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setsunatenshi on 26 August 2017
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Cerebralbore101 said:
setsunatenshi said:

The list of consoles I owned personally (not even including portables):

Atari 5600, Famicom, Sega Mega Drive/ Genesis, Sega 32x, Sega CD, Saturn, PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii, PS4, Switch

List of consoles still working perfectly:

PS3 (except the controler that is jenky as hell by now), PS4 and Switch

 

Hardware has a lifespan especially if actually used. So it means it WILL die eventually, there's no other way around it. In such cases the only way for me to play those games nowadays is by using emulators.

 

So even by your reply you changed the stance from "emulators should be illegal" to "playing emulated PS1, SNES, etc is fine". Ok, seems a lot more reasonable than the original position you were defending.

Now following that logic, how do you define what is "ok" to emulate and what should be "illegal"? Should the person who creates a PS3 emulator be considered some sort of criminal? What if Sony creates a PS3 emulator, is that not illegal anymore?

1 more correction I would like to make when you said "Playing  emulated PS1, SNES, Megadrive, etc. is fine since the patent ran out years ago"

What patent are you even talking about? Pirating a PS1 game is just as illegal as pirating a PS4 game (if it was even possible to do so). PS1 games are not public domain.

Finally, when you said "a lot of games do get remade, which throws another wrench in the "once the hardware dies" argument. "

If I own a game, why should I have to buy it again in order to play it? Sure, I can rebuy it for the sake of simplicity if the company decides to re-release it on newer hardware, but 1) is this the case for every game ever made? and 2) what if I prefer to save the money and play my original copy on an emulator?

In my opinion you're arguing for an unsustainable position, so much so that even the companies that actually own the IP rights to these games pretty much stopped fighting emulation on legacy hardware. It's not worth it for them in terms of public perception, and actually can help keep their IPs in the zeitgeist in case they want to use them in the future for newer releases.

Your list of working consoles is anecdotal evidence. 

My stance was always that emulators for modern games and systems should be illegal.

PS3 is last gen and thus still modern. Especially when games like Persona 5, Trails of Cold Steel, etc. are still coming out for it. Emulators violate copyright law as clear as day. If you make a living by accepting patreon donations in exchange for working on an emulator for a modern system you are a criminal. 

I meant that playing PS1 games on an emulator is fine ethically. Legally it may be another story depending on whether or not the patent on the bios is still valid. If the patent/s on the PS1 ran out, and you own the disk, then it is legal. 

If you own a game you don't need to buy it again. Most people's hardware still works to this day. If you choose to play your original copy on an emulator (something that only really exists for a single console), and the bios patent/s ran out you should be ok. 

 

 

Are you disputing that hardware given enough time and use WILL fail? Of course my personal circumstances are anectodal, but it conveys the exact point we are debating. When the hardware dies, i still own my games and I have every right to play it anywhere I want.

 

The other assertions you made are also incorrect and several other people pointed them out as well so I'll refrain from repeating them.

 

Dispite you personal opinions on this subject, the fact is emulation exists and thankfully will always exist.

 

100 years from now, today's games should still live on thanks to it.