Play Classic NES Games Online Through vNES

The Wii's Virtual Console is such a great part of the Wii because it allows gamers to tap in to the days of when games were just pure fun. But the one thing people are going nuts about is the updates to the huge library that Nintendo has. But, what if you could play a bunch of classic NES games online?

[eclipsegryph]

Just how legal is this? I mean I want to play some old school games as much as the next guy, but at least I've got the stones to hunt around and purchase the games.

If this is somehow legal and fine, then I'll eat my shoe.

[UrbanJabroni]

Some people contend that using roms for games that you own is considered "fair use", but the fact of the matter is that developers have chosen to attack the issue as illegal...meaning it is basically illegal.

[TheSadTruth]

or you could just download an emulator and roms.. jesus christ what a pointless article

is this illegal? yes, can you get caught? No
Is it stealing? No.
Is it wrong? No.
Does it save you time and money? Yes.

Emulator: http://www.zophar.net/Files...
Roms: http://www.rom-world.com/dl...

edit: And to play these from your computer to your tv all you need is an s-video cable or xbox 360, etc.

[eclipsegryph]

"Illegal? Yes
Stealing? No
Wrong? No"

How did you come up with that? If it's not stealing, then how is it illegal?

I think the other commenter was right in that this particular instance is a rather gray area. The website is obviously not selling the games nor giving the games to other people. It's akin to going over to a rich friend's house to play his exhaustive supply of games. So YOU are doing nothing illegal. This person, however, I highly doubt has purchased all of those java games that he is putting up online for free. Thus HE has stolen and is passing on the "savings" to you.

It's really easy to not think of ROMS and websites such as this as stealing, because you're not dealing with tangible items. The very definition of stealing is to make something yours through wrongful or unjust means.

So, again, while users of this particular website are not stealing, per se, they are willfully using stolen goods.

The issue of right or wrong is up to the individual, however, and how they feel. Personally I don't think that just because something is easy to steal that it means that it's okay to. Your mileage may vary. The thing is that this guy thinks he's some sort of pariah for setting up this website, and he's obviously aware that what he is doing, while not inherently wrong to him, is illegal in the eyes of the law.

[TheSadTruth]

I feel sorry or you if you think like that
if you found $100 on the sidewalk would you keep it?
The only people who would pay for these things are complete idiots or are simply too ignorant to the whole "emulation scene"

[eclipsegryph]

Please don't feel sorry for me standing up for my values. I don't think you're really grasping the complete concept here, as evidenced by your $100 question. Finding $100 on the street with no obvious owner in the vicinity and keeping it is not akin to the vNES website or downloading and playing ROMs.

I want to make sure that I'm clear on what you said, though. You stated that the only people who would pay for intangible entertainment (games, movies, music) that is currently no longer in production is either acting idiodically or is ignorant of emulation, right? Then how would you define my stance? I certainly don't think that I'm an idiot for thinking that taking possession of something that is not mine through means that are wrongful or unjust is a bad thing, and it should be obvious that I'm aware of the ability to play video games for free through ROMs, and that I choose not to do so. So which am I, an idiot or ignorant?

Read through the rest of my posts here, and hopefully you'll see that I have but one simple statement to make - just because a law is easy to break, doesn't mean that it's okay to do so. You can't state that using ROMs is illegal, and then turn around and say "but it's not stealing". I mean, do what you are going to do, but please be aware of the actions that you are taking.

And that, I'm afraid, is the last speech bubble that I have for this thread. It's been real, and it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun. Ciao.

[GioneBurnz]

THIS IS AMAZING!

BATLLETOADS! NINJA GAIDEN! NINJA TURTLES! OH MAN!

[BB]

Finally, the response I was waiting for! lol

[eclipsegryph]

Why is this the reply you were waiting for, BB? Why don't we help this guy out.

Battletoads - http://www.amazon.com/Battl...

Ninja Gaiden - http://www.amazon.com/Ninja...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - http://www.amazon.com/Ninte...

It took me less than five minutes on just a single website to find those three games that the person wanted, which would cost him around $25 to own. If he needed an NES to play on, that'd probably run him an extra $30 or so, depending. So that's $60, including shipping, and a few days wait for three video games which this person will most likely enjoy and appreciate. That's the cost of a single new X-Box 360 or PS3 game. Less than.

So how is this legal again?

[Syko]

Have you ever blown into a NES cartridge for more than 5 mins? It gets old and frustrating. Emulators are the way to go Nintendo is no longer making money off of these games anyway. your just paying some guy that still happens to have it, or a game store. Never Nintendo. Hell by buying the game from a game store and not the Virtual Console you are stealing from Nintendo!

[eclipsegryph]

Now you bring up a good point - just who is being stolen from when people make use of ROMs and websites like this? Is it Nintendo? Obviously not, because as you stated they no longer make money off of these games. Is it the people trying to sell the physical cartridges of these games? Not at all, seeing as how stealing remains the process of taking posession of something from someone else through wrongful or unjust practices. (Thus purchasing an NES game from a store and not the Virtual Console would not be classified as stealing, since you are not taking anything from Nintendo itself.)

So the million dollar question is, who, if anyone, is wronged in the use of vNES or ROMs? I really don't have an answer to that question, and I'm sure that the same is true for the majority of people who use the aforementioned items.

The one thing that continues to itch at my mind, however, is the knowledge that owning something without going through legal channels to acquire it remains stealing, no matter how much we try to spin it. Not the physical game itself, but the entertainment license derived from it. That rom, that game, that entertainment has to come from SOMEWHERE. The age of the entertainment should be inconsequential - the point is that the game has value, and through these sites and ROMs, that value is not being taken into account. The value doesn't have to be monetary - it could be anything. And I am well aware, and take advantage of, the companies who release their older games for free to the public. (Bethesda's "Arena" and Sid Mier's "Railroad Tycoon" are two such games which swiftly come to mind.) That was the company's choice, however, to give a new generation of gamers their older games for free. That right there is a decision that is up to the creator of the game to make, not the consumers of that game. And again, regardless of age, we continue to be consumers of old entertainment.

Right now it seems that the driving force for ROMs and such are ease and efficiency. Even one of the posters above noted that the process was illegal. I'm assuming that the legality of the situation doesn't matter to him because of the ease and extremely low risk in which this particular law can be broken.

Heh, and I've certainly blown into NES cartridges back in the day, and continue to do so on a weekly basis, seeing as how I've got my original NES still hooked up to the TV in the living room, and take great enjoyment from it as often as I can, or until the wife tells me to turn it off. :)