Super Mario Bros on the Mac

[spencecb]

Does anyone know if I can download these old Nintendo games and play them on my Mac? I know you can on PC's, but I have been unable to find a place to download them

[Krizoitz]

Originally posted by spencecb
Does anyone know if I can download these old Nintendo games and play them on my Mac? I know you can on PC's, but I have been unable to find a place to download them

As far as I know downloading ROMs is illegal. It is possible to play the ROM's on a Mac if you can obtain them, hopefully legally.

http://www.emulation.net/ is a great place for information on emulators (the software that pretends to be a video game system). But they will not give you ROMs. I think there are some freeware roms out there somewhere but I haven't looked.

Technically the only legal way to use a rom is to use a hardware device to convert it to a software ROM. I'm not sure how to do this, but I think the above website has some links.

[Doraemon]

AFAIK, if you own the game (NES cartridge), it's legal to have ROM files on your computer.

[crazzyeddie]

That is correct, as long as you own something, it is legal to download and keep one (1) copy on your computer. This includes DVDs, CDs, computer and console games.

[DavidLeblond]

If you own the ROMs and want to find the rom files, I hear a good place to look is a p2p like Limewire.;)

[neonart]

I don't want to go into the specifics of legalities- I don't know them. Nintendo stopped making money on Super Mario Bros back in '89 or so. [But for the sake of keepin' it straight, get only what you own a cartridge to.] Just make sure you buy games still in production.
In any case, here are some sites:

http://www.planetemu.net/
http://www.iwn.fi/~timod/games_nesroms.htm
http://www.coolrom.com/
http://www.emulationstation.com/ <one of the best (requires registration)

Get your emulators here: http://www.emulation.net/ I use RockNES and it works great. Also try the Sega Master System emulator SMS plus. The SMS had few games, but some incredible 8-bit games were on it. (i.e. Phantasy Star, R-Type, Pshyco Fox, Rastan,ThunderBlade,etc.)

ENJOY!!!!!

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by DavidLeblond
If you own the ROMs and want to find the rom files, I hear a good place to look is a p2p like Limewire.;)

Blech Limewire.

neonart -- delete that before the mods get on your ass.
Even thought my beliefs are the same as yours.

[cb911]

hey neonart, thanks for those links!! :D great stuff.

there's probably a few sites that host torrent files for old ROMs and stuff as well, worth a look.

sure was a sad day when i heard that mame.dk had gone down, hopefully some of these sites can help fill the void. :)

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by MrMacman
Blech Limewire.

neonart -- delete that before the mods get on your ass.
Even thought my beliefs are the same as yours.

:rolleyes:

Not sure what arn's policy is on ROMs and emulators since the only thing in the rules is warez/serials.

But he has this site (http://mac-p2p.com/) and makes it clear that discussing P2P apps/sites is OK, just not the particulars of illegal stuff.

[neonart]

Originally posted by MrMacman
Blech Limewire.

neonart -- delete that before the mods get on your ass.
Even thought my beliefs are the same as yours.

Thanks for the heads up MrMacman. I think the mods are down to earth when it comes to this. By downloading Roms for games in the 80's we don't hurt the creatives that made these games. But for the sake of peace I'll edit the post...

I again repeat- if any software is in production, or the company still depends on it for revenue, BUY the game. This is especialy important for Mac games since it's the only way we can ensure more games in the future.

[hvfsl]

You can play NES games online here http://www.davieboy.net/nescafe/ They have a JAVA emulator that will run on any platform that supports JAVA.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by spencecb
Does anyone know if I can download these old Nintendo games and play them on my Mac? I know you can on PC's, but I have been unable to find a place to download them

SNES9X is a superb Super Nintendo emulator for OSX. I hadn't used it for ages, until recently and was amazed how mature the emulator is. The freezing (i.e. saving) of games is beautfully done, and you can even put it in music mode, and add effects to the games music.

As for the game ROMS, you should be able to find them if you Google enough.

[jxyama]

can someone recommend me a MAME/NES/SNES and OS X compatible "good" USB gaming control pads? (preferably around $20 to 30.)

don't want to wear out the keyboard... :p

[Phobophobia]

Although it may seem better morally, owning a copy of a game does NOT make it legal to emulate it! Don't try to make excuses for your bad habits, people.

