Game Emulators, good or bad

[God Of Mana]

Most people may have heard of a emulator:

An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of) the functions of one system using a different system, so that the second system behaves like (and appears to be) the first system. This focus on exact reproduction of external behavior is in contrast to simulation, which can concern an abstract model of the system being simulated, often considering internal state.

But as of now, people are creating Illegal game emulators which are computerized versions of console games that have been modified for use on a computer, such as the Visual Boy Advance, N64 Project, PSE (Play Station Emulator)I and II for which games are free.

What are your thoughts about the use of these emulators. Remember, have a open mind about all the factors of them.

 

[magiclight]

an emulator is a game world hosted by a normal person right? well for games like WoW people can host a server and everyone can play for free instead of paying monthly for it. also good to test out new features in the game.

 

[jtickner1]

Are you talking about Game emulators or emulators in general, becuase your poll just says emulators then your title says game emulators and then you ask 'these emulators', both game and emulators in general can fall under different arguments/discussions.

Game emulators aren't illegal as such, it's only illegal to use the games you don't own.

A while back i wanted to play a PS1 game for good ol' times but my PS1 kicked the bucket a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago so i got a PS1 emulator, but that is fine cause i own the game i was playing, now if i went and downloaded some other PS1 game i didn't own to play then that would be illegal.

I also emulated Mandriva Linux to see what it was like so i didn't have to install it but Mandriva and pretty much any Linux is free so there is nothing illegal there, but if you were to go and download Vista or something and TRY to emulate it (i imagine you would have a super hard time) i'm pretty sure that would be illegal,

so they're good and bad, they give people who use them correctly the chance to do stuff they wish, such as try a linux distro without having to install it, but can aslo give pirates and other sea dwelling nasties the oppertunity to do illegal stuff with them.

 

[treetops]

I use game emulators to play classic games which through time have broken down or were thrown away. I don't think to many people go download games from 10+ years ago if they haven't owned played and loved the game.

Nintendo and SNES games are actually all legal to download, google vimms lair for legal games.

Anything past that idk, Iv thrown away more than one cracked ps1 disc in my time I really dont feel bad for downloading and playing those same games on a emulator.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I do use SNES, MAME and Genesis emulators, and I love the fact that there is a way to play such classic games without resorting to cartridges or the like.

So I do think they're good.

 

[AndrestheBean]

who cares if its illegal, i have project 64 and i love legend of zelda

 

[Technochicken]

I'm a fan of project 64 and dolphin Gamecube/Wii emulator, which I use for Super Smash Bros., and SSB Melee. Melee tends to run slowly, from 15-25 fps, but I'm sure a faster CPU would remedy that. P64 on the other hand runs beautifully: I never see the fps counter drop below 60.

 

[AndrestheBean]

same here technochicken and i dont even have a graphics card

 

[shossofe]

I play with console emulators. Pretty damn hard to find those SNES games/system around these days.

And they finally got a ps2 emulator to play FFX flawlessly (IMO). Time to grind my youth away.

 

[yangly18]

some games can be difficult using just a computer keyboard. If you get the controller setup for it through your computer though, its amazing.

 

[GN48]

Interesting.......

The reason why I would want to get a game emulator is if I actually own the game console itself and actually owned the games of the game consoles or if I just love playing those games.

But still, Game emulators are still good, why, because shops these days, don't sell them old consoles anymore, and I was hoping to buy on of them old consoles! Plus they don't even sell those old games! So if your up for some old games, get an emulator and some roms and provided that you have actually bought these games and consoles though.

But some people use these to just play on them and not buy the actual games and consoles. This would be the means of pirating them and that's illegal!

I going to sleep, bye bye! :zzz:

 

[TDominici]

Learning to use keys instead of the mouse to move around takes too much getting used to to make them enjoyable IMO

 

[BluStang05]

as long as it works its good.

 

[HeadFonez]

As long as you do it legally, I am sure it is fine :>

 

[sagejay]

Well, when the game is quite old and it doesn't really sell anywhere near your house, then I guess it's ok

 

[slh28]

And they finally got a ps2 emulator to play FFX flawlessly (IMO). Time to grind my youth away.

Damn, you're in trouble, especially if it's the PAL/International version you are playing. "Grind" is an understatement.

I love the PSX and SNES emulators for the PSP, nothing like playing FFVII or Legend of Zelda on the go!

On another note, legal or not, I don't think console emulators do any harm because they are always a generation or two behind the latest consoles. I think everyone should experience the earliest Mario, Zelda and even Pokemon games because they are true classics.

 

[jorgee64]

I like emulators very much. I have the system and games that I play on the computer, but it's a hassle to take the system out and whatnot when I can just play it on the computer. I use project 64 the most with Mario Kart 64. Love that game so much.

 

[superty12]

Good

Emulators are a good thing as long as they are not used illegaly. For example: The creators of MAME wanted to preserve old arcade games. With permission, game emulators are a way to preserve video games. For me: good.

 

[Signomi]

I liked using emulators from time to time for DS games because I couldn't afford to keep spending money on games that I probably won't play again after weeks of addiction. It's illegal, yes, but call me crude, I just like convenience.

 

[Benny26]

Me and my big brother used to play the old sega games as kids..The other day i was bored out of my skull, so i downloaded a Sega megadrive emulator and got my big bro round for some double team action on streets of rage 2 (just like 15 years ago)...Boy we aint had that much fun for a long time.

Emulators are not good, there great!.