Is PC emulation of console games morally wrong in your opinion?

It's extremely morally right, in my opinion.

I feel that if you purchase a copy of a game (emphasis on the word "copy"), then you have the right to play that game in any form on any platform you choose.

I'm no lawyer, but AFAIK the "TL;DR:" version is that we don't buy games, we buy the right to play them. In the fine print there is of course ways for the publisher to back out, and they can revoke that right at any time, but they have to do that on the individual or mass basis, which means they have to take the game offline.

So basically if you have purchased the right to play a game, and the publisher has not issued any sort of thing to revoke that right, you can play it however you want.

That is my personal-but-mildly-informed opinion on the matter. If someone wants to get technical with me and cite legal precedents that's fine.

I also feel that, as consumers, we must exert what little power we have over corporate entities. If I bought a game but for whatever reason it doesn't work on modern platforms as is (say, in the form of a cartridge, or incompatible software) and the older platform is no longer available to purchase, then I must seek alternative means to maintain that right of play I purchased.

Likewise, corporations tend to dick their customers around for some really stupid reasons, and I feel it's only right that we whip ours out and dick them around in kind. **** us? No no no, **** you.

Mostly this, too. That's the short answer haha.

Here’s a recent court decision which ruled unauthorized copies of games to be illegal .

“These circumvention devices, which enable the use of unauthorised copies of video games, jeopardise the businesses of those who uphold and rely upon the sales of legitimate products. As such UKIE fully supports the ruling and wishes to reiterate the strong stance of the UK video games industry against illegitimate operators. The case represents one of multiple industry endeavours to prevent bad actors from infringing upon and exploiting the intellectual property rights associated with games.”

Pirates get rekted.

Sounds like they are assuming the person who emulates a game doesn't actually buy the copy of the game.

Lol, link the article. Bet it's not recent and has to do with installing custom firmware on the switch.

@Chutebox: They would have said so. Instead, the court called it unauthorized copies. Nintendo themselves are against backing up games and says if you want a backup copy to buy one on the eshop. Devices used to back up games are also illegal. Even if you have the game or not, its illegal.

@pclover1980: mods to emulated switch games ?? The heck, where have I been, did emulated games reach that point??

Wait, company wants you to repurchase a game you already own? You don't say haha

@Chutebox: Yeah, what do expect? Something for free? GTFO!

Prefer to buy all my games. And yeah, it's a moral thing. I do use emulation, but typically only with really old games that you can't buy anymore. If the game is still being sold, and I'm not talking about ebay secondhand offers, then I'll buy it and not emulate.

Piracy with games that are still available from the companies that made them is absolute shit.

This reads like

It's not free, I already own it

@Chutebox: And you still do own it without a backup copy. Maybe dont buy it since Nintendo dont authorize a backup. Nothing is free.

Ok, glad we got that cleared up.

LOL someone got b*tthurt that his attempt to one-up backfired. BTW a better question for TC, is it morally wrong to buy/sell used games on consoles?

You say that like it's nothing. I generally have a very flexible approach to Visuals. I still play 3DS games. The switch has many nice looking games in it's own right.

But even i'm now starting to wince at some of the game coming out. The big one for me is Xenoblade 3. In fairness Monolithsoft did the best they could with what they had....but there is only so much the switch can do. There were times when i was thinking "man i would really prefer to play this on something else". Even if they just reduced the level of post process upscaling (its like running DLSS or FSR in performance mode just to hit 900P...not a good time), upped the res and cleaned up the image a bit, it would still actually make a big difference for the overall presentation of the game.

anywho my take: morally, as long as you pay for it, play it where ever you like. The content creator has no business dictating where you can play something. That's like an artist saying you can only put a picture they created (that you bought a copy of) in a certain frame and hang it in a certain way on a certain wall. They can piss off with that idea.

EULAs say a lot of things. They are not gospel.

Playing Mario Kart 8 online multiplayer via emulation is just so, so much better and easier than playing on the Switch. I own MK8 and a Switch and I would pick the emulator 100% of the time. Private rooms with friends is so easy, and there are plenty of public rooms too for up to 8 players. Oh, and did I mention all the custom tracks you can get???? Nintendo just isn't meeting the needs of their users.

@pyro1245: Nintendo sold 50 million copies of Mario Kart 8. I’d say they’re meeting the needs just fine.

Lol you would say that. Thankfully, you do not represent 100% of the Switch users 🤣

@pyro1245: Yeah, I’m just one of those 50 million who bought Mario Kart 8. Nintendo doing us wrong once again.

Is it morally wrong to buy/sell used cars? Bikes? Computers? Shoes? Gear?

@fantasygamer: Too much pop in, it looks like crap

I bet most people that are pro emulator would change their tune if it was their hard work being stolen. Spending years of yours, and your employees lives to add something new to the world, just to have some entitled twirp act like they DESERVE your creation. **** that. Just imagine it's your company and employees.

Between digital piracy and subscription streaming services, the perceived value of entertainment has been significantly damaged. People expect more for less... or for free. But if you want a quality product, that someone busted their ass on for years, they deserve to be compensated. But that's not to say these companies are free of any responsibility. They have frequently shown that they are willing to overcharge, abuse the creators, lock content behind subscription walls, etc. And that only gives pirates the justification they're looking for.

If you own the game, and just want to play on a more powerful system, or care about preservation, I don't see a huge problem with that. But just because you bought scratched PS1 copy of RE2 for $5, that doesn't give you the RIGHT to steal RE2R.

