TABLE OF CONTENTSClick the link below to skip to the section you want to read.
EMULATION
├──Why emulate?
├──Is emulating legal?
├──Then what are the legal issues with emulating?
├──What about abandonware?
├──What are some good emulators?
├──Emulator Quick List
├────DOSbox
├────Apple //e Emulator
├────ZSNES
├────Snes9x
├────Kega Fusion
├────Project64
├────ePSXe
├────FCEUX
├────MAME
├────Kawaks
├────Visual Boy Advance
├────Mednafen
├────Mupen64
├────Fuse
└──More importantly, how do I make lassi?
GAMES
├──Where can I get some games? (legally)
└──Game Spotlight
EMULATION
Why emulate?
You don't need a console or a computer running an ancient operating system to play old games. If you're running them on a laptop you now have portable gaming for systems that you couldn't necessarily carry around with you. Computers aren't the only thing with emulators written for them, many con You don't need a huge stack of consoles sitting under your TV, it's all on your computer. You can run homebrew games without having to deal with hacked cartridges.
Is emulating legal?
Yes! Steam ships copies of DOSBox with the DOS games it sells. The Wii's Virtual Console is an emulator. Emulating itself is not illegal.
Then what are the legal issues with emulating?
The big issues are piracy, copyright and patent infringement. Patent infringement is specifically relevant to the emulator author's themselves. Nobody expects consumers to examine the code of software they are using and if an emulator contains copyrighted code the only people held responsible would be the author(s). As a consumer the main thing you should worry about is piracy.
There are numerous websites that offer shareware, freeware and homebrew games. These are legal and we'll link to several of them. Downloading roms of non-free games is always illegal. Sometimes people will tell you it's okay if you own the game, or if you download and then buy it, etc. This isn't true, it's always illegal and you do it at your own risk. Downloading a rom is copyright infringement, the author did not grant permission for the game to be distributed by the website. Downloading roms also circumvents the copy protection of the system.
What about abandonware?
For games produced by a single person copyright lasts life+70 years, for a game produced by a company or group of people, the copyright lasts 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever comes sooner. The only exception to this is that games produced between 1964-1977 may have had their copyrights expire in 28 years if they weren't renewed (otherwise it's back to 95). You will need to check with the copyright office to find out.
It's extremely unlikely that the copyright has lapsed on any of these and many of these sites are hosting the games without permission. Based on these arguments it's likely that most abandonware is illegal too - just because a copyright goes uncontested doesn't mean it's not copyrighted anymore. To state it simply, most of these games are just too old for people to care that people are downloading them and they turn a blind eye to it. Most of these sites monitor distributors such as Steam or GOG as well as the original publisher to make sure they aren't giving away games other people are still selling. Some sites will actually get permission to distribute the works first, these sites are legal and the only sites that will be linked to in this thread.
What are some good emulators?
Below is a list of popular emulators and the operating systems they run on. This is not a definitive list of the operating systems they run on, many have unofficial ports that run on other systems. Search on Google and Wikipedia for more information.
Emulator Quick List
Important Notes and Details
DOSbox (Windows/Linux/Mac)Runs DOS games.
Apple //e Emulator (Windows)Runs programs written in Applesoft BASIC. Windows only.
ZSNES (Windows/DOS/Linux)Emulates Super NES. If you want to play online you need to use version 1.41.
Yes, it runs in DOSbox. Snes9x (Windows/Linux/Mac)Emulates Super NES.
Kega Fusion (Windows/Linux/Mac)Emulates Sega Master System, Genesis/MegaDrive, 32X, CD, and Game Gear. Sega CD games require a Sega CD BIOS to run.
Project64 (Windows)Emulates Nintendo 64. Different games require different video, audio, and controller plug-ins to run correctly, a list of which can be found here:
http://www.ngemu.com/n64 ePSXe (Windows/Linux)Emulates Sony Playstation. This requires the Playstation BIOS to run. Also requires video, audio, CD, and controller plugins. However, you can put a Playstation CD in your CD drive and ePSXe will run it.
FCEUX (Windows)Emulates NES.
MAME (Windows/Linux/Mac)Stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. Emulates multiple arcade machines and old computers. If you can't find any other emulator for the system you're trying to emulate it's likely that MAME can run it.
Kawaks (Windows)Emulates CPS1, CPS2, and Neo Geo (Capcom and SNK arcade machines). Neo Geo games require a Neo Geo BIOS to run.
Visual Boy Advance (Windows/Linux/Mac)Emulates Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance
Mednafen (Windows/Linux/Mac)Emulates Atari Lynx, Game Boy (Color), Game Boy Advance, Neo Geo Pocket (Color), NES, PC Engine, PC Engine CD, PC-FX, Wonderswan (Color).
Mupen64 (Windows/Linux/Mac)N64 emulator. Comes with netplay.
Fuse (Windows/Linux/Mac)Emulates Spectrum, Timex and Pentagon (USSR clone of Spectrum still in production!) computers. Comes with all kinds of fancy debugging and memory editing tools, screenshots, video recording, save states, etc.
More importantly, how do I make lassi?
4 cups yogurt
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup water
1 cup crushed ice
Blend for 40-50 seconds
Add rosewater and/or lemon, strawberry, or other fruit juice for sweet lassi
Add mango pulp for mango lassi
