Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Nov 11, 2004 11:57:00 GMT
Anyone give me clarification on this? The understanding I have is that ROMs to run on emulators are illegal UNLESS you own original copies of the games you're using as ROMs, so in theory if you're playing an original Mega CD game on an emulator you wouldn't be breaking any laws. Anyone care to tell me if I'm right or wrong?
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Post by Sin on Nov 11, 2004 12:20:39 GMT
Hmm, that is very dodgey ground you are on. Theoretically, yes it is perfectly legal. But if you were found out to be doing this then I wouldn’t be surprised if you faced some kind of trouble for it.
So, I have no idea. But very few people do and the chances of you getting caught are ridiculously small. So I guess it is okay.
I just also should say that the minute any either requests or supplies roms or any other illegal material then this thread is getting locked.
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Post by madhair60 on Nov 11, 2004 16:51:28 GMT
The fact is, it is COMPLETELY illegal to EVER use a ROM at ANY time. Not even if you delete it after a 24 hour period, not even if you own the original. Not sure about running a Mega CD game on your PC though. that's an oddity.
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Post by Balls on Nov 11, 2004 16:55:27 GMT
The way I was told was that emulators are perfectly legal, but the roms aren't, depending on which console you're talking about. Aparantly, if it's a megadrive rom, then because the game is no longer in production, it is no loss to the company and therefore harmless; however, if they were for say a GBA, they would be illegal, because the games are still in production.
Or, you could think of it this way, who in the blue hell's gonna know?
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Post by Turbocharge on Nov 11, 2004 20:12:45 GMT
ROMS are illegal, hence the reason many rom sites occasionally go missing. They're either deleted or have to move. Emulators, however are perfectly legal, as far as i'm aware. Bleem!, for example was a commercial emulator.
It is therefor, generally acceptable to play PSX, PS2, Gamecube, XBOX, Saturn, SegaCD games through an emulator, as long as your using the disk and NOT an ISO. ISOs are as illegal as ROMS, which is to say: VERY.
(Disclaimer: Turbo is not 100% sure on this matter, so his words should not be taken as an interpretation of the law. That and he is slightly drunk and no-one should pay attention to the ramblings of a drunk man.)
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Post by JC on Nov 15, 2004 18:35:49 GMT
I actually looked into this once and its very complicatd there is a loop hole with roms and emulators should you ever (which is highly unlikely) get caught with one you can get off the hook.
you CAN play a rom if you already own the game... however that is if you STILL OWN the original copy and it has broken by a fault of the factory.
the reason is that with any piece of software and entertainment euipment e.g. cd's, videos, dvds, games etc. you have a leagle right to make a backup copy in case the copy you bought from the retailer breaks or gets damaged.
Now most people use the recipt since you get a new one 100% quality with no strings, but you can still make a backup copy just in case and you dont want to go back to the shop.
However with this backup copy you cannot EVER use it until your real copy breaks down. and even then you must still own it or have proff that you once purchased it. Also you my not EVER give your backup copy or sell it to anyone else even if they have the original copy.
thats why rom sites get shut down because you are giving them to other people.
but if you make a rom yourself using your own material and not get it from a secondary source.
but then again who is gonna know?
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Post by 321boom on Nov 15, 2004 18:37:53 GMT
What are emulators? I'm really sorry to interupt your conversation.
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Post by Stephen on Nov 15, 2004 18:40:27 GMT
I'm Surprised this thread hasnt been locked even though I am an owner of an emulator
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Post by Sin on Nov 15, 2004 18:58:57 GMT
I'm Surprised this thread hasnt been locked even though I am an owner of an emulator Why would if you have an emulator make any difference? The truth is that I feel that it is okay to talk about roms in the way to ask if they are legal or not. But the minute people start to request or supply roms then the topic gets the big padlock.
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Post by archangelffx on Nov 15, 2004 20:38:15 GMT
What are emulators? I'm really sorry to interupt your conversation. An emulator is a program on your PC that allows you to play console games without having the actual console. However, in that context, it's illegal, as one of the laws that isn't too clear is that you can only own an emulator if you have the original console somewhere in your possession. When a game is produced, there is a way of dumping the CD or cartridge onto your PC in the form of a .bin or a .iso file. Called ROM's they allow you to play games that you might not have or to hack games for spriting purposes or other purposes. However, owning a ROM is illegal in any form so don't even try it. It's a breach of the creator's copyright. If you really want to play old games on your PC, either buy the 'Retrogamer' magazine that includes a disk of old arcade games, or test the legal system and search the net. But like Sin said, request any ROMs or a link to any site and suffer the consequences.
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JJ
Script Hume
Bit of a hack, really.
Posts: 4,902
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Post by JJ on Nov 15, 2004 20:49:04 GMT
As long as Nintendo want £30 for new GBA games, then I will continue to do the dirty deed. Lower the price, Ninty! IMO, there isn't a single GBA game that's actually worth the asking price. Maybe Advance Wars, but that would be it.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Nov 15, 2004 21:06:59 GMT
As long as Nintendo want £30 for new GBA games, then I will continue to do the dirty deed. Lower the price, Ninty! IMO, there isn't a single GBA game that's actually worth the asking price. Maybe Advance Wars, but that would be it. That's why I used to buy them second hand (before I flogged my GBA).
