4 ms·

I'd say the economic harm of bootlegging 10+ year old games from large publishers on platforms that are no longer produced is close to zero.

mparlane 14y ago
Actually, Nintendo introduced "Virtual Console" on the Wii system to make money off of these old games you can't buy anymore.
- pudquick 14y ago
  Interesting (somewhat related) side note about the Virtual Console games: they are emulation shells around the original ROMs. There are toolkits out there that will let you peel them apart and see / replace the resources inside. I used this to swap out one ROM for another so I could play the Nintendo NES version of Tetris on my Wii.
- rcfox 14y ago
  For me, the biggest value in emulation is playing the fan translations of games that were never originally made available in English. Some of my favourites: Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou! http://www.romhacking.net/translations/226/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/226/ Romancing SaGa 3 http://www.romhacking.net/translations/416/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/416/ Seiken Densetsu 3 http://www.romhacking.net/translations/440/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/440/ (Note: None of those links will point you at the ROMs themselves, just translation patches.)
  - mparlane 14y ago
    I thought half the fun was in NOT understanding the Japanese text ?
  - tiglionabbit 14y ago
    Hell yes. Also check out Wonder Project J 1 and 2. And then there's Star Fox 2, which is an awesome game that was never released.
- ronaldj 14y ago
  They should sell them on the app store and get it over with.
joezydeco 14y ago
Namco is pretty tight about their IP, especially since they now have a tidy little business remaking their old arcade titles again using the original ROMs: http://www.amazon.com/Namco-Arcade-Party-Cabaret-Cabinet/dp/B004AUGOA6 http://www.amazon.com/Namco-Arcade-Party-Cabaret-Cabinet/dp/... The funny thing is that these titles aren't emulated, per se. They have re-implemented the original hardware (including Z80 core and various sound chips) and distilled it down to an FPGA, playing the code off of the ROMs stored in EEPROMs or Flash memory.
- pyre 14y ago
  The target market for that cabinet is not the same as the majority of people that would download a ROM of one of those games.
  - mpyne 14y ago
    True, but the problem is that if ROMs were copyable with no legal issue that other companies besides Namco would be able to serve that market. That's only a problem if you feel Namco should be able to continue in the copyright for those works obviously, I'm just pointing out that a difference in intended market isn't sufficient for Namco to drop interest in copyright.
  - joezydeco 14y ago
    The question we're addressing here is if there is economic harm in bootlegging object code for a system that is no longer manufactured. Arcade hardware applies just as much as console hardware, even moreso since the arcade machines were produced in quantities much lower than the catridges for popular home consoles. The response being mentioned in the grandfather comment was if owning a copy of the original object code on chips satisfies the copyright concerns. If you own the original game, then you should be able to sleep soundly at night that you're not stealing from the author of the game. Namco (& Midway in the USA) stopped making these arcade machines 30 years ago. One could easily argue that that is WAY out of production and there's no possible way Namco could be harmed by bootlegging Pac-Man ROMs into a MAME cabinet and placing it into a Chuck-E-Cheese. But, lo and behold!, Namco is making arcade equipment and selling it again. There's definitely an economic impact now.

mparlane 14y ago

Actually, Nintendo introduced "Virtual Console" on the Wii system to make money off of these old games you can't buy anymore.

pudquick 14y ago
Interesting (somewhat related) side note about the Virtual Console games: they are emulation shells around the original ROMs. There are toolkits out there that will let you peel them apart and see / replace the resources inside. I used this to swap out one ROM for another so I could play the Nintendo NES version of Tetris on my Wii.
rcfox 14y ago
For me, the biggest value in emulation is playing the fan translations of games that were never originally made available in English. Some of my favourites: Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou! http://www.romhacking.net/translations/226/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/226/ Romancing SaGa 3 http://www.romhacking.net/translations/416/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/416/ Seiken Densetsu 3 http://www.romhacking.net/translations/440/ http://www.romhacking.net/translations/440/ (Note: None of those links will point you at the ROMs themselves, just translation patches.)
- mparlane 14y ago
  I thought half the fun was in NOT understanding the Japanese text ?
- tiglionabbit 14y ago
  Hell yes. Also check out Wonder Project J 1 and 2. And then there's Star Fox 2, which is an awesome game that was never released.
ronaldj 14y ago
They should sell them on the app store and get it over with.

joezydeco 14y ago

Namco is pretty tight about their IP, especially since they now have a tidy little business remaking their old arcade titles again using the original ROMs: http://www.amazon.com/Namco-Arcade-Party-Cabaret-Cabinet/dp/B004AUGOA6 http://www.amazon.com/Namco-Arcade-Party-Cabaret-Cabinet/dp/... The funny thing is that these titles aren't emulated, per se. They have re-implemented the original hardware (including Z80 core and various sound chips) and distilled it down to an FPGA, playing the code off of the ROMs stored in EEPROMs or Flash memory.

pyre 14y ago
The target market for that cabinet is not the same as the majority of people that would download a ROM of one of those games.
- mpyne 14y ago
  True, but the problem is that if ROMs were copyable with no legal issue that other companies besides Namco would be able to serve that market. That's only a problem if you feel Namco should be able to continue in the copyright for those works obviously, I'm just pointing out that a difference in intended market isn't sufficient for Namco to drop interest in copyright.
- joezydeco 14y ago
  The question we're addressing here is if there is economic harm in bootlegging object code for a system that is no longer manufactured. Arcade hardware applies just as much as console hardware, even moreso since the arcade machines were produced in quantities much lower than the catridges for popular home consoles. The response being mentioned in the grandfather comment was if owning a copy of the original object code on chips satisfies the copyright concerns. If you own the original game, then you should be able to sleep soundly at night that you're not stealing from the author of the game. Namco (& Midway in the USA) stopped making these arcade machines 30 years ago. One could easily argue that that is WAY out of production and there's no possible way Namco could be harmed by bootlegging Pac-Man ROMs into a MAME cabinet and placing it into a Chuck-E-Cheese. But, lo and behold!, Namco is making arcade equipment and selling it again. There's definitely an economic impact now.