[Torajima]

Originally posted by Phobophobia
Although it may seem better morally, owning a copy of a game does NOT make it legal to emulate it! Don't try to make excuses for your bad habits, people.

Sorry, but emulation is legal. It's been legal ever since the courts ruled that Colecovision had the right to emulate the Atari 2600 hardware. But most of you are probably too young to remember that...

:)

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by Phobophobia
Although it may seem better morally, owning a copy of a game does NOT make it legal to emulate it! Don't try to make excuses for your bad habits, people.

Well in the UK it is legal. You are legally allowed to make copies of things you own, as long as they are for your own personal use. The main idea of the law was to allow people to make backups of programs they own because disks and CD can easily become damaged.

[spencecb]

Thanks guys....I went to www.emulation.net and downloaded one of the emulators...seems to be working well.

[agreenster]

Originally posted by jxyama
can someone recommend me a MAME/NES/SNES and OS X compatible "good" USB gaming control pads? (preferably around $20 to 30.)

don't want to wear out the keyboard... :p

I use a cheapy AxisPad that I got from "unamed discount department store Im embarassed to admit purchasing this item from that rhymes with Mall-Fart" for 20 bucks. Works fine with SNES9x custom.

Download it from versiontracker. Works with the custom version only, but thats what everyone is using, and it works great.

Oh, and morally, SNES has been deader than dead for frikkin ages, so I doubt downloading roms and playing once in a while for good ol nostalgia's sake isnt hurting anyone but sencond hand shops. Besides, when I was a kid, I spent so much damn money on Nintendo (and still do, for that matter), that I've more than paid for playing MK for 15 minutes on my lunch break.

[whooleytoo]

Originally posted by agreenster
Oh, and morally, SNES has been deader than dead for frikkin ages, so I doubt downloading roms and playing once in a while for good ol nostalgia's sake isnt hurting anyone but sencond hand shops. Besides, when I was a kid, I spent so much damn money on Nintendo (and still do, for that matter), that I've more than paid for playing MK for 15 minutes on my lunch break.

Just FYI, but I think game makers are starting to take these old games more seriously again, since they can be ported to emerging platforms such as Gameboy and smart phones.

[neoelectronaut]

Originally posted by jxyama
can someone recommend me a MAME/NES/SNES and OS X compatible "good" USB gaming control pads? (preferably around $20 to 30.)

don't want to wear out the keyboard... :p

$20 to $30? I'll do you one better and offer you a great controller for $10.

http://us.thrustmaster.com/products/lookproduct.php3?productid=170&skin=Gamepads

It's a great little controller. I use it all the time. Works perfectly. I for NES EMU, there are more than enough buttons, and for SNES games, I set the back two L & R buttons as start and select and the front two as L & R, with the front buttons being obvious.

Also, use http://www.zophar.net for my emulation needs.

But actually, just recently I fixed up my old NES, so I actually play using the actual hardware nowadays. (I also have a SNES that I play)

[dukemeiser]

Originally posted by Phobophobia
Although it may seem better morally, owning a copy of a game does NOT make it legal to emulate it! Don't try to make excuses for your bad habits, people.

It might help to do some research before you post. :rolleyes:

And actually, I don't think it is illegal to download certain ROMs anymore. There are several ligit sites that offer free ROM downloads for classic system such as Vimm's Lair (http://www.vimm.net/) which offers downloads for about every NES and SNES game you can think of. (Be warned: they impose download limits on the ROMs to save bandwidth I assume, e.i. 1 SNES ROM per person per day) They even have Super Mario World available. I know Nintendo had been disputing the distribution of its property, but seeing as how you can download their games, they must have given up.
But I haven't been following it too close. I know a while back you couldn't get Nintendo games legally because they were protecting them. Does anybody know how that turned out?

