A GameBoy emulator (GPLv2: gnuboy, ported, tested on K3)

[HarryT]

Where can one get legal copies of Playstation games to play on such an emulator?

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Where can one get legal copies of Playstation games to play on such an emulator?

If you actually own the games, you can extract them from your game carts for personal use. Downloading games that you already own is considered by many to be "fair use" (especially by those who lack the resources to extract firmware images from a game cartridge).

If you read the MAME forums, you will see that a LOT of games are "abandonware" (created by long-defunct companies), and downloading them is generally considered as "fair use" as well.

Here is one of many such sites for game ROM downloading:
http://www.theoldcomputer.com/roms/i...-PSX-PS1/Games
Be sure to download ROMs responsibly (such as games that you already own). Do not download games that have existing owners of their intellectual property, without permission from the IP owner.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Where can one get legal copies of Playstation games to play on such an emulator?

One good source would probably be from the collection of games you already personally own.

[HarryT]

Let me rephrase the question: can one buy the games without owning a Playstation console? If the games are in a cartridge, you (I'm guessing?) need special hardware to read the data from the cartridge? Never having owned a Playstation (I have an XBox 360 which uses DVDs) I don't know how these things work.

[knc1]

I have no idea about the more specific question.

Only that there have been legal decisions in this country about firmware on cartridges, their use and ownership.

The technical details of how to implement the rights that the courts have said an owner has is beyond my range of knowledge.

Note: The reader's country may have different laws/regulations than the USA does.

[HarryT]

OK, thanks. Just idle curiosity. No big deal.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Let me rephrase the question: can one buy the games without owning a Playstation console? If the games are in a cartridge, you (I'm guessing?) need special hardware to read the data from the cartridge? Never having owned a Playstation (I have an XBox 360 which uses DVDs) I don't know how these things work.

You can buy used video games at flea markets and at stores that sell used stuff (such as Goodwill, which sells donated items). In the USA, we also have private citizens selling stuff from their own home (yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales, and such) where you can find used video games. And don't forget ebay and craigslist.

Here is a webpage that discusses the legal issues and shows a simple circuit that you can build to read a game cartridge:
http://www.emulationzone.org/ece494/paper.htm

The reaction from those that write the software used by the emulator authors is a little complex to understand. For starters, many software companies that wrote the programs for many of the classic game from the 80’s have said that they actually like emulation in the sense that it helps prevent their classic games from fading into oblivion. Some have even released their old games as "freeware."

Wikipedia has interesting things to say about "abandonware":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware

And it looks like abandonware has been added as an exemption to the DMCA (along with another exemption that allows breaking "locks" on ebooks so that they can be used by the blind):
http://www.gamespot.com/news/abandon...-legal-6162308

[flashmozzg]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

You can buy used video games at flea markets and at stores that sell used stuff (such as Goodwill, which sells donated items). In the USA, we also have private citizens selling stuff from their own home (yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales, and such) where you can find used video games. And don't forget ebay and craigslist.

Here is a webpage that discusses the legal issues and shows a simple circuit that you can build to read a game cartridge:
http://www.emulationzone.org/ece494/paper.htm

Wikipedia has interesting things to say about "abandonware":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware

And it looks like abandonware has been added as an exemption to the DMCA (along with another exemption that allows breaking "locks" on ebooks so that they can be used by the blind):
http://www.gamespot.com/news/abandon...-legal-6162308

I can't see how buying used games is diffirent from piracy for game company.
Anyway PS1 is so old that you can download all the games you want without fear (if you won't try to sell them ofcourse, goodluck with that). Also if you really want to be "legal", just delete the roms after 1 day.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by flashmozzg

I can't see how buying used games is different from piracy for game company.

That depends on what country your viewing the situation from.

The laws vary by country.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by flashmozzg

I can't see how buying used games is diffirent from piracy for game company.
Anyway PS1 is so old that you can download all the games you want without fear (if you won't try to sell them ofcourse, goodluck with that). Also if you really want to be "legal", just delete the roms after 1 day.

Buying and selling used games is not piracy, because legally, physical possession of the authorized media gives you the rights to use it, and the DMCA contains exclusions allowing you to use the contents of your media for personal use even if you decrypt it and play it on an unauthorized device (including an emulator). By legal definition, that is not piracy.

Of course, the recording industry would LOVE to outlaw selling used media, so that they do not have to compete with already sold copies of their own product. But if we allowed that, then other industries would like to eliminate competetion with the secondary (used product) market by getting laws passed to ban private individuals from selling the stuff they bought. This is what "subscription" services are all about, which basically lease stuff to us instead of selling it to us. For example, Microsoft has wanted to release a SUBSCRIPTION version of their computer operating system to us for a long time now, where they can try to force us to purchase a new license periodically from them, just so we can continue to use the product that we "bought" from them. IMHO, it is the media companies that are trying to be blood-thirsty pirates, trying to steal money out of our pockets by trying to "legally" steal away our "fair use" rights and make us buy stuff again on new media formats that we already own on older media.

It would be interesting to see if Sony agrees with your opinion about what is okay to do with their old games. The idea that it is okay to steal something for a day as long as you return it (or destroy all copies of it) within one day is "interesting". I would love to hear what your judge has to say about that excuse if you apply it to something that you "borrowed" from a store.

[Lydovig]

Who tried to run it in xterm Kindle Touch? I have tried, I have an error.

ERROR: only 4BPP is supported for now

[twobob]

A GameBoy emulator (GPLv2: gnuboy, ported, tested on K3)

Hi. Sorry this is just for a 3 right now. KT is 8 bit pixel "color" depth I believe - so err - 256 shades total

and the Kindle 3 does less shades - 4 bit, so err... 16 shades of greyey murk.

Hope that clears it up for you

[Lydovig]

twobob

Thanks for the information.

[geekmaster]

It would not be that hard to convert. 8-bit framebuffers use identical copies of the top and bottom 4-bit value in each byte.

[twobob]

I did think much the same thing, also on the faster devices there is probably value in simply pushing the whole lot through a resizing function anyways to get the full screen.

The overhead in the processor would be huge compared to the K3 anyway, it would probably run like a dream. But until I get a new device this work is not on the cards from my end. I dont 100% remember but I believe the source contains a few decent notes and is bundled in the top zip.

@Lydovig maybe just give it the eye over and see how tough you think it might be. probably not that hard when you have the tools setup. HTH (and a device to test on.)