Your view on emulators.

[Life_Is_A_Mess]

I agree with emulators as long as they respect a personal rule I made up for these things:
"If you can't find it in any store anymore or if you're in a country with no access to it, or if you can't affort the console, do it."
Until now, no emulators necessary, I buy what I need to run the game.

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Emulators are not illegal, however many of the ROMs are. Many companies don't bother with pursuing people who use abandonware ROMs because they don't turn a profit from that particular game. On the other hand, many use emulators ad ROMs to play brand new games and new consoles without having to pay for it, often making them a simple method of handheld console piracy.

 

[Autofaux]

To avoid having to use emulators, I replaced my original Xbox DVD drive myself, and bought a slim PS2.
Set me back about 150 bucks, but it was all worth it.

 

[Klarinette]

Hey man, emulators save me boredom time at work. It also gives me something else to do when Angry Birds' horrible physics engine frustrates me, haha.

 

[Fayathon]

I have nothing against emulators, and so long as you actually own the game that you are emulating (at least here stateside, and that means for the system you're emulating on top of having the actual game) it's perfectly legal. I've a friend that has an emulator for PS1 games that he actually uses his PS1 games in, he pops them in the tray and uses a PS3 controller to play them.

Now if you're using an emulator to play games you don't own, I can't condone that.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

From what I understand, they are illegal. I could be wrong, but that's what I have been told. So no, I don't think to kindly of them.

EDIT: And no, I don't think we should follow laws blindly. But if a law is made by a legitimate authority that does not infringe on someone's God-given rights, then it should be followed. LG FTW!

Emulators aren't illegal at all. Developers use them all the time to test their code, that's actually what they were originally designed for. Especially for stuff like mobile phone apps, where it's a matter of changing a few options to test all the various models and firmware versions (rather than buying a sack of phones).

The only illegal part is downloading games off the internet.

It's the same with hacking/homebrewing a console. It's not technically illegal (though it may be against the EULA) to do, it's just frowned upon because it could enable illegal activity. But really it's no different from tuning up a car: if you own it, taking it apart is your prerogative.

 

[Doti]

I admit to using a GBA emulator, because I simply can't find the games anywhere for sale. Believe me, I'd much rather play on my handheld. Now for recent consoles, there's really no excuse, IMO.

Also, I'm not really sure how the law views emulators around here.

 

[tomme69]

On a forum I was on a while ago, a member was suspended because he asked if anyone knew of any good PSX emulators. The reason he was suspended was for "encouraging illegal activities".

But are emulators illegal? And what's your view on them?

Emulators are not illegal , as long as your emulating games that you actual legally own.

 

[JWRosser]

On a forum I was on a while ago, a member was suspended because he asked if anyone knew of any good PSX emulators. The reason he was suspended was for "encouraging illegal activities".

But are emulators illegal? And what's your view on them?

Emulators are not illegal , as long as your emulating games that you actual legally own.

That's my view too.
I've downloaded SEGA Genesis games, but only ones that I owned years ago, as I wanted to play them again.

Currently I'm trying to work a PSX emulator (the thought of this thread made me want to get one) to play some of the old Final Fantasies - all of which I own, but have no console to play on.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

I don't know if emulators are legal or not. According to people in this thread, they are.

As for my person views on them, I see no problem with them for the most part. Most people use them to play games that are pretty old. You can't go out and buy them or the console they run on new anymore. So from a profit standpoint, the company which makes the software and/or hardware has already made money off it, so they aren't losing anything by someone choosing an emulator or ROM over a used product.

Using an emulator for a recent game or system though does come awfully close to piracy though. In that case I do have to admit that it would be morally right for a person to actually go and buy the stuff themselves.

 

[viranimus]

I really don't see the big deal with it that much anymore these days. When you think about it Sega isn't making money off Sega Genesis cartridges these days the only people who are losing out on the sales are personal collectors who sell some of their games, or comic shops that specialize in classic console titles from the 8-16 bit era.

I wont go too deep into this subject cause Ive said it all before, but this is one particular caveat that is being overlooked.

While Sega is not making profit off of genesis catridges.. they are still making profit off of genesis software. Just look at how many Genesis games you can pick up off of steam like Ecco the dolphin, Streets of rage, Sonic (insert detailer here), etc.

You can make a claim for abandonware, however that claim falls flat when you try to claim a game is abandonware in this era of relaunching old IPs. So unless its a company that the dev/publisher is not producing for profit any longer, you really cant claim its abandonware. So my point is... Sega, Squaresoft, etc all have means of which to resell those old games on different platforms, so you cant call it abandonware because the software is still being sold for profit and by using a rom/ISO of that software, at least in the companies eyes, your denying them of a sale, be it on the virtual console, XBL marketplace, steam, PSN, or new console incarnations.