[rockman2023]

Originally posted by jxyama
can someone recommend me a MAME/NES/SNES and OS X compatible "good" USB gaming control pads? (preferably around $20 to 30.)

don't want to wear out the keyboard... :p

After owning my Mac for 2.5 years now, I recently purchased the iShock2, and I'm not completely satisfied with it. My biggest gripe is the D-pad and the analog sticks. Essentially, it's a large playstation-like gamepad. The D-pad is quite clumsy, because when you press one of the four directions, it tends to register a diagonal press. So, if you're playing a 2-D fighting game, you're lucky if you can do any special moves. And forget about playing FPS games with this gamepad. ARGH! When you move the analog stick in one direction, for example, if you want to look around, the stick will force the movement BACK to the center. So if you turn around, and release the stick, it will move you back in the original position. The only good thing about this is that it mimics a flight stick for games like Warbirds 3, where you need the stick to revert control to the center after turning. Personally, I dont like the analog sticks because they feel loose, compared to the Playstation2 dual-shock which feels a LOT more sturdier.

This decent gamepad will set you back $15 - $40 depending on where you shop for it. I'll sell mine for $25; it's less than a week old. If you'd like to use a Playstation controller for your Mac, check out the SmartJoy PLUS (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=23&products_id=3833&) or the Playstation to USB adapter at Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-304). I dont know if the adapter at Radio Shack works on a Mac, but I'm tempted to buy it anyway; I cant take this iShock2 anymore :mad:

[jared_kipe]

Does anybody know where to get real n64 roms? All these stupid sites do is play a voting game and you never download anything. I really would like to play some of my old games like mario 64 and zelda on a plane trip with my powerbook.

[raddspencer]

Originally posted by neonart
Nintendo stopped making money on Super Mario Bros back in '89 or so.

Not true. They released the game on GameBoy Color a few years ago, and just this week released a GameBoy Advance port in Japan. You can't assume that no one's making profit off a game just because it's old.

That being said, emulation is perfectly legal if licensed, or if it's achieved by reverse engineering. It's the distribution of copyrighted material (game ROMs, hardware BIOS files, etc.) that's illegal. There's a site called StarROMs (www.starroms.com) which has managed to convince Atari to sell its old arcade titles for legal download, and quite a few Japanese console makers have started selling downloads of old Genesis/TG-16 game (though not in the US). Unfortunately, most publishers are withholding the rights to old games, and the only way for most people to play them is to find the original hardware (difficult, especially with old arcade games) or steal.

[neoelectronaut]

Originally posted by jared_kipe
Does anybody know where to get real n64 roms? All these stupid sites do is play a voting game and you never download anything. I really would like to play some of my old games like mario 64 and zelda on a plane trip with my powerbook.

I don't think there's really a decent emulator for the Mac other than Sixtyforce, which you have to pay for.

[Kingsnapped]

SNES9x is great! It's the first time I got an emulator that actually worked. I've come to realize how much my old PC really sucked...

Thanks a lot thread!

[hvfsl]

Originally posted by neoelectronaut
I don't think there's really a decent emulator for the Mac other than Sixtyforce, which you have to pay for.

I use Sixtyforce all the time of my PB G4 and never realised I had to pay for it. I play Star Fox, Mario 64 and Mario Kart (which I own in real life).

[neoelectronaut]

Well, you have to pay to be able to play in fullscreen, and to use controllers for more than 5 minutes, both features that I'd like to use.

[Greenpants]

It is illegal to have and play ROMs even if you own a copy of the game. Even if you make the copy. There is only a small selection of roms that are public domain.

http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp

[mattmack]

Originally posted by Greenpants
It is illegal to have and play ROMs even if you own a copy of the game. Even if you make the copy. There is only a small selection of roms that are public domain.

http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp Just my opinion, but that site seems to be Nintendo's opinion on the law and doesn't seem to have been upheld in any hearing or case that I saw quoted so I think they are trying to intimidate with the threat of legal action and hope that scares people away.

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
:rolleyes:

Not sure what arn's policy is on ROMs and emulators since the only thing in the rules is warez/serials.

But he has this site (http://mac-p2p.com/) and makes it clear that discussing P2P apps/sites is OK, just not the particulars of illegal stuff.
Yeah I was pretty sure that stuff like emulation of games and software that you never owned... was not allowed on this board...

