5 ms·

There are legal ROMs from the homebrew community, so it's definitely possible.

by Drakim 3y ago

jsheard 3y ago
With the caveat that some emulators need BIOS files or decryption keys pulled from the original system, and you can't redistribute those even if you only intend to run free homebrew games.
- Drakim 3y ago
  True! But there exists clean room implementations of some systems BIOSes that could be used.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    And the last time that was tested with Connectix and Sony, Connectix won in the end but faced so many legal fees they still had to end up selling it to Sony and abandoning it.
    - Drakim 3y ago
      Sure, and companies could also sue you for libel when you leave a negative product review. Life is unfair, but when talking strictly about what's legal or not, homebrew roms using an emulator that has a clean room implementations of BIOS should be perfectly acceptable for the App store legal-wise.
  - jonny_eh 3y ago
    Systems that have BIOSes but their emulators no longer need them: Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable. There may be others. Most 16-bit and earlier systems don’t have a BIOS.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- yau8edq12i 3y ago
  Why can't you redistribute those? You cannot copyright a key. If I bought a console and somehow manage to extract the keys, what exactly prevents me from distributing them?
  - jsheard 3y ago
    If you're in the US, or the place you're trying to distribute to is under US jurisdiction, the DMCA is what forbids you from distributing DRM decryption keys. That's why emulators for modern systems usually don't include the keys, and make the user provide their own copy of them.
    - yau8edq12i 3y ago
      I don't live in the US. Not such a free country after all.
      - jsheard 3y ago
        Unfortunately if you want to publish on the App Store or the Play Store then you have to play by the US rules, regardless of where you are, since Apple and Google operate out of the US.
        yau8edq12i 3y ago
        Too bad for iPhone users, then.

There are legal ROMs from the homebrew community, so it's definitely possible.

by Drakim 3y ago

There are legal ROMs from the homebrew community, so it's definitely possible.

With the caveat that some emulators need BIOS files or decryption keys pulled from the original system, and you can't redistribute those even if you only intend to run free homebrew games.

Drakim 3y ago
True! But there exists clean room implementations of some systems BIOSes that could be used.
- scarface_74 3y ago
  And the last time that was tested with Connectix and Sony, Connectix won in the end but faced so many legal fees they still had to end up selling it to Sony and abandoning it.
  - Drakim 3y ago
    Sure, and companies could also sue you for libel when you leave a negative product review. Life is unfair, but when talking strictly about what's legal or not, homebrew roms using an emulator that has a clean room implementations of BIOS should be perfectly acceptable for the App store legal-wise.
- jonny_eh 3y ago
  Systems that have BIOSes but their emulators no longer need them: Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable. There may be others. Most 16-bit and earlier systems don’t have a BIOS.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
yau8edq12i 3y ago
Why can't you redistribute those? You cannot copyright a key. If I bought a console and somehow manage to extract the keys, what exactly prevents me from distributing them?
- jsheard 3y ago
  If you're in the US, or the place you're trying to distribute to is under US jurisdiction, the DMCA is what forbids you from distributing DRM decryption keys. That's why emulators for modern systems usually don't include the keys, and make the user provide their own copy of them.
  - yau8edq12i 3y ago
    I don't live in the US. Not such a free country after all.
    - jsheard 3y ago
      Unfortunately if you want to publish on the App Store or the Play Store then you have to play by the US rules, regardless of where you are, since Apple and Google operate out of the US.
      - yau8edq12i 3y ago
        Too bad for iPhone users, then.