Why pay for these games?

[CanyonOasis]

I am wondering why you would pay for these games when you can just download the roms yourself and run them in an emulator. I'm not encouraging piracy but these games are so old now and if you want to support the guys who made it they may not even be working at the company that released the game any more.

The emulators are incredible, a lot of them are open source and if you already bought the cartridges then morally I don't see a problem with it.

If these Steam versions were somehow updated (like say online multiplayer/co-op) then I can see the reasoning. But they are the exact same roms you'd get if you just googled it.

I'm not condemning buying them I'm just wondering why you did buy these games on Steam or why you are considering doing it? I mean if there is a reasonable argument I could justify purchasing them myself as I love old sega games.

[DennisG50]

Originally Posted by CanyonOasis

I am wondering why you would pay for these games when you can just download the roms yourself and run them in an emulator. I'm not encouraging piracy but these games are so old now and if you want to support the guys who made it they may not even be working at the company that released the game any more.

I know what you mean, but they are still illegal.

[CanyonOasis]

So if you were to buy these the strongest argument would be: you want to play the game on your computer and to do so legally. That is a fair position.

I think it was a good move to put these old games on Steam. I really enjoy a lot of Dos games and I bought Commander Keen for example.

I really wish it wasn't illegal to use emulators. I think rom communities are among the best gaming communities out there and as the games themselves are so old I don't lump them in with other forms of piracy. Yes it is illegal but at this point it is not hurting the devs if anything it's keeping their work alive.

[Phatmillips]

Yeah it doesnt make much sense to me, especially the price point of about 3 dollars a pop. Considering the consoles had a packaged retail price of about 30 or so bucks when it came out (20 or less, new now) with 40+ games that, while didnt have online multiplayer, had achievements and unlockable videos which is definnently more value for your dollar.

I think a lot of people who play these games, quite honestly, already have a physical copy of the game in their house or maybe has dabbled in the realm of personal emulation. (not to condone, but even with current emulation technology thats freely available there are ways to play the multiplayer games that are available online against/with others)

If the games were no more than .99 each - and even that's pushing it - I'd do it but you're exactly right - theres no added benefit to buying these games over finding a physical copy at the very least.

[in.meinem.turm.]

Originally Posted by Phatmillips

If the games were no more than .99 each - and even that's pushing it - I'd do it but you're exactly right - theres no added benefit to buying these games over finding a physical copy at the very least.

buy the packs. They are cheep. Or do what I did. Wait for a sale and buy the packs then. Even cheaper.

[CanyonOasis]

Originally Posted by Phatmillips

I think a lot of people who play these games, quite honestly, already have a physical copy of the game in their house or maybe has dabbled in the realm of personal emulation.

Yeah this is what I am thinking. Most retro gamers would have already gone down the emulation path. As the games are so old they'd do it with a clean conscience.

I actually enjoy trying to get old games working on new machines and sometimes it can be a pain to do so. Maybe a lot of people can't be bothered setting up an emulator(even though it's easy) every time they play.

I bought Dark Forces and Commander Keen and they both use DosBox to auto start their games. So because of the emulation community Lucasarts and Id Software didn't have to go near the code of their games to fix compatibility issues. That saves them time and money.

That just shows how much emulation is a friend of the developers as opposed to modern day piracy where the 'pirates' are at odds with the developers interests.

I think most retro gamers are familiar with this concept and for these people I don't understand why they would pay $3 for a game.

My reasoning is, if I play these old games in an emulator I can spend the $3 on an indie game which will actually make a difference to the dev.

[ajp100688]

Maybe some people pay for them because they want to support SEGA, a company that has a fond place in many of their memories. Even if modern day SEGA is a pale comparision of the SEGA that existed up until the end of the Dreamcast.

[tFighterPilot]

Around 13 years ago I burned a disc from a friend that contained around 400 Genesis roms (including those that Sega now released) as well as the old Genecyst. Good times, good times indeed.

[linksdeity]

Some of these games (in fact a LOT of these games) are terrific classics, and for a few dollars they are worth every penny.