I'm no better than anyone else here. I've danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, but it doesn't make it right.

@mesome713 All you seem to care about is Nintendo. What about all those other systems? You know, those other consoles and computers that have existed since the birth of the industry. The ones NOT owned by NINTENDO?

I've got nearly every major Arcade game, every C64 game ever released, all the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games. A massive archive of all the major Commodore Amiga games released in the 90's and a treasure trove of PC DOS games. What about these?

@Bond007uk: You can steal from them POSs.

@Bond007uk: nah he also owns an Xbox series x

@dimebag667: bro, these developers aren't starving, especially the big ones. I reccomend paying for smaller developers games, but big game developers like Nintendo and Sony are scamming hard, they need to get rekkd. No need to worry about the fat arse old white dude not being able to buy his latest yacht.

Heck, even the developers working for these big AAA companies are making bank. It's the small studios that are squeaking by.

Only if I got the roms for games I never purchased.

@blaznwiipspman1: Its the small companies who have a hard time preserving their games. Thats why so many people illegally download their games to help preserve them. Got to help the little studio out they say. And now with AI becoming so powerful, we can use it to recreate these small companies games for free without even needing the small studios help. Preserving these companies games will be even easier. And they cant afford to take you to court either.

It took Nintendo almost 7 years to take just a couple pirate sites to court, these small studios dont even stand a chance,

You didn't have that energy when that broken ass Pokemon game dropped

@BenjaminBanklin: I dont play or buy Pokemon games. Game Freak are pure trash.

Me too, and I agree.

If Nintendo can't be arsed to put an ethernet port on their dock at launch, and instead include the lousiest wifi adapter I have ever used, then I am justified in finding a better way to play the games online.

A hard stance against emulating games that I own. Np using consoles linked to slave labour, concentration camps and genocide.

@pyro1245: Aint nothing wrong with being a thief. Thousands of people do it. You gotta survive mate, life is hard.

What was stolen?

since Ian doesn't want to hand out links, I'll leave this here:

https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-01/cp140009en.pdf

@fedor: An unauthorized copy of a game and unauthorized device to play said illegal game. Try to keep up old timer.

So nothing then. Owns hardware, owns the software, Nintendo got paid. Good talk.

But it's rarely the old fat ass white dude that gets hurt. It's all the people that are lower on the totem pole getting canned. I haven't bought or played a new game since 2019, so I'm not funding anyone's yacht. Honestly at this point, I wouldn't mind if the AAA market collapsed, and the AA /indie scene got to rebuild the industry. It's bloated and boring anyway. Might as well let it burn.

Im curious. What exactly are Sony and Nintendo doing to scam you?

One is a license and others are physical commodities. Try again.

They can't imagine anyone would buy Nintendo hardware and think it is woefully inadequate.

A true fanboy. 🤣

Honestly, it seems less and less so by the day. Take for instance that Amazon sells counterfeit devices playing thousands of pirated games, from countless third party retailers, and doesn't do anything about it. And they do claim they crack down on it, but when they do, an new third party sprouts up, takes its place with positive reviews farmed already. But, nothing has happened, it persists, out in the open. Not legal action taken by Nintendo, no action taken by DOJ.

The problem has gotten so bad that it doesn't just limit itself to third party sellers, this stuff ends up in the distribution chains of major retailers.

Even during Covid, the larger public health concern didn't stop Amazon from selling so many counterfeit masks, they'd even keep selling them after the seller or item was outed as counterfeit. And there's never been any major repercussions from any of these degrees of brazen piracy and selling if counterfeit products. Perhaps we don't have the laws to enforce through third party online services or the resources to enforce them aren't enough to keep up.

Anyhow, when I was in Vietnam, I remember going to a video store where you can browse through a catalog of titles and you pick them out while someone goes in back and grabs a burned copy on DVD, it was less than a dollar a movie. I imagine that where we're headed. We'll no longer have malls with major retailers, rather, flee markets lined with stalls that peddle counterfeit goods.

But computer piracy didn't cause this. If anything I'd argue the emulation and ROM sites were kind of like the idea of controlling vice. Like, you can't stamp out all illegal behavior, better to use resources to rather shape the black market to something stable, predictable, managed, than to create a constant and chaotic power vacuum. Not sure the reason it's been on overdrive lately, but I certainly feel Nintendo's holy war against ROM sites will definitely escalate the brazen selling of these cheap Chinese all in one emulation centers with thousands of games pre-installed.

@mesome713:

@pyro1245: You still don’t have the right to backup or download an unauthorized copy of a game on an unauthorized device to play said game. Which is piracy and illegal.

@dimebag667: Nintendo releasing $70 games on 20 year old hardware and Sony milking their fans with remasters of remasters of re...

The milking just don't stop with these two.

@mesome713: so you want to preserve the little guys games, and I don't want to pay the fat rich dude to buy his next yacht. What do we do?

The best option would be everyone stop buying AAA games, and the developers all start their own small studios and make games with the help of AI, and we can buy. Time to spread that wealth.

Again. So rude. Until you can drop a link to an official source that invalidates and supersedes 17 USC 117, you are out of line calling US people in this thread thieves without proof.

As always, it comes down to quality. If Nintendo is trying to force people to buy their shit hardware to play a game that looks and runs like shit on it, you can not blame people for turning to PC to save the day. Nintendo is stupid not to release their games on PC when people can just play them on PC anyway. PC gamers are willing to support Nintendo on PC, but Nintendo doesn't want the extra money.