are emulators illegal?

hey I saw a website for emulators and just curious on the legallity of the issue.

Some emulators arn't illegal, but its the content thats loaded onto them that is usually illegal.

No, they aren't illegal. The games compatible with them, however, are.

This question gets asked a lot, but its really a simple matter..

Emulators are not illegal, but downloading roms, or any game of the net to play them on the emulator is illegal (as in its simply pirating the games, i don't know why its so hard to comprehend).

If you're using your original game CD's/DVD's that you purchased to play games on a emulator, on a PC, then that is perfectly legal.

If you're using a USB device (i always forget what its called exactly, but there are numerous models) to play your original NES/SNES/etc. cartridges that you purchased, on a PC emulator, then that is also perfectly legal to do so.

What's so hard to understand exactly?

Let me put this even more simple.

1. If you play the games that you own and purchased legally, on a emulator, then that is legal.
2. If you download them of the net(roms, CD rips, etc.), and you play those on a emulator, that is pirating games, and is illegal. And it doesn't matter whether you own the original copies, you have to use THOSE original copies to play, for it to be legal..

If you play the games that you own and purchased legally, on a emulator, then that is legalLucianu

Not quite. you also need to own the console the emulator emulates, else the bios file required for the software to work still counts as software theft and backwards engineering. Still, t's all a big gray area, with no precise norms regulating it, so a company may sue and win even considering all of the above, yet rom sites flourish on the web despite all this.