Do You/Have You Used ROM's and What Is Your Opinion? Or Experience With Them?

[oldgamerz]

I used to use ROM's just like a lot of people, But I stopped a long time ago after I found out a few people were arrested for having them on their computers. now every time I think of ROMS I  think of a song that has lyrics of "I broke the law, and the law won" But I am still tempted to get free ROMS but I don't and don't plan to ever again. back in 2013 I had a bunch of ROMS but I deleted all of them just a few years before I got a new PC and I never touched them ever since. But I did have a Free version of the sims 1 ultimate collection since that at that time nor steam or GOG games had the game for sale and amazon was all sold out

It's kinda weird but nowadays there is a lot of downloadable games for PC that you can download for free but most of them are illegal  including MS/DOS full version games that are considered abandonware.


I personally don't want to put the law to work on me so I think ROMs are morally wrong and dangerous on your gaming equipment but that is my opinion
I now believe downloaded ROMs a version of stealing and the same with everdrive. But I do own one NES Multicart I bought off Etsy

[98dgreen]

Emulation is not morally wrong anyone who tells you so is a shill.  That being said I don't really emulate because I prefer playing on the original hardware when possible.

[oldgamerz]

Emulation is not morally wrong anyone who tells you so is a shill.  That being said I don't really emulate because I prefer playing on the original hardware when possible.

I agree Emulation itself is not morally wrong in my opinion. I have many emulated games in the form of compilations for PlayStation 2, emulation is often sold completely legally by official companies.  Internet ROM's though I am not as sure about them

[aliensstudios]

When I was in 9th grade and got my first laptop, I used emulators all of the time with a Logitech USB controller. It was fun for a while but as soon as I could afford the real thing I turned to using real hardware at all times instead.

I'm not morally outraged or anything by it. It's a good way to try games out and play them, especially if they aren't available easily.

[ffxik]

I prefer the original hardware.  That said, my PC is loaded with them.  They're good for when I want to just play something and don't want to go through the trouble of digging out a system, hookups and controllers.

[mizzach86]

I prefer to play games on their original hardware. I don't use ROMs anymore, but what annoys me and makes me want to use ROMs is when I want to play a game that has long been out of circulation and the company that owns it doesn't make it available through Xbox Live, PSN, or whatever.

[bikingjahuty]

I play ROMS on my laptop for convenience a lot of the time. 98% of most pre 5th gen consoles emulate near perfect and it doesn't bother me just to emulate versus loading the cartridge or CD into the actual console.

[kypherion]

I mean I used roms to do stuff like speedrunning Super Mario 64, but generally I try to own the game now that I can afford it versus emulating it.

That being said, I'll show up with a laptop with smash bros melee on my laptop to play w/ friends because i'm not taking a CRT + gamecube with me around.

[kypherion]

I try to own the game now that I can afford it versus emulating it.

That being said if its something like LSD Dream emulator for psx or any other really really expensive game I'll emulate it. I feel no shame in doing that for a game that costs me a kidney.

[kamikazekeeg]

I use to emulate a lot years ago.  I think it's a totally fine thing to do, not a single issue with it.  I've thought about getting everdrive's myself to play games on the old hardware, but I'll more likely just see about building myself a little raspberry pi emulator box to use wherever eventually.

[sworddude]

Emulation of older 16 bit consoles is near perfect to perfect these days, older cd consoles will follow

I don't see why people do not emulate for moral reasons seems pretty stupid if you ask me.

People are not making money on these things anymore not to mention that people who emulate on original consoles will not pay for some eshop copies on alternative consoles. There is no loss there. To be fair allot of people who emulate on PC would most likely still not want to spend a single dime on a cheap download so once again no loss there.

People get arrested for selling roms or maybe downloading some of the very recent movies games wich are still in the money make process wich is pretty tough to do anyways. especially in the early weeks now that's a real risk when doing so.

People are not going to get swatted for using sega genesis, snes, n64 roms

I try to own the game now that I can afford it versus emulating it.

That being said if its something like LSD Dream emulator for psx or any other really really expensive game I'll emulate it. I feel no shame in doing that for a game that costs me a kidney.

That's a very cheap kidney I'd have to say 

[hoshichiri]

I've never used ROMs personally. I'm a bit of a purist in that I think using the original hardware is part & parcel of the experience- you're supposed to fiddle with an NES cart to get it to work, you're supposed to hear the Dreamcast's drive revving up and down, etc.

Having said that, I have zero issues with people using ROMs in 99.9% of their applications. An example: I love The Guardian Legend on NES. I'd like other people to experience playing the game. How does one legally buy the game, so that the original developer gets their share of the money? Answer- they DON'T. There isn't a way to buy that game nowadays- it's not on a compilation, it's not in the NES mini, it's not on Virtual Console, nothing. So- pirate away! No one is losing money here, not even the Ebay resellers with original carts- they cater to a collector market, not a player one.

That's how most games are- they aren't available for purchase in the modern era, and they never will be. People claim that 'oh, but the value goes down on pirated games so they don't make money if they're re-released!' Bull. We buy re-releases all the time. I own 3 bloody versions of Shadow of the Colossus. If the games are good, the re-release will sell. If they aren't, then they're already worthless so who cares? All of this ignores possible fair use transformations, like hacks and translations, that are only possible via ROM.

Now, I do draw the line at one point- if the game IS readily available to be bought, then I don't think getting a ROM is appropriate. Anything in the 3DS virtual console, anything on Steam or GOG, even the games in the NES & SNES minis, should be purchased. "But I don't own or want a 3DS!" Too bad. Console exclusives have always been around. You want to play God of War? You get a PlayStation. You want to play Mighty Bomb Jack? You get a 3DS & download it.

With EmuParadise gone, I doubt it'll ever happen, but man I wish one of these sites would actually make Nintendo or whoever is after them go to court and explain why decades olds software they don't, won't and possibly can't sell, shouldn't be distributed via non-commerical means. I'd hope the court would tell them to put it out there themselves, or let it go.

[burningdoom]

People are going to do what they want. And likely you'll never be caught. But personally I stopped after I realized what I was doing was not okay no matter how I tried to justify it. I still have Roms of games I actually own, though.

Downloading Roms is stealing, no matter how you want to spin it. I only feel its okay if you already own and paid for said games and you want a backup, or if its a brand new effort to be distributed by its creator in rom form.

You can say that these companies make millions and they won't miss the money, and that might be true, doesn't change the fact it's still stealing. You may never be caught, just because it's easy doesn't mean it's still not stealing. You may do it in the name of preservation, and that is a good idea, but unless you already own the games it's still taking stuff you didn't pay for. And the argument that they no longer make money off of them is complete B.S. If they didn't then what's Steam, GoG, PS Network, Virtual Console, Nintendo eShop, Xbox Live Arcade, NES/SNES Classic, Atari/Sega Flashback, HD Remasters, and game compilations?

While it is unlikely you'll get caught, it does happen. Guy I personally know got caught by the FCC. Got slapped with a high dollar fine, and his internet provider was ordered to choke his internet access to a trickle.

[telly]

I used to use VBA to run a lot of Game Boy games. Some that never came out in America like Pokemon GB2 and  Mother 3. But I've also dabbled in a few other GBA games, namely Pokemon official games and ROM hacks like Zircon

[sworddude]

While it is unlikely you'll get caught, it does happen. Guy I personally know got caught by the FCC. Got slapped with a high dollar fine, and his internet provider was ordered to choke his internet access to a trickle.

What did the guy do to get caught?

Did he really get a fine for downloading old games or was it more in the new games or movie department?