I mean I thought since Nientedo and N64 were copyrighted by Nientedo and same for games it would have been against policy.

Blech, wrong I was.



But according to other people it is illegal to make copys of my own games... who knows...

(I own N64 and I use sixtyforce to play MarioCart64 all the time, if that is illegal Nientedo can 'bite my shiny metal ass' -- bender)

[dukemeiser]

Originally posted by Greenpants
It is illegal to have and play ROMs even if you own a copy of the game. Even if you make the copy. There is only a small selection of roms that are public domain.

http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp

First of all, that is the most propaganda laiden webpage I've ever seen. According to Nintendo: ROMs and emulators are illegal and they hurt our sales. Of course what Nintendo doesn't tell you is that emulators do have a legal use. And their are games that can be legally downloaded. But they don't want you to know that. They'd rather you believe that it is all illegal and very bad. While I was reading the page, I thought it sounded strangely like an RIAA document. Ex: Nintendo hates emulators, ROMs. RIAA hates Kazaa, mp3s. But there are legal uses for Kazaa and emulators, and there are legal mp3s and ROMs being transfered. Therefore neither one can do anything about it, and all they can do is advertise the "intended" illegal use of both.

Second:
Originally posted by Greenpants
Even if you make the copy.
You didn't read the fine print.
The backup/archival copy exception is a very narrow limitation relating to a copy being made by the rightful owner of an authentic game to ensure he or she has one in the event of damage or destruction of the authentic......it is illegal to download and play a Nintendo ROM from the Internet.
Which Nintendo is basically saying "Yeah, you can make your own copy.......but it's illegal to download one and play it!!!!!" Translating then: You can make your own copy and you can play your own copy using an emulator. Nintendo doesn't say you can't play your own backup, they just say you can't download an "illegal copy and play it."

Third:
Let's use a little bit of logic here. If in fact ROMs are illegal to download, then why can you find all kinds of internet websites dedicated to distributing ROMs (such as Vimm's Lair, mentioned in my previous post)? If sites such as these were indeed committing illegal distributions, why isn't Nintendo and the Attorney General all over this? Logically, it would follow that it isn't as illegal as Nintendo would want you to believe.

Fourth:
I would agree that downloading games of current systems, such as GBA and GameCube might have an adverse affect on revenues to all companies involved. However, I do not agree that Nintendo is losing revenue everytime someone downloads a copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 for NES. Such games were released over a decade ago (1988 to be exact) and probably ceased manufacturing a few years later. No one is selling new copies of this game anymore for the NES. Yes this particular game is being sold for GBA, but it's a different game now and a different system. These original games are only being resold now on eBay and other second hand markets. Therefore Nintendo is no longer receiving revenue for the original game. If I wanted to buy an NES and Super Mario Bros. 3, I would have to buy it used; Nintendo isn't making any money when I do that.

[neonart]

Yeah folks, how about we get back to discussing 8-bit emulation on the Mac and stop the "that's illegal and naughty" wining. As it has been stated many times- it's been near 20 years since some of these titles were released. It's not that important.

It just seems some people have nothing better to do than play kiddy police... :rolleyes:

And just before someone accuses me of being some kind of "pirate of silicon valley", attached is a jpeg of my legally purchased games and software, my collection of consoles, and some of the cartridges that are not in storage.
Can you identify all the consoles in that photo? :)

[agreenster]

Looks like my collection. I have the original NES (bought it WAYY back in the day, and it STILL works, canyoubelieveit?) SNES, N64, Gamecube, an probably over 100 games total. What a nintendo junkie I was.

Now I only have 1 game for the gamecube, and the only reason I bought it: The Wind Waker. What a friggin awesome game that is. Havent played it in a while....not since I beat it. C'mon, where's the sequel?

[rockman2023]

To follow-up on my previous post, yesterday, I bought the Playstation to USB Adapter (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-304) and it works pretty much flawlessly with Gamepad Companion. You can activate the Analog mode on the DualShock and configure the analog sticks and L3/R3 buttons; no need for special drivers. I haven't experienced the force feedback yet.

Anyone want to buy a fairly new iShock 2? :D

(NICE collection of games there, btw)

[AkiraK]

In response to Dukemeisesr:

1) It is Nintendo's legal right to maintain that emulators are illegal, given that they own the trademark and copyright on anything branded with the Nintendo name/logo. The mere fact that an emulator is designed to mimic/reproduce/copy the functionality of a Nintendo game system on another platform without the express consent of Nintendo makes the emulator, and, by default, any uses thereof, illegal. We may not think it fair, but until Nintendo either produces its own emulator or approves an existing third-party emulator, it is the law.

What is the "legal" use of an emulator? I agree that there are legal uses for P2P clients, though they are certainly limited and restrictive, but I think you would be hard pressed to come up with even one legal use of a Nintendo emulator.

And there is a difference between propaganda and law.

2) Sure, you can make your own copy and play it, but only using approved Nintendo branded equipment/consoles. Read the fine print from the question directly above the one you cited.

3) The fact that Nintendo has taken very little legal action against the distributors of various emulators/ROMS does not, logically or otherwise, mean that the actions of said distributors is in any way legal. I may not get a ticket for speeding, but that doesn't mean I haven't broken the law.

4) Whether or not Nintendo is losing revenue is irrelevant. The fact remains that they own the rights, and it is their perogative to dictate the terms of use according to the law.

And in response to neonart, questions of legality are always important, regardless of how much time has passed. Your sizeable collection of consoles and games doesn't grant you immunity or entitlement, regardless of your personal attitude. Why is someone being the "kiddy police" simply for bringing up issues of legality? I find it far more mature to actually have reasonable discussions about such issues rather than childishly dismissing them as silly or inconsequential, the behavior of one who usually doesn't have a supporting argument.

[neonart]

Originally posted by AkiraK
In response to Dukemeisesr:
...it is the law...

Ah... Yeah... Thanks.

Back to emulating and enjoing games from the 80's, which most normal people don't find to be offensive, deadly, or worthy of reporting to the NAAIVGE*.

Anyhow, which other gamepads do you guys recommend. I have an original iShock and I don't really like it too much.



* National Association Against Illegal Video Game Emulation

[jxyama]

Originally posted by rockman2023
To follow-up on my previous post, yesterday, I bought the Playstation to USB Adapter (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-304) and it works pretty much flawlessly with Gamepad Companion.

excellent! :) i'm headed to radioshack as soon as this sat. meeting is over... :(

[Krizoitz]

Originally posted by neonart
Yeah folks, how about we get back to discussing 8-bit emulation on the Mac and stop the "that's illegal and naughty" wining. As it has been stated many times- it's been near 20 years since some of these titles were released. It's not that important.

It just seems some people have nothing better to do than play kiddy police... :rolleyes:

And just before someone accuses me of being some kind of "pirate of silicon valley", attached is a jpeg of my legally purchased games and software, my collection of consoles, and some of the cartridges that are not in storage.
Can you identify all the consoles in that photo? :)

Gamecube, PS2, Dreamcast, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and something I don't recognize under the SNES

[Kingsnapped]

Thanks Jxyama! I was wondering how I wold find a pad with shoulder buttons (for SNES emulaors) small enough to take with me. If I can't find a USB pad like that, I can pick up that adaptor and the Mad Catz RetroCON (http://gearmedia.ign.com/gear/image/mad_catz_retro_angle_big.jpg). Might have to pop off the sticks, but it would be worth it to have the pad wherever I go.

[neonart]

Originally posted by Krizoitz
Gamecube, PS2, Dreamcast, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and something I don't recognize under the SNES

Good job!
The ones left are a Sega Master System (converter on Genesis), Turbo Graphix16, and the one you can't recognize is an Atari 2600 (the one with the woodgrain front). Also in there is a GameBoy Advance.
The TG16 is not hooked up. I need to get the RCA adapter for it.

[Daveman Deluxe]

Originally posted by AkiraK
In response to Dukemeisesr:

1) It is Nintendo's legal right to maintain that emulators are illegal, given that they own the trademark and copyright on anything branded with the Nintendo name/logo. The mere fact that an emulator is designed to mimic/reproduce/copy the functionality of a Nintendo game system on another platform without the express consent of Nintendo makes the emulator, and, by default, any uses thereof, illegal. We may not think it fair, but until Nintendo either produces its own emulator or approves an existing third-party emulator, it is the law.