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Post by Shadic? on Nov 16, 2004 1:25:08 GMT
As long as Nintendo want £30 for new GBA games, then I will continue to do the dirty deed. Lower the price, Ninty! IMO, there isn't a single GBA game that's actually worth the asking price. Maybe Advance Wars, but that would be it. Yep. I confesses. That's pretty much what I believe Emulators like mame and such are needed I say! How else am I gonna play sonic arcade!?
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Post by Stephen on Nov 16, 2004 21:03:59 GMT
The price we have 2 pay for games is Completely devilish. I only get a fiver a week. How do I buy any games on a salary like that? LOWER THE PRICES! LOWER THE PRICES!
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Post by supersonicjim on Nov 16, 2004 21:09:09 GMT
Myself I don't care for their rights to use and sell their work. I download full pc games, roms and movies. They should work harder so that I feel they are worth the twenty, fourty quid.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
|
Post by Spudiator on Nov 16, 2004 21:27:37 GMT
It should be said though, games are a hell of a lot cheaper now than they were a few years ago. Back when the Mega Drive was the world leader in games consoles they were ludicrous. If I'm not mistaken, Sonic 3 was £60 when it was first released, as were Streets of Rage 3 and Super Street Fighter II, plus many others. Virtua Racing was £70, even £80 in some shops, and I know it had it's own VR chip within the cartridge, but that is still an extortionate price for any game, and bear in mind this is going back about 10 years, when inflation hadn't yet risen to the level it's at now, the minimum wage was lower, and you couldn't get any brand new game for less than £40 (nobody had ever thought of releasing cut-price "classics" re-releases back then).
Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that prices are too high, but just think how much worse they could be.
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Post by JC on Nov 16, 2004 21:33:20 GMT
Super mario 2 was recorded as £80 in some places.
I remember when n64 came out the first month games were selling for close to the £65-£70 mark.
virtual racing for the mega drive cost twice as much as a top 1 megadrive game.
new megadrive games (regardless of quality) cost around £44.99 as did early psx games (and saturn too) but now games are usually £35.99 - £39.99 and then -%10 student/store discount card brings it close to £30.
so games have gone down quite a lot from the old 16bit era.
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Post by Sin on Nov 16, 2004 21:48:31 GMT
You two probably already know this. But for the people who don’t, the reason for this prise drop was the wonder of CDs. They are a lot cheaper to mass-produce then a plastic cartridges.
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Spudiator
Artist Hume
High Priest of the Religion of Football
STC-O's resident footy obsessive
Posts: 2,815
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Post by Spudiator on Nov 16, 2004 21:54:08 GMT
You two probably already know this. But for the people who don’t, the reason for this prise drop was the wonder of CDs. They are a lot cheaper to mass-produce then a plastic cartridges. Yeah, I know that, thing is though, even GBA games are cheaper new than any of the old Mega Drive and SNES games were, and the quality of software has actually improved since then. Also, CD have always been cheap to mass-produce, but as I recall, the Mega CD games when they first came out were mostly near enough the same price as their Mega Drive equivalent, and as Pennywise said, the first Playstation and Saturn games were equally as overpriced.
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Post by JC on Nov 16, 2004 22:08:46 GMT
You two probably already know this. But for the people who don’t, the reason for this prise drop was the wonder of CDs. They are a lot cheaper to mass-produce then a plastic cartridges. I'm going back a lot of years now but the comedor 64, didnt their games cost an extremely high ammount and they were on cassette tapes. I dont remmeber the exact ammount but I remember it would take a long time for me to buy one.
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Post by Shadic? on Nov 16, 2004 23:24:44 GMT
It should be said though, games are a hell of a lot cheaper now than they were a few years ago. Back when the Mega Drive was the world leader in games consoles they were ludicrous. If I'm not mistaken, Sonic 3 was £60 when it was first released, as were Streets of Rage 3 and Super Street Fighter II, plus many others. Virtua Racing was £70, even £80 in some shops, and I know it had it's own VR chip within the cartridge, but that is still an extortionate price for any game, and bear in mind this is going back about 10 years, when inflation hadn't yet risen to the level it's at now, the minimum wage was lower, and you couldn't get any brand new game for less than £40 (nobody had ever thought of releasing cut-price "classics" re-releases back then). Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that prices are too high, but just think how much worse they could be. I dont think they ever got that high here... the highest here was like $64 (so stupid..) for n64 games..when they first came out.
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Post by Matt on Nov 17, 2004 20:49:07 GMT
just to point out microsoft xp alreday has an emulator preprogramed in to the software it comes with
and allows yout to play many old classic games, some however it cannot emulate, howver it was preload by microsoft........
noe to join the discution, to be honest I don't trust any full gamesoftware download no matter what the source. howqever roms of old sonic and mario games are so widespread hense the relaesh of megacollection, however my friend has and emulator for the sega as did I before it got lost, however my point is the can save his game when ever he wants on his emualtor, I on megacollection can only save on certain games, umm sega realy arn't keeping up.
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Post by madhair60 on Nov 18, 2004 17:23:34 GMT
Sonic games take about an hour to beat. With Savestates they take aout 25 minutes.
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Post by Matt on Nov 22, 2004 16:17:51 GMT
yeah that might be true however spending time fully on level plus collecting chaos emeralds is somtimes more then you have time for I one sitting if your ownly killing a few minutes on a game before diner and such
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