Rom and emulator...legal issues...

[cristo-father]

Hi ubunters.
Can i use emulators and roms in any way without owning them the console and games?
(this question applies to any console and any rom)
Thanks for your attention.

[BeBoBli]

Legally? No. Not at all.

[flytripper]

its illegal as hell and you'll get a botty slap if you do it..

everyone else does it :)

[cristo-father]

Legally? No. Not at all.

I heard there was a 24 hour interval in which i could...that is when i got my hopes high.
What about the very old games from nes,snes,genesis ?
Why would they be illegal if they don't sell them anymore(old games)?

[Vadi]

It's just a morals issue at this point. Chances are, they won't know or care by now.

[acoustibop]

If the emulator has been developed without using the console manufacturer's own code (and most or all emulators available have been), then it's legal to use it. This is why Playstation Emulators are supplied without a Playstation BIOS, because this is the manufacturer's code; you can only have a BIOS legally if you've ripped it yourself from your own machine. Some Playstation emulator developers have written their own BIOSs, which are legal for anyone to use, but which generally don't work as well as actual Playstation ones.

To be able to use a ROM legally, you must have ripped it from a game that you own. It is not legal to download a ROM of a game that you own, or to download a ROM and delete it after a certain period of time - these are stories spread by people trying to justify illegally posting and downloading games.

This means that CD-ROM based games are comparatively easy to play legally from an image, since you only need easily available software and a standard computer to rip them: cartridge consoles require special equipment for ripping them. It's possible that there may be such (cartridge based) games that have been released to the public domain, but if not, the only way to legally play them in an emulator is to rip them yourself from a game you own - and this isn't very practical for most people. :(

[BeBoBli]

I heard there was a 24 hour interval in which i could...that is when i got my hopes high.
What about the very old games from nes,snes,genesis ?
Why would they be illegal if they don't sell them anymore(old games)?

The 24 hour thing is apparently just a popular misconception. Also games from that era still and are selling via the Wii's service where you can purchase many older games from the NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, Neo Geo, and Turbografx16 consoles. There is also GameTap which offers classic gaming. That however has no bearing on it's illegality. Before these services even began it was still illegal.

[cova]

As has been suggested, emulators not using the official bios are fine. As for ROMs you can only use games if you either a. own the original game or b. its a homebrew game. The question becomes blurred though when it comes to hacked games (such as the classic kaizo mario or fan-translated games). I have read that these can legally be dowloaded too but dont hold me to that as Im not big on the ins and outs of copyright law! Hope this mostly answers your question.
Ben

[acoustibop]

It is legal to use a console BIOS if you've ripped it yourself from your own console, cova, and most emulators for older consoles simply don't use BIOSs, or use copies written by the emulator developer. The BIOS problem occurs with Sega CD, Playstation and Playstation 2 BIOSs, which you'll usually have to rip yourself. Some Playstation emulators include BIOSs written without use of the original manufacturer's code, such as Connectix VGS or Arbex; these are legal to use without ripping your own BIOS. However, Connectix VGS is now owned by Sony, who are not about to let anyone use it, so you can't have and use a copy legally... :(

If you own the original game, you can still only have and use a copy of the game that you've ripped yourself from it. Downloaded versions are still completely illegal.

Yes, homebrew games are usually Ok.

However, to be legal to download, a crack would have to include not more than about 10 - 12% of the original game unless you've cracked your own game - and most or all cracked games would include more than that. It's quite legal to crack your own copy of the game, as long as the crack is legal (they usually will be).

[FranMichaels]

Emulators are legal.

ROMs. Depends.
Some have been given explicit permission or were made to be shared (homebrew, demos, non-commercial etc.)

Nice collection, pd short for public domain here
http://www.pdroms.de/

Either way, let your conscience be your guide.
Ultimately, it's up to you what you want to do :P