I own the classic Sonic Games on Carts, discs, on the DS, and now on Steam. They are some of my favorite games of all time, and I am happy to pay for them.

The emulation is good, the emulator has a beautiful UI, and I like being able to just pay for the games you want.

Also, Anyone else run games with the TV filter? It looks awful, and brings back great memories of playing on wood paneled RF only TVs

Originally Posted by CanyonOasis

I am wondering why you would pay for these games when you can just download the roms yourself and run them in an emulator. I'm not encouraging piracy but these games are so old now and if you want to support the guys who made it they may not even be working at the company that released the game any more.

The emulators are incredible, a lot of them are open source and if you already bought the cartridges then morally I don't see a problem with it.

If these Steam versions were somehow updated (like say online multiplayer/co-op) then I can see the reasoning. But they are the exact same roms you'd get if you just googled it.

I'm not condemning buying them I'm just wondering why you did buy these games on Steam or why you are considering doing it? I mean if there is a reasonable argument I could justify purchasing them myself as I love old sega games.

So you don't want to encourage piracy but are confused as to why people would buy it?

Just because a game is old doesn't mean its been released for public use. Likewise, you even point out one reason in your post. What if someone hasn't bought the cartridges? Some of these games were made before people with a credit card (to purchase them here) were even born.

[Hermen Nuetic]

Originally Posted by CanyonOasis

I mean if there is a reasonable argument I could justify purchasing them myself as I love old sega games.

1.Downloading roms, of games I do not own hard copies of, is theft.
2.I don't want to be guilty of theft.
3.Therefore, I will not download roms of games that I do not own hard copies of.

Because I want to play these games, but do not want to be guilty of theft, I will purchase them.

Seems pretty reasonable to me.

[Born Acorn]

It's not piracy after 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.

Anything else is breaking the law. You may not "lump this with other forms of piracy", but it is the same as me downloading Portal 2, and just as illegal. Age, unless the above, or monetary value mean nothing; that is fact.

[IcemaX]

It's good to buy these games, it's the way how you can support sega to do something nice.

[ezodagrom]

Why is SEGA re-releasing these old games?
Maybe to allow those of an younger generation that didn't grew up with them to try these?
Maybe to test the PC digital market and, if there's good enough sales, start releasing newer games through these means, starting with Dreamcast ports and maybe even newer games?
(Sonic 4 Ep1 for the PC would be nice, even though it's really unlikely)

Why do I buy these re-releases? Pretty much to support SEGA (I'm only buying the Sonic re-releases though). ^^;

[CanyonOasis]

Originally Posted by Born Acorn

You may not "lump this with other forms of piracy", but it is the same as me downloading Portal 2, and just as illegal. Age, unless the above, or monetary value mean nothing; that is fact.

You are right. But there is a clear difference between legality and morality. I'm glad the majority if not all of these responses have been pro paying for these games. And you are also right that it is the same as downloading Portal 2 in a legal sense.

But in reality you would be harming Valve a lot more by downloading Portal 2 so soon after release. You would be depriving them of a lot more money.

Morally I think most of you would agree it doesn't do any harm to Sega and it may well have done them good to have an emulation community out there. Which I will explain further.

I'd bet the emulator they are using isn't even their own, it sounds to me like an appropriated version of the Fusion emulator(because of the TV filter).

Ironically I doubt they would ever have released any of these "Sega Classics" had there not been millions of people using and supporting the open source development of these fantastic emulators.

In a similar sense, I doubt Lucasarts would have released Dark Forces, and Id Software would never have released Doom or Commander Keen on Steam if not for DosBox. The fact is these criminals have created some beautiful software and because it is open source, companies like Sega and the aforementioned can make money on re-releases without having to touch their code.

Altering old games so they will be compatible with Windows 7 and beyond can prove very difficult.

I agree with you that it is Criminal to download roms. But if everyone shared your point of view and abstained from these criminal activities then you wouldn't be able to "support SEGA" by purchasing emulated games on Steam. Because there would be no emulators out there. And that is a fact.