Poll: Emulators and ROMs

[squballs1234]

This is a large part of the internet now-or at least most people say it is- so i was wondering what you guys thought of using ROM files to play old games. I do use ROMs and emulators, but only for games and game systems i used to own and bought with my own money, but sadly lost or they got thrown out when my parents thought they were too old. So, do you use them? or not?

 

[silver wolf009]

I use them when i can find the actual game i want.

 

[mikecoulter]

This is a rather frowned upon subject here, as the download and use of roms in most countries is illegal.

The fact you "used" to own them also suggests that you sold them, and you're only technically allowed to play a copy of the actual game you own, not one off the internet, even if you still own it.

 

[dsmops2003]

If you own the game already then legally I don't see a problem but if the game is lost or stolen or sold then you have no way to prove you owned it. Me personally I played ROMs for shit I never owned so I say go for it.

 

[likalaruku]

I use em, especially if it's for an old out of print game that has 1-3 copies going for $100 on the Amazon marketplace, or if it's a non-PC game I want to play on the PC...so long as the game is OOP.

Someday I'll get a PS1. The only Playstation games I want to play that I can't get for PC are from the late 90s.

 

[Dexiro]

If i did use them it'd be more for games that i can't get hold of. Noone wants to splash out $5000 for some ultra rare game that's only good for nostalgia.

I'd imagine them being quite useful in the future, they're stopping older games from dieing out completely.

 

[SnowdensOfYesteryear]

I've used them before forg ames I don't own. I'm not ashamed to admit that. They're illegal for games you don't own, but. Yeah.

 

[Hiphophippo]

Roms might be illegal, but I'd suspect if someone where able to put math to it, that it does more good than bad for a developer. Keeps people interested in their games well beyond the norm.

 

[itsnotyouitsme]

Im not going surfing the pawn shops just to find an N64 and zelda OoT and Iggy's Reckin' Balls nor will i surf more pawn shops to find Parasite eve and resident evil 3.

 

[dsmops2003]

Just researched this a bit...U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 75 years from the date of first publication. And that whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play the ROM from the Internet. In case anyone cared...

 

[Mr.Petey]

I don't tend to emulate anything older than Gameboy Advance really. I do believe that ROMs and emulators do act as a time capsule of sorts, preserving old games that you wouldn't be able to find a physical copy of, especially in the horrific rarity of active 90's arcade machines.

I have seen some for sale, either online or in the actual arcades themselves but it's about:
1) Saving the cash for them as some go into the four figure total
2) Having the space to set them up and basically store them at home

Thus emulators provide an alternate to this. I don't believe it's piracy, unless it's anything current generation or even one step back into the PS2/XBOX/Gamecube era, hence why I said I don't tend to use anything later than a GBA really and even then...

Just researched this a bit...U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 75 years from the date of first publication. And that whether you have an authentic game or not, or whether you have possession of a ROM for a limited amount of time, i.e. 24 hours, it is illegal to download and play the ROM from the Internet. In case anyone cared...

Edit: Thanks for that insight, definitely food for thought right there

 

[Mantonio]

The thing is that the alternative to ROMs for older consoles - such as finding a SNES and buying them second hand, since they're not produced anymore - doesn't benefit Nintendo either. The only way they could start making money out of old games again is to either start producing all that old stuff again, or start selling the ROMs themselves.

Two things I don't see happening.

 

[DarkHourPrince]

I use them to play old games I dont' have the systems for and to try out some of the newer games that are hard to find, like the Phoenix Wright series.

 

[irishdude]

well i have both ff7 and ff8 on my ps3 and i have both of they on my laptop and both them game are over 12 years old so its not like square are losing money on they if someone downloads them for free off the internet.

 

[Disaster Button]

I've used two recently to play Pokemon Silver (I was desperate to play before I got SoulSilver) and StarFox 64

 

[Latinidiot]

I do sympathise with your ethics. My dad used to own a lot of Pink floyd records 'till he decided to give them away. This gives me the 'right' to download some of their albums. I still prefer originals though.

 

[NeonZombie]

I recently completed Earthbound on an emulator. First RPG i've finished on a emulator because i never felt like sitting there at my computer for a lot of hours. But with earthbound I couldn't stop.

I would never have got the chance to buy earthbound at a reasonable price so thank god for emulators and roms!

 

[Doctor VonSexMachine]

Is it piracy? Yes.
Does anyone really care? No.
I don't see there being a huge crack down on ROM users any time soon.

I do sympathise with your ethics. My dad used to own a lot of Pink floyd records 'till he decided to give them away. This gives me the 'right' to download some of their albums. I still prefer originals though.

Wow, that's some logic gymnastics if I've ever seen it. Ownership was transfered. It's different than dl'ing to replace a scratched disk or to get it on your MP3 player.

But I guess all that really matters is what you think of it, as no one else's judgement is going to have effect.

 

[AdamRBi]

The thing is that the alternative to ROMs for older consoles - such as finding a SNES and buying them second hand, since they're not produced anymore - doesn't benefit Nintendo either. The only way they could start making money out of old games again is to either start producing all that old stuff again, or start selling the ROMs themselves.

Two things I don't see happening.

This is generally my take on it. I for one love old consoles, several years back I happened across a SEGA Genesis and a Copy of Sonic 2 and bought it just to have it. I've owned it in many forms; Roms, PC, Mega Collection, yet there was the physical object I wanted to own. I guarantee you though that nether SEGA nor Sonic Team saw any money from that purchase. So whether you buy it second hand or download the rom it doesn't effect the developers in the slightest if it's old enough.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

If you own the actual game, I think it's legal to use a ROM, though format-shifting is still very much an icky subject, legally.

Otherwise, using ROMs is exactly the same as any other form of piracy.