really bad pixelation.

I put my copy of FF8 into my ps2 the other day, it was so bad that the characters had blocks for heads an square cubes for noses. It was utterly unplayable but emulated on my pc I can display it as it was intended or use a filter effect smooth it out even more. For me playing the games on their original hardware simply doesn?t work.
 

Swishdude

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Nov 21, 2009
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I originally posted this video on the User Reviews board where I post all of my videos. Someone moved this post here, a mod I imagine. Sorry for the confusion.

I wrote a timed close caption file for a deaf viewer tonight. I will post that file tomorrow morning so people can see what I said without having to watch the video.