Opinion on Emulators and why I use 'em

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

I found a site called [redacted] a while back, and before anyone starts raging about me using emulators, let me give you my reasons.

I ONLY use emulators when a specific game I want to play is virtually impossible to get a real copy of. For example, I wanted to play Shining Force 2 (which is great so far BTW) but the only way to play it would be to find and buy both a Sega genesis and a copy of the game. Both would have to be from a garage sale/ eBay and none of the money would ever get to game retailers, so it's not hurting the industry. I would never download a copy of ,say, Oblivion becuase the game is still sold in retail stores and money goes to the stores. The developers already got payed by the stores, but retailers are important too.

So.... have any of you used emulators and/ or what are your opinions on them?

EDIT: Realised that DoW is PC only and that wouldn't be a ROM, it would be a pirated copy.

[Sadrack]

Actually, Shining Force 2 is kind of a bad example for this, as nowadays there are several methods of acquiring a legitimate copy AND giving Sega your money for it at the same time. The first one being to buy the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, the second being to buy the Sega Genesis classics 4 on steam and the last would be to buy it on virtual console on the Wii.

Personally, I think the only time I would advocate use of an emulator is when a game has never been released to the English speaking world. Plenty of titles that have never seen a release over here have had fan translations which allows us to actually play the game and enjoy them to their full extent, and it would be a shame to miss such an opportunity as there are plenty of gems that have never seen an English release. (Mother 3 anyone?)

Of course, if someone speaks the game's original language (usually Japanese) then they should support the original companies and get the game for themselves, but for people like me, emulators and dedicated fans are pretty much a gift of god.

[Furdabip]

Yeah, I think it's common enough now to use emulators for older games. I even have a PC hooked up to my TV with a controller adapter so I can even play them on my TV in my comfy chair.

[Lord_Mountbatten]

(Mother 3 anyone?)

Best reason for emulators I could think of, and was going to be what I'd mention. Love this game!

[random980]

[Redacted] is a great website, its got heaps of games and has no stupid force voting. and the links work.
Also i dont think there even are emulators for consoles that are still on the market. I know you can get some wii games, but they are usually extremely laggy and almost unplayable.

[Pinmissile]

I like to play GBA games on my android every now and then.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

[Redacted] is a great website, its got heaps of games and has no stupid force voting. and the links work.
Also i dont think there even are emulators for consoles that are still on the market. I know you can get some wii games, but they are usually extremely laggy and almost unplayable.

This is the only site I've used.

Also, I came across a great site called [redacted] or something that has direct only play of NES and SNES games. No downloads FTW!

[Lord_Mountbatten]

Apologies, but I've deleted the links to the sites. The emulators are legal, but ROMs aren't, so I'd rather you didn't share these links on the forums.

So.... have any of you used emulators and/ or what are your opinions on them?

Answering these questions is fine, just please don't share links.