Do YOU think Emulation is the same as Piracy ?
- Thread starter adamsapple
- Start date
kevboard
Member
so Nintendo is pirating games?
Apple officially embraced piracy of PS1 games?
Playing a PC game on Windows for ARM is piracy?
Playing og Xbox games on Series X is piracy?
the objectively correct answer is that emulation is not piracy. answering yes shows either extreme ignorance or a lack of intelligence.
and that's just objectively the truth.
it doesn't matter if you think noone rips their own roms or bios files (you don't need bios files in most cases anyway). the objectively correct answer is that emulation is not piracy.
the question isn't "is emulation used for piracy?" it is if it is piracy in and of itself, and the answer to that is no.
Last edited:
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
Roms and console bios files.
If ps5 to pc emulation was possible, they would download ps5 exclusives like ghost of yotei on pc and "emulate" it.
It's not piracy because it's not sold on pc !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
What if I'm not sure if I'll like a game, and the game doesn't have a demo available for me to try?
I pirated Live A Live for the Switch and ended up buying it because of doing that, so in this case a sale was made thanks to piracy!
kremiso
Member
aging lol
analog_future
Resident Crybaby
No. That'd be like saying rolling papers are the same as marijuana.
Last edited:
Magic Carpet
Gold Member
NO, Someday I'm going to put the PS3 Ratchet and Clank games on my PC. I've read that the PS3 emulators are playing things decently enough that it might be worth giving it a try.
I assumed Sony would have re-released these old Ratchet and Clank games on Steam by now. but nope.
And my old PS3 is a door stop. Can't play old games on that machine any more.
I assumed Sony would have re-released these old Ratchet and Clank games on Steam by now. but nope.
And my old PS3 is a door stop. Can't play old games on that machine any more.
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
excuse me? you buy those games and play on their backwards compatibility system.
That's not piracy.
what kind of thinking is that
Fbh
Member
I mean yeah I think emulators are used first and foremost for piracy.
But that that doesn't mean that I think emulation itself is piracy.
Legality aside, I also don't think there's anything wrong with emulating old games that companies aren't selling anymore and aren't made available on modern platforms. Who gives a shit if you are downloading Panzer Dragoon Saga or something.
But that that doesn't mean that I think emulation itself is piracy.
Legality aside, I also don't think there's anything wrong with emulating old games that companies aren't selling anymore and aren't made available on modern platforms. Who gives a shit if you are downloading Panzer Dragoon Saga or something.
BennyBlanco
aka IMurRIVAL69
kevboard
Member
so emulation is not piracy then? good to see that you agree
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
And how do you think that backwards compatibility is achieved?
Dude, we know Nintendo has sold games running on emulators. Mario All-Stars is one example.
Dr.Morris79
Gold Member
No way
No
No
Topher
Identifies as young
The same kind of thinking that says emulation = piracy. You can't allow caveats to a blanket statement like that just when it suits you. Either emulation = piracy or it only equals piracy in some cases.
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
wow. you guys are amazing. HAHA YOU "GOT ME".
Of course it's emulation. But it's not your emulation. it's the company emulation. You don't even have to know that.
You are just twisting the logic around and it's idiotic
ToadMan
Member
The question isn't really framed correctly.
Emulation that is unapproved by the IP holder - specifically that which has relied on reverse engineering of copy written firmware and software - is illegal, and yes the common term for that can be piracy.
That's not my opinion - that is the legality of it.
Would I personally prefer to pay $60 or whatever once an then keep the game to play any and everywhere now and forever? Of course!
But that doesn't make the desire legal. It doesn't make the process of getting to an emulator legal.
Emulation that is unapproved by the IP holder - specifically that which has relied on reverse engineering of copy written firmware and software - is illegal, and yes the common term for that can be piracy.
That's not my opinion - that is the legality of it.
Would I personally prefer to pay $60 or whatever once an then keep the game to play any and everywhere now and forever? Of course!
But that doesn't make the desire legal. It doesn't make the process of getting to an emulator legal.
