darkSpyro

innocent question yo

i know you aren't allowed to talk about ROMs and i'm not, but i'm trying to download an emulator and need help, am i allowed to ask for it here?

No, it falls under illegal stuff.

Quote: parisruelz12

No, it falls under illegal stuff.

sorry, i'll close this

emulators themselves shouldn't be considered illegal but the actual games themselves are

Quote: JCW555

Actually, no, Paris is partially wrong about this. You CAN discuss emulators, but you CANNOT, under any circumstances, discuss ISOs, ROMs, or BIOS' of consoles.

I thought it was fine discuss the stuff in general so long as we didn't directly give any information or links to share them?

Regardless, we shouldn't be able to help you with that Jstar.

Quote: JCW555

Actually, no, Paris is partially wrong about this. You CAN discuss emulators, but you CANNOT, under any circumstances, discuss ISOs, ROMs, or BIOS' of consoles.

but the rules say we are allowed to talk about them, we just cant link them or brag about them
iirc we used to have a topic on idle chatter that had discussion on emulation frequently

Well i believe you are "allowed" to play a emulated game if you own the copy of the game. You have supported the devs etc.


I own Pokemon shappire so i am allowed to play it on my phone right?
Right?

It's game-related, so go for it!

emulators are fine as long you don't share sites for ROMs

i'm not asking about ROMs or anything illegal (I own a PS2, PS3 and all the Classic Spyro games) i just wanted to ask if anyone knew how the **** you download an emulator onto a macbook air

if that's still against the rules just tell me and i'll close the topic

Quote: Sesshomaru75

I asked Dark on his GB and he said it's fine.

oh awesome!

To clarify some misinformation given here:

And to note, I'm talking legally, not in regards to the forum's rules.

In general, emulators are legal. There can be some gray area if the emulator uses copyrighted code (most all emulators avoid this once they get to the distribution stage, as this opens the door for a pretty huge lawsuit from the console manufacturers who want to shut them down anyway) or if your use or the distribution of the emulator goes against the license granted by the programmers of the emulator (for example, MAME doesn't allow you to sell or buy the emulator, so if you were to sell or buy a homemade arcade cabinet with MAME pre-installed, it'd be against the terms of the license and would, technically, be illegal).

In general, ROMs (or ISOs or whatever you choose to call the specific Game Files) are not illegal in and of themselves. You CAN (generally) rip the game data from the original media and create your own files from your own original media. You CANNOT (generally) redistribute these files or download a copy of them (even if you own the original game, even if you're just using it for 24 hours, even if the company who created the game went out of business 20 years ago, or even if you legitimately ripped the game data from your own disc and just want to download a copy for some other reason... it's all illegal.) You CAN download a 'ROM' when the game is being distributed with the copyright owner's permission (generally, 'homebrew' software). However, in these cases, if the 'homebrew' software makes use of someone else's Intellectual Property (for example, a fan-made Super Mario game), then, technically, it would be illegal to distribute and/or download it. Additionally, some software owners will distribute their own software via an "authorized" method (say, via the Google Play storefront of their own personal website). If you acquire their copyrighted software from an unauthorized source (say, downloading the APK to Pokemon Go from a third party because the newest update isn't available for you in Google Play yet), you'd technically be breaking the law, even though the software is free.

With all that said, I can't really say I've heard of a case where folks who have illegally DOWNLOADED video game software have had any kind of charges (criminal or civil) filed against them - that's generally something reserved for those who are distributing the files to begin with. Although you might get something like Microsoft or Nintendo banning your console from online services if you're caught playing illegally downloaded software on them. See the recent Pokemon Sun/Moon hoopla for more details there. So, while it might technically be illegal for you to download a copy of Mega Man 2 or Another Metroid II Remake, you're very unlikely to actually face any action for doing so.

But always buy the original software anyway. Developers have families to feed.