Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Emulation is illegal on only the loosest of terms, as it's very very low on the media piracy heirarchy. Seeing as many emulated games and their respective systems are entirely out of production, I can't see the profit in opening up an unwinnable lawsuit against the hundreds of distribution sites and methods in existence today.

Back to the current generation of handhelds. The backwards compatibility of the DS was another major selling point for me, since it meant my new system had a built-in library. Since there are already plenty of GBA games that I love, I wouldn't have to wait for developers to release DS specific games in order to fully enjoy it.

One of the weaknesses of both the PSP and the DS is battery life. Though the battery lives of both are respectable, they're nothing compared to previous incarnations of the Game Boy. My old imported Game Boy Advance lasts nearly a month of continuous play on its precious little double-A's. I'm lucky to get a quarter as much from the DS, and the PSP is nothing spectacular either. I guess those are the pitfalls of rechargeability.

--------------------

"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
~Dorothy L. Sayers

"The truly remarkable thing about television is that it allows several million people to laugh at the same joke and still feel lonely."
~T.S. Eliot

"Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as reality - in your own mind!"
~ Bruce Lee

Edit

im getting rid of all the stupid thing i've ever said...( something about being able to emulate games of a certain age)

This post has been edited by kuetipo on 7th March 2006 22:15

--------------------

ADAEAFADAEAFAGAEAFAGAAAFAGAAABbAGAAAFAGAEAFADAEA
C#ADAAABbGAAAFAGAEAFADAEAC#AFADAEAC#ADAAABbAGAA
AEAFADAGAEAFADAEAC#AD

Quote (kuetipo @ 1st August 2005 06:53)

im not sure, but i think if a game is over ten years old, its legal to emulate it.
or maybe i dremt that.

Yes, you have.

Copyright expires 70 (give or take, I could be off by a few years) years following the author's death.

There's no "delete after 24 hours" thing. There's no "emulatable if you have the original copy" (unless you've ripped it yourself from your own copy; that's legal). There's none of that stuff.

Of course, devices that permit emulation aren't illegal (with some exceptions; the ROM of many systems is illegal, and often essential to running these systems). That's the same as saying a gun is illegal because it allows you to commit crimes. The use to which you put it is where the line between legal and illegal begins to thin out.

Edit: Althought one interesting thing I should bring up is how the 1998 DMCA amendment mentions that, once a system required to run a certain piece of software is no longer reasonably accessible, breaking whatever protection a piece of software has to acccess it becomes legally acceptable. (In loose terms; look it up yourself if you want the exact definition, the amendment is a reasonably short document.) Mind you, seeing as the Revolution will allow emulation (IIRC?) on Nintendo's own terms, the above cannot be used to justify NES/SNES emulation anymore.

This post has been edited by Silverlance on 1st August 2005 12:10

--------------------

"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

Yeah, that's why I'm buyin' a Revolution...

But actually the "emulation is legal if you own it already" thing IS true. It's basically the same thing as burning a CD for a BACKUP COPY, and not giving it to anyone. The ROM is like a backup copy of the game you already own.

--------------------

The island bathes in the sun's bright rays
Distant hills wear a shroud of grey
A lonely breeze whispers in the trees
Sole witness to history

ICO-You were there-

Quote (Spiffyness @ 1st August 2005 12:02)

Yeah, that's why I'm buyin' a Revolution...

But actually the "emulation is legal if you own it already" thing IS true. It's basically the same thing as burning a CD for a BACKUP COPY, and not giving it to anyone. The ROM is like a backup copy of the game you already own.

Only so long as you make the rip yourself.

While it's technically the same wether you download it or make the rip yourself, downloading it infringes on filesharing laws. A different sets of laws, but no less illegal. Unless you live in canada where filesharing laws are incredibly (almost surprisingly) lax...

I think it's safe to say Nintendo isn't going to air-raid your house and carpet bomb the place if you download Mario 1 and fiddle around with the minus world bug, though. The government will find a much more subtle way to make you pay for it with their mind-control beams and implants.

--------------------

"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

I'm pretty sure there are other threads about the legality of emulation. But then, there was probably another thread about the DS that this one could have been merged into a week ago. But, nonetheless, let's put it back on topic.

--------------------

"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?