The Ethics of Emulation

[glynnahab]

I'm always late to the party, but I just gotta add:

The practice of reselling current-gen games by stores like Gamestop would seem to affect the game developers' wallets more adversely than emulation, generally speaking.

Furthermore, when I think of companies like Square with their never-ending FFVII regurgitation, EA and the annual $59.99 Madden roster update, or even Sega and their raping of Sonic (poor guy), I am almost obligated to emulate.

[DerekG52]

I have no qualms about emulating games. From the player's perspective, it can add a lot of functionality such as smoother graphics, other mod packs, save states and net play. Personally I would find no other way to beat many classic games without save states, they are a life saver and don't require you to sit 5 hours straight or have sheets of passwords to enter later. It has been incredibly convenient to mod my psp and add a genesis and snes emulator to catch up on classics I could never beat.

From the developers perspective, these games are out of print and they will see no additional revenue stream directly from the sale of these games. They may however, gain revenue through the subsequent sequels on current platforms due to an increased awareness and popularity of older games. Such can be the case with the Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Mega Man, and Street Fighter franchises.

[noiseredux]

others would argue that save states take something away from the game. I mean, I beat The Legend Of Zelda on a NES when I was like 12 or whatever. It was a lot of work! I don't feel like someone utilizing save states has achieved the same thing. Y'know?

[DerekG52]

others would argue that save states take something away from the game. I mean, I beat The Legend Of Zelda on a NES when I was like 12 or whatever. It was a lot of work! I don't feel like someone utilizing save states has achieved the same thing. Y'know?

I do completely agree in principal, but given time constraints I have the choice of either beating a game using save states, or never beating it. I'm playing for my enjoyment, not some e-peen type of award. I'd rather spend my time enjoying games (there are so many to choose from) than to be able to say I beat x in 1 session, etc.

[noiseredux]

others would argue that save states take something away from the game. I mean, I beat The Legend Of Zelda on a NES when I was like 12 or whatever. It was a lot of work! I don't feel like someone utilizing save states has achieved the same thing. Y'know?

I do completely agree in principal, but given time constraints I have the choice of either beating a game using save states, or never beating it. I'm playing for my enjoyment, not some e-peen type of award. I'd rather spend my time enjoying games (there are so many to choose from) than to be able to say I beat x in 1 session, etc.

I get that too. I mean, I'm almost 30. Married. And a boat-load of responsibilities. So I totally get that. I still personally don't like savestates. But I understand why others choose to use them.

[Ivo]

others would argue that save states take something away from the game. I mean, I beat The Legend Of Zelda on a NES when I was like 12 or whatever. It was a lot of work! I don't feel like someone utilizing save states has achieved the same thing. Y'know?

It can depend a lot on the usage. In certain games what I do is, that I prove (to myself, obviously) that I can really reproduce getting to a part X, where I die often (imagine I can clear the stage consistently, but can't get pass the boss). Then I use a save state just before the boss because I can't be bothered (and don't want to lose more time) just getting there. Then I play just the boss part repeatedly until I get enough experience to clear that as well. In this case you are basically just saving time on something you know you can do.

It is not the same as passing a stage that you can only pass 1 out of 10 times, save, then pass another stage that you can only pass 1 out of 10 times. There, using the save state is enabling you to do much more than just save time.

Then there is the possibility of bypassing archaic "password" systems, for example.

Ivo.

[pepharytheworm]

Should we change the name of the site to:

pirateBOY
your guide to the retro pirate gaming lifestyle
Why pay when you can play?

[corn619]

Should we change the name of the site to:

pirateBOY
your guide to the retro pirate gaming lifestyle
Why pay when you can play?

Show me where to find a legal copy in english of Seiken Densetsu 3, Bahamut Lagoon, Star Ocean and Just Breed. I'm all ears. I as well as many others on this site own hundreds of carts. I personally play on emulators because of the many benefits carts just can't offer. Things like fan translations, save states, increased resolution, netplay and filters. Show me how I can do these things on my SNES. Again, I'm all ears.

[noiseredux]

translations are one area that I do agree on. I mean, if Ninty can't release an English version of Mother3, then...

[pepharytheworm]

Should we change the name of the site to:

pirateBOY
your guide to the retro pirate gaming lifestyle
Why pay when you can play?

Show me where to find a legal copy in english of Seiken Densetsu 3, Bahamut Lagoon, Star Ocean and Just Breed. I'm all ears. I as well as many others on this site own hundreds of carts. I personally play on emulators because of the many benefits carts just can't offer. Things like fan translations, save states, increased resolution, netplay and filters. Show me how I can do these things on my SNES. Again, I'm all ears.

Did I say I was for or against in my statement? Frankly, I am tired of all the discussions about pirating going on lately.

By the way Mrpopo bought most of the games you mentioned then had Ziggy repro them with translations. Not cheap but it is a method. Also an enhanced Star Ocean is on the PSP. Another solution would be to learn japanese, but thats too hard, emulation is easier.

But I like things retro, thats why I am on a retro site. All the extras you are talking about don't sound retro to me.