EDIT: and to clarify... on the legallity of Emulators. Its all about Location and precedent.

In the US.. the precedent to point to us Bleem vs Sony. Just look up the history of Bleem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleem

It also clarifies how the emulator software is legal, but the game software without original licensed discs is copy infringement when you actually read up on the case notes. So Emulators, perfectly legal, but useless unless you have the original media to go along with it.

 

[philip1228]

I use them to emulate the Pokemon games that I bought and lost. Currently playing through Ruby on one, think I'm going to Crystal next...

 

[Irriduccibilli]

I don't mind emulators as long as it's just for outdated games you can't buy any longer, like Mario Kart for the N64 or Starfox 64 for the same system

 

[Jesus Phish]

I use an emulator to play games I own but don't have the hardware to run them on anymore.

I don't support people using them to play games they don't own a copy of.

 

[Kennetic]

How is there a problem with emulators? I love being able to play old games on my computer. Also, I'm deployed in Iraq right now so if I want to play an old game, emulators are the only way to do it. I support them fully

 

[DracoSuave]

Emulators are legal, but copies of games to run on them are not legal. It's not 'close' to piracy. It is piracy.

Anyways.

My view on this is simple: Emulators kept retrogaming alive before retrogaming was a thing. It wasn't long ago when if you wanted to play the old games you loved, you either had to hunt down copies of them at pawnshops and hope the hardware still worked, being absolutely screwed if a part got destroyed unless you happened to know of one of the few repair shops left in the world....

...or you emulated.

Nintendo got wise to this, and made the Wii a viable option for the emulation crowd, which is something you don't really hear them getting enough credit for. Not only could you play a lot of old nintendo stuff on it, they snagged some sega stuff... AND some Turho Grafx stuff as well. That last thing is huge, as the TG16 is a platform the EMU scene hasn't really 'gotten' good with yet. Suddenly Neutopia is playable on a home console again? Yes!

The other aspect of the EMU scene is patch-translating... getting games unavailable in your area. Look at the Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy games that weren't released here as an example. EMU managed to fill this demand years later, until that company got wise to it, and put out their own versions.

Are Roms illegal? Yes. Is it piracy? Yes. However, this is one of the few instances where the piracy has actually been shown to create sales. The only reason the scene exists is to take care of a market where demand was strong, and supply was null. In other words... the companies were leaving money on the table. Now that EMU showed the companies the market exists, we now have a retrogaming movement from companies, who are re-releasing retrogames for us, and looking at other ways to get money from us we are more than happy to give.

Now, thanks to EMU, I can play Symphony of the Night on my PS3, go play Bonk's on my roommate's Wii, and finish off a dungeon in Final Fantasy 5 on my GBA. Legally, and all paid for.

 

[Vibhor]

Emulators are a god send to me. My PS2 eats classics for breakfast. I have lost 2 copies of SotC and MGS3 before completing them. Not to mention countless other games which require crazy amount of blowing into them. The emulators cut the hassle of unpacking a console and blowing into cartridge/cleaning the disk. Heck some of the sega genesis games are getting re-released on PC using emulators.

 

[TheLoneBeet]

If a game is no longer in production and a pre-existing copy would be too hard to find; I support their use. Legality aside I think it's the only reason to use them. I've hunted down games and spent a lot (in some cases triple their original cost) to own them. I've never had to rely on an emulator to get my nostalgia fix. I'm sure it will occur someday though. So I'm going to avoid future hypocrisy by expressing my support now.

 

[Mr. 47]

Old ones I have absolutely no problem with. You are not screwing over the companies, as any NES, N64, or even PS1 game you buy will have been bought second hand. Nintendo, Sony, Sega, etc. have already gotten all their revenue. XBox 360, PS3, DS, or Wii emulators are Pirating. You are getting games which you can buy, for free. But say if I have a PS3 console myself, and am able to rip the game from the blue ray disc and play it on an emulator, it is fine. You already payed for it. It's like watching an old movie on Youtube.

I do not know about Nintendo or Sega emulators, but Sony emulators require a BIOS, a code that is unique to each system. The Sony emulator itself is 100% legal, downloading a BIOS, however, is not IF you do NOT own a Playstation or Playstation 2. It seems that if you own a BIOS, you may download a BIOS without it being illegal, oddly enough.

I own emulators for all Nintendo's consoles made before the Gamecube, a PS1 emulator, and a Dreamcast emulator.

 

[DKen2021]

I say emulators are useful when old games have lost their license or are off the market. It's not like the developers are making the money anyhow.

Anyway, PSX/PS2 emulators are alright, but I would rather it be use to read the disc you own since the computers can read the CDs thanks to the emulators. Plus PSX/PS2 games on the go if you're using a laptop