is emulating piracy?

[Michael-5]

For Most Countries and states, the law is as follows.

If you download a ROM file, and play an old game on an emulator, it's not considered piracy if you own a copy of that game. Say for instance I own a copy of Chrono Trigger for SNES or Virtual Console. Regardless of if my cartridge works (It could even be in the factory sealed box), I am legally allowed to download a ROM file of the game as backup, and play the backup version.

However if I don't own the original game, then it is an illegal download.

As for new games, say I get Dolphin for PC, which allows me to play Wii games without an actual Wii console. I can legally buy Wii discs and put them in my PC and play them that way. I do not have to play Wii (or 360/PS3) games on a console, I can legally play them on PC. I don't even need a console controller, I could use my keyboard if I prefer. I could even buy the game and keep it factory sealed, and play a downloaded copy. However I must own a copy of the game for it to be legal.

That trade-off is that there is no guarantee a PC emulator or Modified system will play the game. For instance I own a copy of Chrono Cross and I own a PS2 and in the past have owned a PS1 and PS3. However my PS1/PS3 broke, and my PS2 is basically bust as it only reads a few select games, typically scratch free ones. I've tried multiple PC emulators, but nothing plays Chrono Cross, so I'm left sad.

What buying a console does is guarantee that the games for that console will work on it for the duration of the warranty at least. That, and a physical box, is what you are paying for.

As long as you actually own a copy of the game, you are free to play it anyway you like. On a console, on PC as a backup, even on your cell phone if you can.