How's that entitlement? Lol. You people are funny. For a long time you couldn't even play classic Nintendo games because Nintendo didn't have a service where they offered those games. Your only non emulation option was to purchase an old console like SNES to play those games, but that was pointless since Nintendo wasn't getting any of your money anyway. Even today, Nintendo is very slow at releasing those games. Even then, it still doesn't change the fact that a console like Nintendo still cannot offer me most of the classics games I want. I'm also not buying Nintendo console to cripple myself and play worse version of those games. It's up to Nintendo to offer a service where I can play those games without feeling like I'm getting the worst experience. Like seriously, why the heck would I play inferior version of a 30 year old game, lol. If you wanna have a bad experience then that's up to you.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
rofif
Can’t Git Gud
nothing works like that.
Normally it is piracy. You download a game, you download emulator someone made from stolen code and someones console bios.
But technically you can rip your game and your bios and "assembly" your own emulator and it's not.
But I am pretty sure EULAS still forbid you to rip the game and so on so on.
It's probably not legal no matter what. It's just that when the company is not around anymore, who is going to sue you ?
winjer
Member
Emulation and reverse engineering is legal, and there is court legal precedence.
There are several examples of this, such as the reverse engineering of the IBM bios. Or the emulation cases between Sony and Connectix and Bleem, which went to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the ruling was that it is legal.
kevboard
Member
google bleem and virtual game station real quick.
Bleem was a PS1 emulator for Dreamcast and PCs. and Virtual Game Station was officially advertised by Apple during a conference even.
it set the legal precedent that emulation is legal when Sony challenged it in court and Bleem won.
it doesn't matter if the company themselves are the ones providing the emulator.
emulation is legal either way.
if you play any game or use any program that is x86/x64 on a Windows PC that runs Windows for ARM, you are emulating that game/program. the emulator needs to run x86/x64 code on an ARM CPU.
Ubisoft didn't greenlight ARM emulation or provided it themselves, yet emulating Assassin's Creed on Windows for ARM is legal.
furthermore there are tons of Android emulators, Windows 11 even had one built in (discontinued due to low demand), and those Android Emulators even have partnerships with some gatcha games to advertise how you can emulate their games on PC.
and even if they didn't endorse them, Android Emulators are 100% legal (as are any Emulators that don't use stolen code)
Emulation is Legal. this isn't debatable it's a fact.
Last edited:
Unknown Soldier
Member
reinking
Gold Member
My personal philosophy. (This will not hold up in court when Mario comes for your ass)
Emulation = not piracy
Playing a rom through emulation that I ripped (or at least own) = not piracy
Playing a rom that I can no longer purchase because it is no longer available = guilt free piracy
Emulation = not piracy
Playing a rom through emulation that I ripped (or at least own) = not piracy
Playing a rom that I can no longer purchase because it is no longer available = guilt free piracy
cinnamonandgravy
Member
people are conflating two issues:Roms and console bios files.
If ps5 to pc emulation was possible, they would download ps5 exclusives like ghost of yotei on pc and "emulate" it.
It's not piracy because it's not sold on pc !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. identifying piracy
2. is it ok to do it?
#1: it's piracy unless the owner has given it away for free, or you've paid for it.
#2: yeah youre stealing, but there are still a number of good reasons to pirate games
youre not entitled to nintendo's old library, genius. they get to do with their games as they see fit, including not releasing them.
go make and publish a game, then you get to make the rules for that game.
but legally, you dont make the rules for old nintendo games.
but i like emulators too, so i also download ROMs.
but im honest with myself regarding what im doing.
Another thing I'd like to add. I would never buy games from Nintendo anyway. I will never support a company like Nintendo. My purchasing philosophy was always to buy a used game on eBay or elsewhere and then I can do whatever I want with it (also these games have decent resale value later on). With some old games I may get lazy and not buy that game, but Nintendo would have never seen my money anyway because I would have bought that game elsewhere. This is why words like "stealing" and "piracy" mean nothing to me, because I would never pay Nintendo directly.
Last edited:
Dr Bass
Member
No, you don't own the game. You own a license to play the game, and you are not allowed to "do whatever [you] please with it ..."
That said, for the general topic, emulation is not "the same thing" as piracy, but it's also against the law to break encryption on games so ... if you have a ROM of a current title you've already gone over the line. You don't have to like it, but that is how it is.
