By: Mr.Oi
Just what are emulators?
Emulators are programs that allow your PC to run games written for other platforms such as Atari 2600, arcade games, SEGA, Intellivision, and so on. 
Usually these programs are available for a quick download free of charge. Most of the time the emulators themselves are free, but copied games are pirated illegally and thus make them against the law to copy or download. To me what makes emulators so awesome is it allows me to put on my red parachute pants, my checked vans, and my jacket with all those silly little zippers on it, to embark on a night of classic retro gaming.
What games are legal?
Most of the older games that emulators run are obsolete and out of print. If a video game company is not making the game anymore and is not turning a profit on the game, then usually they do not enforce the copyright law. You can still find the game for free on ROM sites, but the only legal way to play a game is to buy it from the company that owns the copyright. Ponder this: First, if no one holds the patent, or the company that does hold it no longer exists then the emulator is generally OK. Secondly, it also depends whether or not the company holding the game console or the game (ROM) patent is actively pursuing the matter in court. Try to stay away from the newer games (after 1994) if you are unsure of the legal issues. With out the ROMS emulators are useless. The general rule to follow is: if you own copy of it then you may download it to play it on your PC. A good example of this would be my self. I own around 25 Atari 2600 games but my Atari console no longer works. Theoretically I could probably download most of these games for free and play them on my PC. (Then I’d be sued for $3000 a ROM) ( I rather be kicked in my donkey 25 times)
What are the games called? Where can I get find them?
The games themselves are called ROMS and then are broken down to their platform name then the actual name of the game.
Example Atari 2600 Pac Man, which by the way is owned by NAMCO and the masterminds there claim that Pac Man still turns a profit. (Amazing) You can do search in Google for emulators or ROMS to find a host of sites willing to offer you what you seek. Some of these sites are pretty shady so be careful. A good place to find emulators and ROMS is at www.classicgaming.com where they have thousands of free ROMS and some emulators also.
In closing I would like to say that the internet used to be a great place to get free music and free games (and free other stuff…wink). Now it’s a great place to find your self in litigation for downloading a Clay Aiken ditty. Likewise with ROMS, a year or so ago I did a little digging around looking for emulators that ran classic console games. Back then there were a ton of sites and a lot more games at your disposals. It seems now that most game companies have gone are either tied up court or have shut down the sites all together. What a load garbage! I can understand not wanting emulators and games of the latest systems, but for games that are 10 to 15 even 25 years old? I do not see the crime. But I guess we are all required to submit to authority, because…
“I fight authority, Authority always wins I fight authority, Authority always wins I been doing it since I was a young kid I come out grinning' I fight authority, Authority always wins……” Uh-Huh!
Mr. Oi - check out this link
http://home.earthlink.net/~eagix/index.html
more emulation news...this one from a dead handheld for a dead gaming system.
cool stuff anyway..
Posted by: Monsignor | 02/23/2004 at 11:29 AM