What are Emulators?

[Alakai]

What exactly is an emulator?<p>

[Etra McGarl]

Basically its like havening a Super nintendo on your computer, or N64 or Playstation, NES, Sega, so on and so forth. And as a run up ROMs are all the games that can be aplyed on these computer versions of the counsels......but its technically only legal to ahve one if you alreay own the system and game, or so i've heard.

[Tails99]

To add on to what Etra already said:<p>You are allowed to download the ROM, but you are to delete the ROM off your computer in 24 hours. This is probably due to people wanting to rip music or sprites off the ROM, not as much to the playing of the game. <p>Also, some Emulators support a Joypad/stick, like I had a Gameboy Emulator, and I played Legend Of Zelda, Oracle of Ages with a controller. It was fun, but there was 3 buttons(Genesis based one probably).

[GroG]

The "law" in case of roms vary from country to country, though NES and SNES roms aren't illigal anymore, or so I have read. For PSX and newer roms it's strongly forbidden to even download.

[DaveGeorge]

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Tails99</i><p>To add on to what Etra already said:<p>You are allowed to download the ROM, but you are to delete the ROM off your computer in 24 hours. This is probably due to people wanting to rip music or sprites off the ROM, not as much to the playing of the game. <p>Also, some Emulators support a Joypad/stick, like I had a Gameboy Emulator, and I played Legend Of Zelda, Oracle of Ages with a controller. It was fun, but there was 3 buttons(Genesis based one probably).<br></blockquote><p>That law is not real, it's just a way for rom sites to protect themselves. Also commecial roms are illegal even if you own the original since you are not allowed to make copies of copyrighted materials (even for personal use), at least in Sweden. But I don't care what other people do and I don't want to start a debate over this <p>

[GroG]

By saying you didn't want to start a debate...you just did !<p>I will just have to think through what I want to say. Be back with a crushing answer.

[thriwren version 2]

an emulator is a person, device, or program that does something that antoher person, device, or program does.

[DaveGeorge]

GroG: OK, I'll await your answer with big anticipation <p>What I meant was that this whole roms-emulator-piracy thing is kind of a delicate matter, the tension often gets quite hostile when discussing these things. And I don't want that :group:

[Damien 1234]

uh... yeah... In my world, I don't care, I have a 1000 emulators on my computer, and I only own like 4 of those games... I'm going to get arrested for saying this huh? lol, jk