Emulation - The Legalities, Ethics, Benefits and Drawbacks

[SvennoJ]

Safiir said:
I've already said my opinion on the matter and how much I disagree with SvennoJ (I'm singling you out because you seem to be making the most coherent arguments against emulation :) ) but would like to point out that emulation is not limited only to game consoles. For example VMware is used in a lot of IT companies in order to create multiple virtual machines on a single server. Completely official and legal. Could it be used in order to run pirate software? Absolutely! Does it have any safeguards in order to assure pirated software cannot be used? Not a single one! Why isn't there outrage against it?

VMWare is not promoted here.
VMWare is not shown to be running brand new games.
VMWare is not available for download bundled with pirated games.

Emulators are easier to make without using a virtual machine. No need to go through an extra hoop which would only slow things down. I can't really find anything about VMWare used for piracy, only VMWare getting pirated itself. Emulators however...

It's completely different. There is no outrage against DOSBox either, mini nes, virtual console, BC etc. Promoting or making a program available that actively encourages people to circumvent security measures and or download pirated versions of brand new software is where the line gets crossed.