NoA vs. The Emulation Scene
Over the past few years, something incredible has happened on the internet. Knowledge over computers, the internet, and of how everyday electronics work has spread it's roots all the way out to the most basic user, and a sub-culture of people who aren't willing to pay a dime for their entertainment has been created. Instead these people rely on P2P programs to provide them with quick, easy, and free access to their favorite movies, music, and games, and is causing the entertainment industry some major grief. The Internet has run wildly out of control and groups like the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA), and Nintendo of America(NoA) no longer have control over their own products. They can't do anything to stop the illegal sharing of copyrighted material over the net, so instead they're doing their best to scare the crap out of every person who owns a computer. A quick search on www.zeropaid.com will bring up several articles about the RIAA and the actions they're taking to stop the flow of copyrighted material to everyday users. But P2P, the RIAA, and a bunch of download addicts are besides the point here, so let me get down to it. While the RIAA has been in and out of court cases fighting off this problem of theirs, their problem is causing another problem in the emulation community. All these copyright infringement ideas have burrowed themselves into the video game industry, and NoA has decided that emulation is a very bad thing. The following information was taken directly from NoA's website(http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#intellectual):
"How Does Nintendo Feel About the Emergence of Video Game Emulators?
The introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software represents the greatest threat to date to the intellectual property rights of video game developers. As is the case with any business or industry, when its products become available for free, the revenue stream supporting that industry is threatened. Such emulators have the potential to significantly damage a worldwide entertainment software industry which generates over $15 billion annually, and tens of thousands of jobs."
"What Does Nintendo Think of the Argument that Emulators are Actually Good for Nintendo Because it Promotes the Nintendo Brand to PC Users and Leads to More Sales?
Distribution of an emulator developed to play illegally copied Nintendo software hurts Nintendo's goodwill, the millions of dollars invested in research & development and marketing by Nintendo and its licensees. Substantial damages are caused to Nintendo and its licensees. It is irrelevant whether or not someone profits from the distribution of an emulator. The emulator promotes the play of illegal ROMs , NOT authentic games. Thus, not only does it not lead to more sales, it has the opposite effect and purpose."
NoA is in a bit of a bind when dealing with emulation. They seem to think that emulators were created for the sole purpose of pirating and playing their licensed software. That may be the case if you were dealing with the warez community, however this is the emulation community where the illicit distribution of copyrighted software is often unwelcomed. If you were to ask the author(s) of any Nintendo emulator out there what their reason for creating the piece of software was in the first place, I could almost guarantee you that every one of them would say it was for fun, or it was a way to test their knowledge, etc. Furthermore, if you were to visit the websites of a few popular emulators such as Visual Boy Advance(http://vboy.emuhq.com), Project 64 (http://pj64.emulation64.com), and MAME (http://www.mame.net) you will notice that they all have warnings telling users that pirating video game software is illegal, not recommended, and ROM requests will not be tolerated. The case is the same for most emulation related websites. Obviously, the emulation community does not want to be known as a bunch of software thieves. Now, let's think logically for a second; N64's cost about $50 today(much less if you buy them used), and an emulator takes A LOT of time and effort to create and most of the time isn't compatible, or isn't fast enough to run half of the games available for the system. I think a whole lot of people would rather spend a few bucks to get an entire product rather than just sacrifice quality and comfortability just to save some cash.
If you were a big company losing big bucks to emulation you wouldn't like it very much either right? So you have to look at it from Nintendo's point of view. What they see is that the Internet has turned into something super huge and extraordinary. To them the Internet isn't a tool for communicating, or a research device. It's a machine for producing crime in the most discreate way. Users on the Internet never have to show their face, leave fingerprints, or trip an alarm. The only thing they have to do is a quick search on Google and they can walk out the door with a pretty hefty payload. For Nintendo that is dangerous, very very dangerous. So it's perfectly understandable as to why they don't want emulation around, it just brings them bad news.
Why is this so bad for the emulation community? NoA is making it seem as if everyone associated with emulation is a crook, which simply isn't the case. What emulation really is a way for people to develop their own software and games for certain hardware and being able to allow other people to use it and test it without having to spend thousands of dollars on expensive dev-kits and software. Emulation in general is perfectly legal and Nintendo of America is giving the emulation scene a bad name. Of course NoA can protect their software by any means they feel neccessary, that's what anyone would do in a situation like the one they're in. However, I feel that the way they're choosing to handle the situation is not the right move and will upset a lot of their customers who are also involved in emulation. Instead of embracing what emulation has to offer to the video game industry, they're taking a defensive stance toward the subject and completely batting it down. Perhaps that statement was a little incorrect. I know that Nintendo has created devices for playing Gameboy games on other consoles like the Super Gameboy for SNES and more recently the Gameboy Player for GameCube. Those products are very cool and are a step in the right direction, but what Nintendo needs is a FULL STRIDE in the right direction. It is said that fear stems from ignorance. I believe Nintendo of America is a somewhat ignorant when it comes to emulation. That's why they fear it, that's why they can't control it, and if they don't do something about it, they're not going to win their battle against it.
