Game Emulation Information

[Snakehide]

Hi!

 

I would love to do some retro game emulation with some games I own/want to buy (no piracy here, haha) on my gaming laptop, but I don't really know much about emulation in general and wanted to get some advice. The platforms I would like to emulate are the Gameboy Advance, Wii, PS2, possibly Wii U (if I don't need to own a WiiU prior to emulating the games). I own the Gameboy and Wii, would love to do PS2 and Wii U if a console is not required. So, what tools would I need to emulate some of these systems for PC? What software works best or what do people generally prefer? I imagine the Gameboy's cartridges would be the biggest challenge in emulating.

 

Beyond that, any odd tidbits I should be aware of? Thanks!

[Snakehide]

33 minutes ago, HomicidalPingu said:

If you’re emulating most games it’s piracy irrespective of if you own a copy or not. To emulate it on PC you have to remove some form of DRM which breaks copyright laws in most countries. Downloading ROMs is also flat out illegal. 

I know downloading ROMs is piracy, been tempted by that one before but didn't indulge. But even Linus and his guys have emulated after explicitly stating that they don't endorse piracy, and I would trust their solutions/approaches. I think owning the game is the main issue, which is what I plan to do if I go the emulation route. 

[thrasher_565]

there plenty of things illegal on the net that people do. they no the risk. that being said we cant help with it. but you can look your self on the net if you no what i mean.

 

using an emulator even if you own the game is still illegal. but thats for you to deiced.

[Snakehide]

27 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

there plenty of things illegal on the net that people do. they no the risk. that being said we cant help with it. but you can look your self on the net if you no what i mean.

 

using an emulator even if you own the game is still illegal. but thats for you to deiced.

You mentioned emulators are illegal; where did you get that information? From my experience the general conclusion has been "Emulator OK, downloading ROMs bad," but that's not an issue if I own the game and rip it myself. If emulators are illegal, why is RetroArch on Steam? Why does Linus and his team emulate games in videos?

 

That being said, I have no fear of legal action against me if I own the game and rip it myself and use an emulator.

[thrasher_565]

12 minutes ago, Snakehide said:

You mentioned emulators are illegal; where did you get that information? From my experience the general conclusion has been "Emulator OK, downloading ROMs bad," but that's not an issue if I own the game and rip it myself. If emulators are illegal, why is RetroArch on Steam? Why does Linus and his team emulate games in videos?

 

That being said, I have no fear of legal action against me if I own the game and rip it myself and use an emulator.

well the emulators are not but the rom is and you cant use an emulator with out it... i guess you could make a rom for it?

 

Linus knows the repercussions of doing so. 

 

its kinda like big hdd space, burning, and mp3 players. well not illegal alot of illegal stuff can happen.

[Snakehide]

10 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

well the emulators are not but the rom is and you cant use an emulator with out it... i guess you could make a rom for it?

 

Linus knows the repercussions of doing so. 

 

its kinda like big hdd space, burning, and mp3 players. well not illegal alot of illegal stuff can happen.

No, ROMs aren't illegal, either. Downloading them from the internet is (unless that's what you meant). I don't think Linus suffers much repercussion from emulating games on videos.

 

If they're not illegal, why did you say it was in your initial post?

[thrasher_565]

6 minutes ago, Snakehide said:

No, ROMs aren't illegal, either. Downloading them from the internet is (unless that's what you meant). I don't think Linus suffers much repercussion from emulating games on videos.

 

If they're not illegal, why did you say it was in your initial post?

 

[Snakehide]

5 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

 

This does not answer my question to you. You said emulation is illegal then backpedaled and said it was. 

This also does not answer my question on how to emulate.

[thrasher_565]

4 minutes ago, Snakehide said:

This does not answer my question to you. You said emulation is illegal then backpedaled and said it was. 

This also does not answer my question on how to emulate.

look we cant post links to them. can we talk about witch ones maybe. it take like 30 seconds to find one...

 

i did answer the question look on the internet i cant say google it.

Edited May 17, 2023 by thrasher_565

[Snakehide]

1 minute ago, thrasher_565 said:

look we cant post links to them. can we talk about witch ones maybe. it take like 30 seconds to find one...

I looked in the community standards tab, there ARE rules about talking about piracy. We're talking about emulation with games I own. Therefore, not piracy. Nothing in the standards about talking about emulation. And the people on these forums are going to answer my questions better than a Google search will. 

 

Anyway, going to check out Tom's Hardware. Maybe they'll have answers. Thanks anyway.

[Snakehide]

5 hours ago, HomicidalPingu said:

They only endorse piracy if it makes them money. They don’t like it when it costs them money. 
 

Their “solutions” are illegal in the majority of the developed world. Don’t know about Canada but it’s illegal in the US, UK and EU. 
 

Owning the game has nothing to do with it being legal to emulate funnily enough. If you are breaking DRM protections to emulate then it is illegal as you are breaking copyright law, it’s the same way ripping DVDs is illegal. You can buy a clone console and run the game off it because that’s running with the DRM it’s not removing it.

I didn't think ripping DVDs is illegal, just looked it up real fast and found you're pretty on point. Odd. Helpful reply, thanks.

[Snakehide]

1 hour ago, HomicidalPingu said:

But you are fine if for example you have a program that can say read PS2 discs and play them straight off that disc without removing DRM 

Without copying the disc to, say, a computer, correct? Just like playing on a PS2 normally. 

 

Are you aware of anything that can do that for Wii U, Wii or GBA?

[lordmogul]

Here in the jurisdiction the law is rather simple (despite most of it being still in the ancient pre-internet mindset. We pay royalties on microSD cards ffs, just because we could put music on there):

You can make a personal copy (and what is "personal" is a different question. Making one and giving it to a close friend is fine, playing it at a party is not), and as long as you don't circumvent any DRM, it's perfectly legal. So if you could directly read the data on a cartridge or CD and write it into a file is legal, as long as there is no copy protection that you have to break.

Obviously the law differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.