What are your views on emulation?
Emulation of previous gen games is fantastic. Being able to take a piece of media meant for an old device that is rare or often in bad shape and use it with a PC, often with additional bells and whistles, is brilliant. I think many collectors despise emulation; I sort of consider myself a collector, but realize my Sega Genesis just doesn't work very well anymore, and emulation works just fine for those times I want to revisit a classic.
What benefits does emulation provide?
There are plenty of examples of old video games that would fade away into legend & obscurity if it weren't for emulation, and that alone should make any enthusiast less judgemental. Emulation also allows for mods, which range from fan translations & mods to completely changing the game into something else. Some of my favorite mods include a reworked Castlevania 2, which properly translates the game and aligns the timing of the text with that of the Japanese version, as well as includes a digital version of a map that was packed in with the game in Japan but nowhere else. A LoZ mod that makes the overworld map in the top left corner functional. A Metroid mod that adds modern-day conveniences like a map and sub-screen to see what you have (and can switch between collected guns).
Does it impact game sales?
As far as official sales go, I don't know. Secondary used market, don't know and don't care, "collectors" can shove off with their inflated prices. There is that saying bandied about in discussions of piracy that anyone pirating a game wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Personally, I've played a number of Japan-only titles via emulation, and tend to buy them if they do get officially released. (Final Fantasy 2-5 fit this mold, played fan translations first, then bought them all for PS1 years later when the official localizations finally happened). Still waiting for Live A Live and Terranigma to be rereleased...
Oh, I suppose one must address remasters and officially sold roms. Such rereleases should have enough modern benefits built in and a coherent pricetag to incentivize a purchase - a remaster should have nice new textures & features that one couldn't get via emulation. On the other hand, officially sold roms with DRM locking it to one specific console has distinctly fewer options, and as far as pricing goes...when Sega can put tons of Genesis games on a disk and sell it for $20, selling a single Genesis rom for about $5 is a joke.
How do game creators feel about this?
Based on what I've seen from other mediums, I am certain some creators are happy people can experience what they've made but haven't been officially available for years, while others feel jilted at not getting paid for past work.
What are the legalities and ethics around emulation?
Legalities - well, based on corporate culture, legally we don't really own any of our games, just licenses to use software on intended hardware. I wonder how folks who buy into that would feel if one of these companies just announced their licenses will now only last 90 days each. Emulating current gen games doesn't feel particularly ethical, but beyond that it gets pretty individualistic.
What percentage of those that use emulators are engaged in privacy? Are there sources of data to support this?
Technically, probably most of them. That's like asking what percentage of drivers break traffic laws on a daily basis.
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