For information, please visit the following sites.
www.nintendo.com (NoA)
www.zeropaid.com (File sharing news)
www.emulation64.com (For more information about emulation in general)
Over the past few years, something incredible has happened on the internet. Knowledge over computers, the internet, and of how everyday electronics work has spread it's roots all the way out to the most basic user, and a sub-culture of people who aren't willing to pay a dime for their entertainment has been created. Instead these people rely on P2P programs to provide them with quick, easy, and free access to their favorite movies, music, and games, and is causing the entertainment industry some major grief. The Internet has run wildly out of control and groups like the Motion Picture Association of America(MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA), and Nintendo of America(NoA) no longer have control over their own products. They can't do anything to stop the illegal sharing of copyrighted material over the net, so instead they're doing their best to scare the crap out of every person who owns a computer. A quick search on www.zeropaid.com will bring up several articles about the RIAA and the actions they're taking to stop the flow of copyrighted material to everyday users. But P2P, the RIAA, and a bunch of download addicts are besides the point here, so let me get down to it. While the RIAA has been in and out of court cases fighting off this problem of theirs, their problem is causing another problem in the emulation community. All these copyright infringement ideas have burrowed themselves into the video game industry, and NoA has decided that emulation is a very bad thing. The following information was taken directly from NoA's website(http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#intellectual):
"How Does Nintendo Feel About the Emergence of Video Game Emulators?
The introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software represents the greatest threat to date to the intellectual property rights of video game developers. As is the case with any business or industry, when its products become available for free, the revenue stream supporting that industry is threatened. Such emulators have the potential to significantly damage a worldwide entertainment software industry which generates over $15 billion annually, and tens of thousands of jobs."
"What Does Nintendo Think of the Argument that Emulators are Actually Good for Nintendo Because it Promotes the Nintendo Brand to PC Users and Leads to More Sales?
Distribution of an emulator developed to play illegally copied Nintendo software hurts Nintendo's goodwill, the millions of dollars invested in research & development and marketing by Nintendo and its licensees. Substantial damages are caused to Nintendo and its licensees. It is irrelevant whether or not someone profits from the distribution of an emulator. The emulator promotes the play of illegal ROMs , NOT authentic games. Thus, not only does it not lead to more sales, it has the opposite effect and purpose."
NoA is in a bit of a bind when dealing with emulation. They seem to think that emulators were created for the sole purpose of pirating and playing their licensed software. That may be the case if you were dealing with the warez community, however this is the emulation community where the illicit distribution of copyrighted software is often unwelcomed. If you were to ask the author(s) of any Nintendo emulator out there what their reason for creating the piece of software was in the first place, I could almost guarantee you that every one of them would say it was for fun, or it was a way to test their knowledge, etc. Furthermore, if you were to visit the websites of a few popular emulators such as Visual Boy Advance(http://vboy.emuhq.com), Project 64 (http://pj64.emulation64.com), and MAME (http://www.mame.net) you will notice that they all have warnings telling users that pirating video game software is illegal, not recommended, and ROM requests will not be tolerated. The case is the same for most emulation related websites. Obviously, the emulation community does not want to be known as a bunch of software thieves. Now, let's think logically for a second; N64's cost about $50 today(much less if you buy them used), and an emulator takes A LOT of time and effort to create and most of the time isn't compatible, or isn't fast enough to run half of the games available for the system. I think a whole lot of people would rather spend a few bucks to get an entire product rather than just sacrifice quality and comfortability just to save some cash.
If you were a big company losing big bucks to emulation you wouldn't like it very much either right? So you have to look at it from Nintendo's point of view. What they see is that the Internet has turned into something super huge and extraordinary. To them the Internet isn't a tool for communicating, or a research device. It's a machine for producing crime in the most discreate way. Users on the Internet never have to show their face, leave fingerprints, or trip an alarm. The only thing they have to do is a quick search on Google and they can walk out the door with a pretty hefty payload. For Nintendo that is dangerous, very very dangerous. So it's perfectly understandable as to why they don't want emulation around, it just brings them bad news.
Why is this so bad for the emulation community? NoA is making it seem as if everyone associated with emulation is a crook, which simply isn't the case. What emulation really is a way for people to develop their own software and games for certain hardware and being able to allow other people to use it and test it without having to spend thousands of dollars on expensive dev-kits and software. Emulation in general is perfectly legal and Nintendo of America is giving the emulation scene a bad name. Of course NoA can protect their software by any means they feel neccessary, that's what anyone would do in a situation like the one they're in. However, I feel that the way they're choosing to handle the situation is not the right move and will upset a lot of their customers who are also involved in emulation. Instead of embracing what emulation has to offer to the video game industry, they're taking a defensive stance toward the subject and completely batting it down. Perhaps that statement was a little incorrect. I know that Nintendo has created devices for playing Gameboy games on other consoles like the Super Gameboy for SNES and more recently the Gameboy Player for GameCube. Those products are very cool and are a step in the right direction, but what Nintendo needs is a FULL STRIDE in the right direction. It is said that fear stems from ignorance. I believe Nintendo of America is a somewhat ignorant when it comes to emulation. That's why they fear it, that's why they can't control it, and if they don't do something about it, they're not going to win their battle against it.
For information, please visit the following sites.
www.nintendo.com (NoA)
www.zeropaid.com (File sharing news)
www.emulation64.com (For more information about emulation in general)
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