Roms and Emulation

[Aaron_Blue01]

Is it okay to download roms for emulation? I used to have like 8 or 9 but I deleted them because I want sure if they were legal.

 

So my two questions are basically; is it legal to download roms and is it ethical to download roms?

[JoKeR-13]

No, unless you own a copy of the game, it is illegal.

[MaxBunny]

3 minutes ago, Aaron_Blue01 said:

Is it okay to download roms for emulation? I used to have like 8 or 9 but I deleted them because I want sure if they were legal.

 

So my two questions are basically; is it legal to download roms and is it ethical to download roms?

Legal means whether or not you'll be prosecuted for it. They're basically piracy since the uploaders do not have the rights to do so. Is piracy legal (not prosecuted) where you are?

 

Morality - is it moral to pirate? People make up all sorts of justifications for it. In the end it's your conscience/soul/whatevers.

[bellabichon]

4 minutes ago, Aaron_Blue01 said:

Is it okay to download roms for emulation? I used to have like 8 or 9 but I deleted them because I want sure if they were legal.

 

So my two questions are basically; is it legal to download roms and is it ethical to download roms?

Is it legal? If you're not the one hosting the website, and you're only downloading from it, yes. Ethical? In my opinion, no because it doesn't support the original developers of the game.

[Aaron_Blue01]

Darn. I'll just leave it alone then. Thanks for the speedy replies.

[bellabichon]

Just now, EMAGDNIM said:

No, unless you own a copy of the game, is it illegal.

No, it's not illegal. Hosting it is, and although downloading some copyrighted content can get you in hot water, if you're not distributing or selling it, the FBI has better things to do than plan raids on a single person who just wanted to play Pokemon Red.

[SteveGrabowski0]

nm

[Aaron_Blue01]

10 hours ago, valdyrgramr said:

It is illegal to download a copy of a game without direct consent of the copyright holder regardless of you owning a copy, just dling it, and all that jazz.  A copyright remains held for 75 years, and Nintendo will take you to court over it.  See the link above.  

Thanks guys. I'm glad I got rid of mine. Sorry Nintendo. :-}

[grimreeper132]

11 hours ago, bellabichon said:

Is it legal? If you're not the one hosting the website, and you're only downloading from it, yes. Ethical? In my opinion, no because it doesn't support the original developers of the game.

It is the only way to still play certain games without getting it second hand, which doesn't support the developers either so in many cases I disagree with you. If the game is still avariable to buy then yea sure I am with you, but if its one you can't get anymore I have to disagree with you there

[Zodiark1593]

12 hours ago, bellabichon said:

Is it legal? If you're not the one hosting the website, and you're only downloading from it, yes. Ethical? In my opinion, no because it doesn't support the original developers of the game.

In the case of old games and consoles, the game may no longer be sold through legal channels, and the developer (which may be defunct) wouldn't benefit from such sales anyway.

 

Of course, legally speaking, pirating an out of production game that will never again see light of day is still illegal.

 

From my understanding, it is legal to copy your own games in ways that doesn't strip the DRM, and likewise, an emulator itself is completely legal so long as it was produced absent of inside information that was not obtained via clean room reverse engineering.

[AshleyAshes]

ITT: Most people don't comprehend the distinction between criminal and civil law.