Evil Calvin
Afraid of Boobs
People emulating and playing these old games DO NOT really own copies of the old games. They say they own them and dump them onto a ROM, but 95% of these people aren't really.
BUT, since most old games are unplayable and unavailable to buy, I say go for it. If the publishers won't release them on modern consoles then I don't think it should be considered piracy.
BUT, since most old games are unplayable and unavailable to buy, I say go for it. If the publishers won't release them on modern consoles then I don't think it should be considered piracy.
Topher
Identifies as young
Obviously downloading a pirated copy of a game is illegal. That may be the way the vast majority of people use emulators, but there are some of us who only play games we have ripped ourselves. EULAs are not law, however. It is just an agreement. Any dispute on that agreement go before an arbitrator, not a court of law.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Where did you pull this from?
diffusionx
Gold Member
"Nintendo puts out roms of games they own the copyright to and games they get permission to use, so that means downloading a romset and playing on my pc is not piracy"
Seriously why did NeoGAF go full retard today
Dude, if a game isn't available anywhere then that game is practically abandonware. Your funky rules don't apply to abandonware. And like I already stated above, I would never purchase directly from Nintendo anyway, so all your Nintendo lawyer stuff don't apply to a user like me.
Last edited:
Hey everyone, this guy here thinks an End User License Agreement some company's legal department put together makes something illegal.
I've got some news for you. Nintendo has been anti consumer since they started releasing video games. They sued to prevent things like the Game Genie (and lost), and allowing games to be rented or used games being sold (and lost).
The government makes laws and the courts interpret them. Right now the main law for the US is the DMCA and it says you can legally backup your games. And you can legally format shift. And in matters of preservation you also can legally break copy protection, and rip a system BIOS, and emulate. But go ahead and let your big friend Nintendo tell you what you can and can't do.
kevboard
Member
the guy who conflates emulating a game with illegally downloading a game is the one who thinks others are retarded.
pure comedy.
I remember when Nintendo just copied the ROMs off the Internet and sold those on the Wii. Did they have the copyright for the headers and work of those dumpers or should they have used their archives?
MikeM
Member
By definition its not.
Realistically- The majority that uses emulation don't actually own the ROM they are emulating. So for the majority it likely is piracy.
However, emulation with ROM, whether owned or not, are fine in my view so long as the game is not available for sale (i.e. I can't pay for it even if I wanted to).
Realistically- The majority that uses emulation don't actually own the ROM they are emulating. So for the majority it likely is piracy.
However, emulation with ROM, whether owned or not, are fine in my view so long as the game is not available for sale (i.e. I can't pay for it even if I wanted to).
Dr Bass
Member
This is common knowledge, just do a little research.
This is true of ALL software and games you buy anywhere. You do not "own software" that you pay for. You own a license to use it and there is a user agreement, with basically every software you can buy. Even FOSS has various licenses.
The Mad Draklor
Member
Of course not. There's legal precedence establishing emulation as a legal practice. It's when you download a game or the BIOS for *insert console here* from a ROM site where it's illegal.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
That's about Steam. Show me somewhere that says my Game Cube games aren't mine and just a license.
diffusionx
Gold Member
No I think you're a retard, to be clear, because you're putting these two vastly and materially different use cases in the same bucket when that's not at all appropriate.
None of us are Nintendo so that particular use case is irrelevant to the discussion.
ToadMan
Member
"Bleem was initially judged to be legal because the court found that its software, an emulator that allowed PlayStation games to be played on PCs, did not directly infringe on Sony's copyright. The court determined that Bleem's software didn't copy or modify the game code or graphics, and its use was considered fair use of copyrighted material. However, this decision was later reversed on appeal, with the court finding that Bleem's software did create a derivative work, thus violating Sony's copyright.
"
cinnamonandgravy
Member
nah man, lots of people have the opinion that downloading a pirated game/ROM isnt stealing.
its not abandonware just because company doesnt provide a way to play their game on a modern platform.
i emulate too using pirated ROMs (mostly SNES/PS1), and legally, we bad boyz.
Last edited: