pc emulation of console games

[roblob]

Today the US copyright office said ok to console emulation on phones and I'm assuming pc's also.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5048
That article says that its ok for old consoles you cant get anymore but new ones are questionable. My question is why would sony, microsoft, or nintendo care if you emulate games for consoles if most of the time consoles are sold at a loss and they would therefore be making more money off you by you emulating the games. I've heard the ps3 premium is sold at a 240 dollar loss and the lower priced one a 300 loss. I also saw at another place that the xbox 360 is sold a 75 gain actually. not sure if thats true though. I dont remember where I saw that. What do you guys think about the idea of pc emulation of console games?

 

[MxM]

I guess they are afraid of piracy. If emulator is on PC and some kind of DRM is not set in place for it, then nothing can stop the piracy.

 

[infornography42]

Well this is good news. A bit late, but good news all the same. I hope the copyright office continues to specify exceptions like this moving forward.

I wonder if this will validate abandonware sites... They do seem to be specifying games for which the consoles are no longer manufactured, but what about PC games? ...

Here are the official statements verbatim that have to do with this.

2. Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and that require the original media or hardware as a condition of access, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of preservation or archival reproduction of published digital works by a library or archive. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

3. Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

It looks like abandonware is still not officially legal, which is unfortunate, but we can hope that it becomes so in the near future.

 

[roblob]

is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

I guess that oks the ps3 then

 

[infornography42]

is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

I guess that oks the ps3 then

No, not quite. It says No LONGER, which implies that it ever was.

 

[GyRo567]

Well it's a step in the right direction then. It's a shame to see so many (or at least some - especially in the niche) great games being lost to the sands of time. For example, you can't even play the Prince of Persia games predating the Sands of Time remake without emulation of some form. Or so I'm assuming since it predates Windows 95. I think.

With consoles it's often more about the hardware being non-existent than it is the software. Usually both if you're talking about things more than a decade old. I can't recall anybody else who still has near-mint condition N64 controllers outside of me, & after a decade, even mine are starting to get just a little bit past the 100% functionality point. I generally use a PS2 controller hooked up to my PC by USB adapter to play my N64 games (& it's not like I don't already own all of them, sometimes twice... >_> don't ask) for preservation purposes.

But then, I suppose games aren't really being considered yet in terms of archival. I think I may be slightly eccentric in this regard.

 

[TheViper]

My question is why would sony, microsoft, or nintendo care if you emulate games for consoles if most of the time consoles are sold at a loss and they would therefore be making more money off you by you emulating the games.

In this digital age, all three companies plan to offer classic titles for download at a specific cost. Emulation robs them of that profit opportunity. Especially by companies that made the software to begin with (IE Nintendo and Sony).

Nintendo has been repackaging their classics for years now with the GameBoy Advance series of classics. Emulating those titles restricts Nintendo's opportunity to profit from their own software.

Emulation of software known as abondonware (software with no copyright holder or in a position to no longer be profitable) should be legal.

 

[GyRo567]

That might be a valid argument if they actually made that both reasonable & comprehensive.

They've finally gotten the reasonable part down in pricing (well, by my standards they've finally reached that point - being about as cheap as the originals still go for used) but they've gone backwards in terms of library.

I see absolutely no reason for Nintendo not to launch with every single 1st party title & most of the 2nd party titles already available. It's inexcusable & I find it highly insulting.

Quite frankly, I see very little reason for even 3rd party titles not to be available at launch. Unless there's rivalry issues between Nintendo & the company with the copyright, I see no reason for a corporation to deny free money.

 

[TheViper]

I see absolutely no reason for Nintendo not to launch with every single 1st party title & most of the 2nd party titles already available. It's inexcusable & I find it highly insulting.

Are you game programmer? Do you realize how much time it takes to program that many titles?

 

[infornography42]

They don't have to program the entire game, they just need to take the existing ROM file and drop it in the existing emulator.

I do see why they are releasing a few at a time however. It increases the likelihood of people buying them. If the Wii came out with every single title on opening day, then everyone would buy a couple of titles and then be done with it. By releasing more over time people will be more likely to buy titles that they are just curious about or kinda liked as a kid because it just became available and wasn't before.

 

[GyRo567]

Are you game programmer? Do you realize how much time it takes to program that many titles?

I'm going to assume that my 2D games don't really count since they were programmed early this decade, not in the 90s or 80s.

I'm aware that porting would take time. Emulating doesn't take quite as much time. They could probably buy off a PC emulator & port just that to the Wii & be done with it.

But yes, I am aware that it's a money stringing process. I'm still insulted by it. I want my games in a legally backed up form & I want it now. I'm generation now, not generation me. Even if I am usually patient... >_> Patience doesn't apply to games I already own, just the ones that are still being developed. *runs away crying from own logic*

Still, I reserve the right to be selfish & impatient at times.