The courts disagree with you on that one. Remember Virtual Game Station? It was a commercial PlayStation emulator for the Mac that cost $50 and worked quite well. Sony sued for damages and brought criminal charges against Connectix (maker of VGS). Sony got its ass handed to it on a silver platter. The courts determined that emulators are perfectly legal.

[mattmack]

Originally posted by Daveman Deluxe
The courts disagree with you on that one. Remember Virtual Game Station? It was a commercial PlayStation emulator for the Mac that cost $50 and worked quite well. Sony sued for damages and brought criminal charges against Connectix (maker of VGS). Sony got its ass handed to it on a silver platter. The courts determined that emulators are perfectly legal.
And the only way sony stopped connectix was to buy the intellectual property

[AkiraK]

Originally posted by Daveman Deluxe
The courts determined that emulators are perfectly legal.

No, the courts determined that there was no copyright infringement in the case of Sony et. al. v. Connectix, not the same as ruling that emulators are legal. Since Connectix wasn't actually reselling content, Sony's only gambit was to sue over the use of its BIOS in the production of VGS. The courts ruled that the end product did not contain any copyrighted material, a loophole that resulted from shoddy legal work on Sony's part (and which Sony rectified by purchasing the intellectual property as Mattmack points out, presumably because both sides were tiring of the already lengthy legal battle that would have been drawn out for years). The BIOS built into Sony's hardware was determined to be a functional element that, while part of a larger copyrighted product, was not, in and of itself, copyrighted given the allowances of Fair Use. Had Sony framed its case differently, they might have had a stronger, more legally defensible argument (in fact, after Connectix got a temporary injunction lifted through an appeals court, Sony filed a new, significantly altered claim, one that even the appeals court said would have been enough to uphold the ban had it been the initial grounds for the injunction).

Nintendo, otoh, has made it standard practice to patent/copyright/trademark every aspect of its systems and games, at least insomuch as is legally feasible (i.e., they can't gain legal protection over the various types of screws used in assembling a particular system, or the solder used in creating the PCBs).

[neoelectronaut]

Originally posted by neonart
Yeah folks, how about we get back to discussing 8-bit emulation on the Mac and stop the "that's illegal and naughty" wining. As it has been stated many times- it's been near 20 years since some of these titles were released. It's not that important.

It just seems some people have nothing better to do than play kiddy police... :rolleyes:

And just before someone accuses me of being some kind of "pirate of silicon valley", attached is a jpeg of my legally purchased games and software, my collection of consoles, and some of the cartridges that are not in storage.
Can you identify all the consoles in that photo? :)

Puhlease. :P I have about 62 DC games. you have, what, 9?

[neonart]

Originally posted by ;
Puhlease. :P I have about 62 DC games. you have, what, 9?

:)
Yeah, I only have 11 DC games. Only 3 GC. About 20 PS1 & 5 PS2, about 20 SMS, 12 Genesis, about 60 or 70 NES, 3 2600, like 4 or 5 GBA, 3 SNES, no TG16 yet. I never really amassed a huge library on any platform, except the NES which I got 2 consoles and a bunch of games in one shot a few years ago.
A couple of boxes of cartridges are in storage too, so I haven't played those much. Once we've moved I want to get a few more of the old titles I miss. Especially SMS titles.
But my favorite two games are not on any console!

[neonart]

Well... they are. But they don't play nealy as good with a joypad.

EDIT:
[why is my photo not loading?]

Well the photos that won't load are of my Street Fighter II:Champion Edition and Shinobi Arcades! I love these machines! I play SFII on a regular basis and Shinobi is really in a s-l-o-w restoration process, but plays just fine - coin mechs and all.

[ionas]

the emulators are free and no crime to have them

snes9x something one is called
mame is another

there are mac versions out of both

you get roms from shareractor.com maybe

(at least mame roms)

good luck

[jxyama]

Originally posted by rockman2023
To follow-up on my previous post, yesterday, I bought the Playstation to USB Adapter (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-304) and it works pretty much flawlessly with Gamepad Companion. You can activate the Analog mode on the DualShock and configure the analog sticks and L3/R3 buttons; no need for special drivers. I haven't experienced the force feedback yet.

