3DO ZONE Forums

Say i was an unscrupulous scallywag. And say I had a copy of a game that wasn't entirely (cough) legitimate. And then say I purchased a Japanese original of that game but it was in Japanese language and not English language like the version I found and made myself.

Would that make it all OK? or am i still wrong pirate scum? If I had done such a thing - which naturally I haven't because that would be wrong. (cough).

oooh look at that... did you see it? (ahem)

3DO Kid

Personally, I think as long as you had any original (japenese or otherwise) it would be okay. It shows good faith( especially when dealing with long out of print stuff like 3DO), that you would even go out of your way to purchase a foriegn copy. I hate piracy, but what you suggest doesn't rub me the wrong way. Maybe put a poll question up about it, and then we could vote.

I can't get into this one at all. The Jaguar community is so rampant with this conversation piece that I just can't bear to talk about it anymore.

T2KFreeker wrote:I can't get into this one at all. The Jaguar community is so rampant with this conversation piece that I just can't bear to talk about it anymore.

Yeah, I think the only right answer to the whole piracy thing is "I don't care what you do." So, to that end, knock yourself out, 3DOKid.

Well I can throw my take on this. 3DO is dead. If people dont start sharing these titles they will get lost in the sands of time. These games arent as readily available as much as the more popular consoles. And the enjoyment of these games shouldnt be just limited to those who have tons of money to spend on ebay. A good friend of mine took the difficult task of hunting down copies of every single American retail game. I can safely say that these games are archived well and are readily available now. Before that project, that was not the case. I have now been trying to gather Japanese titles to perserve them too. Call me a pirate if you want. Ask me to leave the board if you want too But copyright holders aren't losing out when these games are shared. The copyright holders aren't even getting their share when these games sell for high dollars on ebay either.

3DOkid, If you are worried about the legal matters on this subject, I would just forget about it. If it's an issue of morals for you, destroy the disc.

I wouldn't think bad of anyone who downloaded 3DO games. I would like if more people shared the games so many more people can enjoy them.

Ok i'll stop rambling now.

Is there even a place out there that actually hosts 3DO iso. inmages? Never seen that before.

Copyright sucks Copyleft forever.

Seriously. Games for 3DO can be abandonware, but exist patents of software algorithms (in US (in Russia and other countries there does not exist (thx God)), which dont allow you develop emu and other software), and publishers, and laws. Almost all publishers do not recognize anandonware.

Probably you can use .iso and CD-R if:

Developer bankrupt
Publisher bankrupt
The game no longer is sold
The game is very old
You have legal CD of the game

And you cannot distribute .iso (for free or for money). For private use only.

T2KFreeker wrote:Is there even a place out there that actually hosts 3DO iso. inmages? Never seen that before.

I think talking about this might bend rules a bit.

I'm extraordinarily open minded about the whole subject and my rules (not the official Devin ones, are different)

I think the people who worked on some of the old games get a kick out of seeing people play them even today. I have comments from people on my blog who worked on Space Hulk and Paatank. I imagine at this stage they don't give a monkeys whether it was pirated or not. For the record my copies of this game are both original from that time period.

I think people who share the odd retro ISO as none profit making act of friendship are fine. I really can't see the harm:

#1 The original publisher/manufacturer will not make a brass tack today out of any 15 year old 3DO game whether it is a legitimate copy or not.

#2 Collectors ( i include myself) won't be harmed since the value is retained by the originals. People want a case and box and cover right?

No blood - no foul?

Anyone who pirates a retro CD game, burns it to CD and then manufactures a CD cover and manual and then sells it on eBay for $20 is a lowlife.

Originals cost you pennies these days. With the odd exception but that is the burden that collectors are happy to carry.

I have some copied games i found on the web (ahem) and my intention is to replace said copies with originals but I'm an impatient git sometimes!

I had an experience recently where someone offered me money for none original copies of games - I turned him down.

i would rather have the original CDs
but if i cant i would take a burned one in a heartbeat, as long as i dont have to modify the system (like the Xbox, PS1, Saturn and others)
also the jaguar CD games dont interest me to much even tho i have the Cd attachment

i had about 30 burned US 3do games from a friend and after i got the originals i traded off all but 4 of them for other things i wanted
and i only kept the 4 because those games are either sealed or scratched really bad like my CPU Bach game

Under the letter of the law, the scenario you're describing is illegal. You are, under some circumstances, granted permission to make back-ups of your goods, but you are required to make those backups yourself, you cannot simply buy the product then download the ISO, in effect copying another persons' backup. This includes downloading ROMs from a ROM site for carts you might own, or downloading MAME and a handful of ROMs and dismissing it as legal because you bought a dead (yet authentic) Namco Galaga arcade board at a pinball auction for $5.00.

As a general rule, if someone on the Internet says, 'Hey, if you do it this way it's actually legal,' odds are it's still illegal.

There are some instances (abandonware) where the authors or publishers have thrown up their hands and said 'leech away!,' but these are few and far between, and usually only for the most obscure titles.

If the XBox Live Arcade, Wii Virtual Console, or countless emulation collections on consoles like the PS2 have proven anything, it's that every piece of software will find a home somewhere, and enterprising game companies will find new ways to sell old crap. As long as they think you're infringing on their income, they'll send the lawyers after you.

I don't have the legal documents anymore, but when I worked at an ISP in the late 90s I had a terrific back and forth email exchange with Nintendo of America over the legality of one of our dial-up customers having ROMs on his Web page. Not 600 or 800 of them with the Marios and Zeldas, mind you, but a half dozen obscure things for games I didn't even remember as a kid, and I devoured Nintendo Power religiously. That exchange with Nintendo really opened my eyes at how diligent their lawyers are about protecting not only their own IP, but the IP of their licensees too.

I'm not a prude or a square about these things, I've been around, you know ... but I will always tell someone who asks to tread lightly.

If you can find a message board via Google, so can a game publishers' law firm.