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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Is playing Zelda Breath of the Wild on PC legal?

What if I own a copy of the Switch game?



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You're likely playing a download of the Wii-U software? Which you have no license to.

Think about it like this, if you have an old VHS of a movie is it legal to download a 4k blu ray rip of it?



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Definitely not legal (I assume that it's a downloaded ROM). Morally, probably better than just straight up stealing it, I guess?



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Afaik if you dont make the copy widely available there shouldn't be any ramifications



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I don't know all the details but you can only have backups of software that you own. Buying a piece of software is essentially a license for the game to be played in your home. So no, if you own the Switch game it is technically illegal to play backups on cemu because cemu is a Wii U emulator, not Switch. But I may be wrong. I own the Wii U software so technically it's legal to own a backup and play on an emulator.



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Ganoncrotch said:

You're likely playing a download of the Wii-U software? Which you have no license to.

Think about it like this, if you have an old VHS of a movie is it legal to download a 4k blu ray rip of it?

Wouldn't, in my case, I have the 4K blu-ray copy trying to get the old VHS? Since the Switch is a better quality?



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If we're talking strictly legal, then it depends on the country obviously, but mostly, the laws pertain to HOW you aqcuire the copy. The legal issue with emulation is commonly not the actual act of emulating, but rather that many people download the game illegally to do so. It is in fact illegal to download a copy of something, even if you own a copy of it yourself (at least most places). So even if you owned a CD with your favourite music, you can't legally download those tracks from The Pirate Bay or whatever, because the act of downloading it is illegal in itself. Same goes for emulated games. However if you are able to rip the file from the disc and onto your HDD/SSD by yourself, instead of downloading it, you are free to do whatever you want.

Of course, that's just about what is legal. When it comes to ethics, I don't *really* see a problem with pirating something you already own, but if you want to be completely legal about it, you have to rip the game from the disc/cartridge itself.



Teeqoz said:

If we're talking strictly legal, then it depends on the country obviously, but mostly, the laws pertain to HOW you aqcuire the copy. The legal issue with emulation is commonly not the actual act of emulating, but rather that many people download the game illegally to do so. It is in fact illegal to download a copy of something, even if you own a copy of it yourself (at least most places). So even if you owned a CD with your favourite music, you can't legally download those tracks from The Pirate Bay or whatever, because the act of downloading it is illegal in itself. Same goes for emulated games. However if you are able to rip the file from the disc and onto your HDD/SSD by yourself, instead of downloading it, you are free to do whatever you want.

Of course, that's just about what is legal. When it comes to ethics, I don't *really* see a problem with pirating something you already own, but if you want to be completely legal about it, you have to rip the game from the disc/cartridge itself.

I gotcha, so you have to do it yourself rather than downloading someone else's emulation (rip). Lame. I suppose that's like owning a Ford F150 and using someone elses... kind of except these are not tangible.



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If you bought the game on WiiU (or on Switch, really) I don't see what would be the problem. It's like calling piracy to torrenting an old PC game whose CD got scratched years ago and can't be read. You bought the game.



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Bandorr said:
roadkillers said:

Wouldn't, in my case, I have the 4K blu-ray copy trying to get the old VHS? Since the Switch is a better quality?

Switch is better than WIi U. PC is better than Switch.

Yes, but it was never released on PC. I think that would be a case where someone took their VHS tape, connected it to a computer and ported it to the computer, then digitally enhanced it themselves. I wouldn't pay Ford extra if I added shocks to their vehicle and gave it to a friend. 

 

Anyways I guess it's illegal to pirate a game you own which is complete nonsense to me. If you own it, why does it matter where you get the backups from..



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