Anyone want to buy a fairly new iShock 2? :D

(NICE collection of games there, btw)

i just got mine from a local radioshack. it works with gamepad companion as advertised, including the analog stick.

i have rev. A 12" PB and when the adapter is used, NEStopia was a bit choppy but RockNES worked perfectly well. (i tested on Zelda - one of my all time favorites.)

once you are in the gamepad companion, the buttons in the pref. pane map as fellows to a Playstation control pad:

#1 (in game pad) - Triangle
#2 - circle
#3 - X
#4 - square
#5 - L2
#6 - R2
#7 - L1
#8 - R1
#9 - select
#10 - start
#11 - L3 (pushing left analog joystick)
#12 - R3

it works very, very well. i highly recommend it - and it's far easier to obtain than from HK!

enjoy...

[dukemeiser]

Originally posted by Daveman Deluxe
The courts disagree with you on that one. Remember Virtual Game Station? It was a commercial PlayStation emulator for the Mac that cost $50 and worked quite well. Sony sued for damages and brought criminal charges against Connectix (maker of VGS). Sony got its ass handed to it on a silver platter. The courts determined that emulators are perfectly legal.

Finally, someone who knows what they are talking about and didn't post on instinct. But I would say that instead of saying that they are "perfectly legal," I would say they determined that there was nothing illegal about emulation. And as I said before, emulators do have legal uses, such as playing ROMs that are in the public domain.

Here is the ruling on SONY v CONNECTIX (http://www.gameboy-advance.net/site/sony_connectix.htm). You can call emulators "bad" or "the devil," that is your opinion. Just don't call them illegal.:rolleyes:

[elmimmo]

Originally posted by crazzyeddie
That is correct, as long as you own something, it is legal to download and keep one (1) copy on your computer. This includes DVDsAlthough a bit off topic, this is NOT true anymore in the USA. You cannot longer download/rip a DVD even if you own it. A judge (http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5162749.html) threw the concept of "fair use" out the window last friday. Accodring to the judge, and sit down before you read this, "It is the technology itself at issue, not the uses to which the copyrighted material may be put".

I am not from the USA, but if I were I'd better start moving my ass and spread this piece of news to make the higher possible noise becaused it is a severe cut in people' rights (just extrapolate and start thinking about what can suddenly become illegal using the same reasoning if this happen to create a precedent -isn't there a word for that in the jurisprudence lexicon?)

[leftbanke7]

The only issue I have about the companies trying to get a ban on making backup copies on their products is that companies make their products with very finite time frames on its functionality with the sole thought that if it breaks we will run right out and buy a new one. Perhaps I am being idealistic here but when I shell out 25 dollars for a DVD, I expect that exchange to give me ownership of one copy of that intellectual property for the rest of my life with the expectation that the media in which the intellectual property was placed upon will last that long as well. It's scary to know that the movie industry wants to make it illegal to make a back up copy of a movie that they know won't last any longer than 5-10 years. But I guess that's how the rich get richer.

[applekid]

This is a completely gray area. I understand the arguments for and against ROMs. I myself have a huge collection of ROMs, but...

Don't believe in everything you hear here. I suggest searching by yourself the laws. Check the government sites, comprehend what the laws mean, then come to your own decisions. It's clear that some people here haven't. All video game companies are actively suing and taking down sites of copyrighted ROMs. What does that tell you? And remember, what you do is your own responsibility. I'm sorta feeding you information most people here don't want to believe, but still, try to do your own research.

The only true legal way of obtaining ROMs is buy a ROM copier, buy the game, and get a PC to start ripping.

But emulators themselves are legal and I suggest you go to MacEmu.com. (It's updated much more frequently than emulation.net). However, emulators written by using information that is originally available only to developers is illegal. But on the Mac, that's nonexistent.

[AkiraK]

Originally posted by elmimmo
Accodring to the judge, and sit down before you read this, "It is the technology itself at issue, not the uses to which the copyrighted material may be put".

