Should Emulation be legal?

there is no reason why emulation should be illegal,
it's just the trade of rom versions of commercial games that are obviously a case of software piracy.

I think its a funny issue(not ha ha), For the most part I can see why having emulated versions of old games that no longer sell anymore, are no longer turning their creators a buck, can be seen as harmless, and for the most part is. But what it comes down to in the end is, someone (or a group of someone?s) created the game, they own it and everything to do with it, its does not belong to the public. So if they decide for what ever reason to keep it to themselves and not make a free public version, then that?s their business. I think that any law that changed that would be infringing on their copyright in a big way, and I am so not cool with that.

Pantmonger

I would say that there should be some kind of limit on how new-a-piece of hardware you can emulate should be. Emulating old hardware to play old games is pretty much okay in my books, but I always feel that a true (rich) gamer makes it his own responsibility to pay for what he plays (and the hardware to play it).

The whole industry would probably be alot cheaper and more competitive if people had this kind of attitude. :)

Nintendo, Sega, Capcom etc obviously hate emulation because old games from the 16bit console era can still make them money. I generally don't like it when they repackage old games, slap some retro tag on them, and ship them off on GBA for a price that I consider well overcharged. These games have had their run, made their profits, and are *old*.
When the PSP or nextgen Gameboy arrives, the hardware of which supercedes PSX etc so that 16bit titles can't be rehashed anymore, I'm hoping that those companies have a bit of heart and release them for free distribution, much like a lot of companies do for their 8bit (C64, Spectrum, Amstrad) game titles.

I dunno why certain companies are so tight about their old games. They should take a leaf out of [url="http://www.ausgamers.com/?news=1898910"]Illusion's[/url] book.. [;)]

Nintendo rehashing their SNES titles is a very good example of why a company should NOT make their games available. There are plenty of people who will buy those games because they are still up to scratch (by GBA standards at least).

Put up any arguments you like, but most of these developers/publishers know what they've got - almost complete games waiting to be rehashed (even Blizzard are getting in on the act).

And the cycle keep going as each new platform comes out (just look at the PSOne -> N-Gage craze starting up).

cheers

I think the games that ran on consoles a few years ago, PS1, N64 etc will be able to run on hand helds in a few years time, so there still is incentive for companies to hold onto their source code and game assets. Plus there is a market on these new hand held games to be able to play the classics.

Yes. Your playing a commercial game without paying for it.

Another use for emulators is to develop you own games. I've used GBA emulators and now I'm getting s flash kit to run my programs on the actual hardware. So its not the emulators that should be illegal but just the commercial roms.

Awf, that's right on the money :)

i'd rather play on a console anyday. roms always seem dodgy qwuality and are terrible to play with a keyboard. i bought a cheep joypad to play some snes roms, and then game up anyway and went back to the real thing. bugger this emu rubbish, gimme a tv and a comfy chair.

You could buy a [system name here] controller to USB converter from somewhere like liksang... but it would probably cost you more than a [system name here] from the trading post. :D

cheers

but they still look better on a big tv with beefy speakers and from a comfy chair. you're up too close to the pc screen to enjoy them at their propper resolutions. and it's just not confortable to play a console with a joypad at a desk.

that is the main thing that makes emulation crappy. PC gamepads are either crap or they break very easily. thats also the reason why a lot of console games arent ported to a PC. i would love to have a decent high res fighting game on my PC. my computer sits 2 feet from my bed so comfort isnt THAT big a deal. as for buying a second hand console. they may be cheap, but the games... look at Chrono Trigger on the SNES on ebay. damn. i really wanted to buy a Saturn, but you can't play import games (Japanese)on it :( i am still kicking myself for selling my Genesis (Mega Drive) when i was younger.