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A console emulator is a program for a computer, or other computing device, that can emulate a video game console or handheld, so a computer can be used to play, translate, or modify games that were created for that console or to develop games for that console. Console emulation can also be done between consoles (hence cross-console emulation), making a modern video game console emulate a less advanced one.
Console games for emulators are often distributed as ROMs on the Internet. Without the permission of the copyright holder or the Entertainment Software Association, this practice is illegal, although few copyright holders appear to care about older games (See Abandonware), and a few copyright holders have even released their games and demos gratis or even as free software. This illegality is also controversial for long time gamers and so called "old school" gamers. The popularity for console emulation among fans is due to the belief that many older video games that are no longer on the market are more enjoyable than newer video games currently on the market. Part of this comes from game companies having to focus on gameplay elements other than graphics, due to the graphical memory and hardware limitations at the time of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, while some believe that modern 3D graphics have not yet fully matured. Another belief is that companies can no longer make income from older titles, though this is not always the case with published archived collections, ports and rereleases, emulated titles, and enhanced remakes provided by the original publisher or copyright holder. On some of these "Emu" sites, there is a myth that you may only keep a ROM image on your computer for a period of 24 hours. This idea stems from the belief that ownership of the actual game is not required.
For more up-to-date systems (eg: Nintendo's Game Boy, N64; Sega's Dreamcast, Sony's Playstation) the copyright holders tend to be more proactive about protecting their copyrights, and a number of websites offering ROMs have been shut down.
Many ROM sites claim that it is legal to download the ROMs for backup purposes if one owns a physical copy of the software. It appears that Title 17 USC Section 117 [1] permits making a backup copy within the United States, but this has never been tested in a court of law.
One advantage to ROM images is the potential for hacking: Console game fans sometimes produce translations of games, rewrite the game's dialogue, or apply fixes to bugs that were present in the original game. Software which emulates a console system can be improved with additional capabilities that the original system did not have, such as variable-width font, anti-aliasing, or game save state functionality. Also, console game fans sometimes change the game's font from fixed-width to variable-width font, e.g. Seiken Densetsu 2Seiken Densetsu is a Role-playing game series from Squaresoft (the company behind the Final Fantasy series), now Square Enix ( Enix is the maker of the Dragon Quest series), created by Koichi Ishii. Started in 1991, Seiken Densetsu is known for its live-a (Secret of Mana) Variable Font Edition. SNES fans use variable-width font in producing translations of Japan-only SNES games.
In an editorial from RPGamer.com, console developers (especially Nintendo) and game publishers may have brought console emulation onto themselves by implementing territorial lockoutRegional lockout is the programming practice, code, or chip used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country. It originated in the video game inds or censorshipIn ancient Rome, censorship was the office or function of a censor. This article is about controls over publication and discussion. Censorship is the use of state or group power to control freedom of expression. Censorship 'criminalizes' certain actions o of game content. The legal term for such behavior is copyright misuseCopyright misuse is an equitable defense against copyright infringement in the United States based on the unreasonable conduct of the copyright owner. The doctrine forbids the copyright owner from attempting to secure an exclusive right or limited monopol.
Some popular console emulators include gnuboygnuboy (all lowercase, but sometimes unofficially spelled GNU Boy is a Free Software emulator released under the terms of the GNU General Public License ("GPL"). It is 99% execution-compatible with software targeted for the Game Boy ("DMG") and Game Boy C, FCE Ultra , nester , Snes9xSnes9x is a popular cross-platform emulator for the SNES. Initially the collaborative effort of Gary Henderson of snes96 fame and Jerremy Koot of snes97 fame, Snes9x is now maintained by Matthew Kendora and Brad Jorsch. Snes9x has several capabilities whi, ZSNESZSNES is an acclaimed emulator for video games made to run on the Super Famicom and/or the Super NES (SNES for short). It was developed by anonymous programmers, and was first released on the Internet in 1997. One of the programmers, who goes by the Inter, Nessie, Power Player Super Joy 3, and TuxNES .