(From their homepage)So, legalese aside, that's kind of it to the site. Except this: you can play SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Game Gear, and Sega Master System games too. Doesn't that sound cool? And if you didn't read the legalese (you're not alone on that), it's completely ad-free. You can even play multiplayer with a friend! (not online though, they have to be at the computer with you.) With systems that have game saving features, you can get a 90-day save code. It's not something you can remember, so save it as a Windows sticky note or something like that. By now, I think you'll be thinking: "What's the catch?". None. The only thing you need to use this site is the Java Runtime Environment. If your phone supports Java, it probably won't be the right Java, phones almost always have Java ME (It's the new term, it's not J2ME anymore), Java Micro Edition. The site will only work on a PC/Mac with Java Standard Edition. If you can play Minecraft on your PC then you'll be fine. So, links. Linky link links. Click the system you want to play below:
Unlike our competitors, VirtualNES.com is able to provide you classic NES games legally. We can only provide you with classic NES games that we have an original cartridge of, which have either been bought out of pocket or donated by Players Like You™. If we don't have the games in our possession, we can't have them online.
(From the linked page)
Emulation Collective uses methods of archival and transfer that can be easily interpreted as being protected under the doctrine of fair use, as codified at 17 U.S.C. § 107.
The purpose and character of the use, such as if the works are used for commercial or nonprofit purposes.
Our websites are free of banner, popup, or interstitial advertisements and require no membership.
The nature of the copyrighted work in question.
The game cartridges available on our websites have been out of the retail market for a minimum of 10 years.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole.
The complete, unedited game cartridge is available for use.
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.
...
The video games in question are vastly technologically inferior to modern video games.
The ruling of Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984), confirmed that the creation of complete backup copies made for the purposes of shifting time or format for noncommercial purposes is fair use. As described in more detail above, Emulation Collective is not run as a for-profit operation, it is akin to a library or museum, a place where video games are preserved not only as an entertainment medium, but cultural artifacts.
If you donate 10 or more games or consoles to Emulation Collective (the team that runs VirtualSuperNES), you'll get a brand new, sealed-in-box game for either the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation Portable or Microsoft XBOX 360. You decide what system you want your free game for, and we decide what game you'll receive. What game you get depends on what games you send - the higher the value of the things you send, the more expensive the game is that you will get in return. So, it's to your advantage to send more than 10 games at a time. Also, if you donate several games in a series, like Mario games, you might get a Mario game back.Here's some screenshots (For some reason the NES and SNES emulators don't work on my netbook, but that's just my netbook's specs, and I took these screenshots myself lol ):
Eligible platforms for trade in are as follows:
Anything for Nintendo, Sega, NEC, SNK, Bandai, Sony, or Microsoft consoles or handhelds.
Computer games and accessories are not acceptable items for this promotion.
Duplicate games get counted for a maximum of 1. If you send three of the same game, it's only one.
Consoles with AV and Power cords are counted as 4 games for trade-in. Consoles without those are three.
Handhelds with power cords are counted as 4 games for trade-in. Handhelds without are three.
Controllers, Memory Cards, Link Cables, Multiplayer Adaptors and other accessories are counted as one game.
Attachements (Sega CD, Game Boy Player [with Disc], etc.), and the Game Boy Printer are counted as two.
Note: We cannot accept ROMs as a valid donation. Do not send us ROMs.
If you're ready to donate games, click here to send us an email. Please include the list of games you want to send.
Also, I believe they only used ROMS for the first eight months or so that the site existed. But that was way before Emulation Collective was around. Back when Jamie Sanders was the only one running the site and it was in its early stages.Yes, that's right.
1)nintendo makes their own emulatorsHuh?
2)sell em online
3)???
4)profit.
There's a law that states ROMS are illegal whether you own it or not. Extracting data from a cartridge is illegal. Look it up.It seems the legality of this site is debatable.
Ahh. Back when I had a Sega. That was the coolest system ever.For the day, it was good. But modern stuff beats it by a long way.
It's the roms without possesion of the games after 24 hours that is illegal. It's a case that hardly ever gets prosecuted. I approve this site for playing roms and not being held responsible.They actually own the games. Read the legalese to get more of an understanding of how that's legal. It's not exactly legalese, I can understand it, and I didn't get a law degree.
Nice! I think alot of people use Emulators and aren't those illegal?The emulators themselves are legal. Not ROMs that you don't own the game of.
This might sound cool at first, but for one thing, it seems unethical. And also I think the site has had legal issues before.The games are over 10 years old, so no-one really cares about them. They did have legal issues, since they used to use ROMs of games they didn't have, but now they have sorted those issues out, and only let you play cartridges they own. Which is apparently legal! If you still think it's illegal, go get a lawyer to explain it to you.
While I'm not a pirate and piracy is wrong and nobody should ever pirate anything ever, please just go pirate the ROMs. So many more compatibility options and support.