This is true. Under the current laws, it is illegal to break the copyright protection on region 1 DVDs. The judge's ruling is consistent with that--it is not the copy itself that is illegal, but the act of breaking the copyright protection that is illegal. That's not a question of Fair Use, but of the ill-conceived legislation that governs such things.

There are a number of grassroots movements to try to get the laws rewritten to make them more consistent, as they should be.

[Mike Teezie]

Originally posted by neonart
I don't want to go into the specifics of legalities- I don't know them. Nintendo stopped making money on Super Mario Bros back in '89 or so. [But for the sake of keepin' it straight, get only what you own a cartridge to.] Just make sure you buy games still in production.
In any case, here are some sites:

http://www.planetemu.net/
http://www.iwn.fi/~timod/games_nesroms.htm
http://www.coolrom.com/
http://www.emulationstation.com/ <one of the best (requires registration)

Get your emulators here: http://www.emulation.net/ I use RockNES and it works great. Also try the Sega Master System emulator SMS plus. The SMS had few games, but some incredible 8-bit games were on it. (i.e. Phantasy Star, R-Type, Pshyco Fox, Rastan,ThunderBlade,etc.)

ENJOY!!!!!

I have the emulator working, but I cant make the Emulation Enhancer software work. Not being able to use a joystick sort of negates the purpose!

Any idea what I might be doing wrong?

[idkew]

but, check out this (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=245&products_id=3831&). Quite cool, but looks like Nintendo's solution to emulator software for the PC.

But, you will soon be able to download games legally from Nintendo. Hopefully this will allow emulators to be able to read the games, and play them. Who cares what Nintendo says, they don't write the law. But, they might put something in the license that says it can only be played on a Nintendo branded device....

[mattmack]

Originally posted by idkew
but, check out this (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=245&products_id=3831&). Quite cool, but looks like Nintendo's solution to emulator software for the PC.

But, you will soon be able to download games legally from Nintendo. Hopefully this will allow emulators to be able to read the games, and play them. Who cares what Nintendo says, they don't write the law. But, they might put something in the license that says it can only be played on a Nintendo branded device.... The games will all be in chinese now because it is being released in that market, but if yo ucan read Chinese good luck:)

[Krizoitz]

Originally posted by mattmack
The games will all be in chinese now because it is being released in that market, but if yo ucan read Chinese good luck:)

Nintendo could make bank for buying up something like SNES9X making an official emulator and selling rom games for your computer for under $5. Imagine its like iTunes for old ROMS

[Kingsnapped]

making an official emulator and selling rom games for your computer for under $5.
holy crap, you forgot the </good idea> tag.
An offical emulator with a nice GUI would be great. It would be very cheap for Nintendo to keep running, and it would allow for things like GBA connectivity.
The only reason (beyond Nintendo's thickheadedness when it comes to issues like this) for this to not to work would be piracy. Obviously, when a five dollar game is in a little 1megabyte format, it'll get passed around.

[elmimmo]

Originally posted by AkiraK
it is not the copy itself that is illegal, but the act of breaking the copyright protection that is illegal. That's not a question of Fair Use, but of the ill-conceived legislation that governs such things.I do not know if I understood your interpretation correctly (maybe it is because my English is not native). I do think it is dangerous to start prohibiting things disregarding if the purpose of its use can be considered as fair use. It is basically the same as falling into considering that every tool that might be sensible to bad (to put it simple) usage is to be considered bad by itself. The danger is obviously not that judges start prohibiting everything under that reasoning (knives can be used to kill, let's ban knives, newspapers can spread propaganda, let's ban newspapers, etc), but the arbitrariness by which a thing can be considered legal or not.It is the act of breaking the copyright protection that is illegal.I confess I do not know the software being ruled out. Was it really using something as DeCSS? Because there is actually no copy-protection whatsoever in DVDs, just playback protection (so that movies can only be played in licensed DVD players). I know, though, that a DVD must be DeCSSed in order to transcode it, but do software that just cripple its contents (such as leaving out certain languages or extra video features) really DeCSS a DVD? If not, what other copyright protection do that software break?