saher1175 · #24Well we gotta find another way to save RU.
saher1175 · #27Guys this is a big deal.
Someone start a thread named "Save RU"(Or "Save Piracy" or whatever.)
Or something.
Here's an almost similar discussion about piracy almost ten years ago:
https://forum.romulation.net/threads/illegal-downloading.4967/saher1175 · #29dude, anything that isn't literally the latest (which in this case would be X1, PS4, WiiU.) Is considered abandonware.
Unfortunately you can't reason this way. While an abandonware is thought (by many) to be "a game which is no longer sold by its company, in physical store or online", it's still copyright protected.
So for this emulation case, here are some examples ([USER=3]@Loonylion[/USER] please correct me if I'm wrong):
- Resident Evil 2 (PSX) isn't abandonware since Capcom still own the copyright to the game.
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) isn't abandonware since Nintendo still sell an emulated version of it on Virtual Console.
- Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls (GBA) isn't abandonware (despite its special features) since both FFI and FFII are released for other systems
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) isn't abandonware since it has a 3DS-remake
- Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) isn't abandonware since Nintendo owns the copyright to the whole Mario-franchise, which is why the game download is restricted on RomU
You may wonder why Nintendo would bother with
Super Mario Galaxy but not with
Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES-version). I don't have an answer to that. But just because Nintendo didn't force RomU to restrict the game download of the NES rom (for now), doesn't mean that downloading NES roms is legal. But Nintendo did force RomU to restrict the game download of
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the NES game's GBA-enhanced remake.
For more information about abandonware, roms and law, please read the following articles:
saher1175 · #24Or the concept of free console games in its entirety. So, any suggestions?
The only time a game is legally free is when the copyright holder decides to re-release the game as freeware.
Beneath a Steel Sky (the original PC-version) is an excellent example of this, although the game has a priced remaster version released for iPhone some years ago.
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn was released by EA Games as freeware in 2007. So does this mean its N64-port
Command and Conquer 64 is legally free? It should be, but it's not written in stone.
And as Cahos said, RomU isn't entirely about piracy. That's why warez for example isn't allowed to be discussed on this forum. RomU primarily isn't a site where you can download games just because you don't want to pay for them.
Cahos Rahne Veloza · #28As for games for older systems, which should actually be considered "Abandonware" by now (unfortunately their copyright owners wouldn't consider doing so :( ) , RomU is just offering 'em for posterity's sake. I mean how many of us are there who are into games for the NES these days? Moreso, how many are there of us on here are into obscure Japanese NES games that we only download because of English Fan Translations being worked on and released by ROM Hackers for them?
Then it's a good thing that I care about them. They're still THE real games to me.
