ROM sources....not what you think

[Afterburner]

Let me be clear immediately....I am not asking for links to download ROMs.

But a discussion in another thread prompted a question in my mind, and one that has likely been covered here previously.

Is there *any* OEM out there selling rights or licenses to their IP to an end user for non-commercial (i.e. private, home use)?

Or is the only way to legally have a ROM image in your posession is if you own the actual hardware?  Seems like there is a business opportunity there if the OEMs or rights holders could offer a way to 'get legal'.  While many MAME enthusiasts enjoy the restorations aspects of the hobby, most others have no real interest in the hardware other than the nostalgia of playing the game.

Seems like an OEM offering a package deal of the ROMs of their classic games for a reasonable price would be well received by the community.  And it seems like it would tap a section of the market that otherwise would download the ROMs anyway, but might pay for. them

[SavannahLion]

Let me be clear immediately....I am not asking for links to download ROMs.

But a discussion in another thread prompted a question in my mind, and one that has likely been covered here previously.

Is there *any* OEM out there selling rights or licenses to their IP to an end user for non-commercial (i.e. private, home use)?

This is really a bizarre question in my mind because the answer is patently obvious.

Of course OEM's are selling ROMS for private home and non-commercial use. Amazon is loaded with them. They're also appearing on Live, PSN, and Nintendo's stores.

Or is the only way to legally have a ROM image in your posession is if you own the actual hardware?  Seems like there is a business opportunity there if the OEMs or rights holders could offer a way to 'get legal'.  While many MAME enthusiasts enjoy the restorations aspects of the hobby, most others have no real interest in the hardware other than the nostalgia of playing the game.

This is such a load of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and it's been argued to death on this board and elsewhere. One only needs to read the actual copyright law and the DMCA and the appropriate laws in their native country to get a better idea of how this works and we would get rid of all this armchair discussions once and for all.

Seems like an OEM offering a package deal of the ROMs of their classic games for a reasonable price would be well received by the community.  And it seems like it would tap a section of the market that otherwise would download the ROMs anyway, but might pay for. them

They do and people do buy them. With some of these discs (The Atari compilation I think was one) one can pull the ROMs out and play them in a separate emulator. I, personally, don't really do this. Unlike some people here, I do collect games and hardware (I have a couple of Atari LP's somewhere that I plan on framing eventually) since I take as much pleasure in the playing with the original hardware as much as I do playing the games. Other games, again, appear as downloadable games on the various console shops. True, not all older games are available, but whether to make a particular game available or not is the prerogative of the owner.

Eventually, no matter if every single classic game was made available for purchase again you will always have people who will simply refuse to pay for these packages no matter what shape or form these games may be sold in. Some could figure out how to compile a 6000 game DVD collection and sell it on the QVC network and you will still have people that refuse to pay for it. That is the nature of the beast.

[Afterburner]

I guess I was thinking more specifically of MAME.  I have a number of 'classic game packs' on various media that I've collected over the years, including purchasing ones for our Wii for the kids to play.

But I have found that in nearly all cases that those do not faithfully reproduce the original arcade versions or are console versions that weren't faithful to the arcade version.  I think the one exception is the Dragon's Lair DVD I have.

For example....the versions of Donkey Kong, Galaga, and vs Excitebike that I purchased from the Nintendo store and downloaded to the Wii are vastly different from those versions that I play on wiiMAME.

So I guess my question was really whether or not there legit sources of arcade ROMs (not console versions)? 

[saint]

Starroms tried it, but went out of business.

From Project Arcade, first edition 2004:
Then, in 2003, a company called StarROMs (http://www.starroms.com/) set up shop. They negotiated the rights with Atari to sell some of Atari’s ROMs for use with emulation. Suddenly, there was a legal source to purchase ROMs! Currently StarROMs has 61 titles from Atari available at a price of around two dollars each. This was exactly what the emulation community had been demanding for years! At the time of this writing, it’s too early to tell if this will prove to be a viable business model for the industry. Hopefully the emulation community will embrace this source of legal ROMs and make it a success. I personally purchased every single ROM available from StarROMs the day they opened, and those are the ROMs you see in the screen shot of MAME32 earlier in this chapter.

From Project Arcade, second edition 2011:
For a brief while in 2003, a company called StarROMs set up shop. They negotiated the rights with Atari to sell some of Atari’s ROMs for use with emulation. Suddenly, there was a legal source to purchase ROMs! StarROMs had 61 titles from Atari available at a price of around $2 each. This was exactly what the emulation community had been demanding for years! In the first edition of this book, I said “At the time of this writing, it’s too early to tell if this will prove to be a viable business model for the industry.” Sadly, it turned out not to be the case and StarROMs has closed up shop. I have high hopes that another company will step up with a similar operation some day. I think the success of ventures like Apple’s iTunes shows that this is a viable money-making operation that would be a win-win for the copyright holders and the emulation community. Personally, I purchased every ROM available from StarROMs the day they opened. Those are the ROMs you see in the screen shot of MAMEUI earlier in this chapter.

I don't hold out much hope frankly. There's clearly a business model out there but the copyright holders don't see it.

[Afterburner]

Thanks for posting that.....it was exactly what I had envisioned.  I'm highly disappointed both that it didn't catch on and that I missed it.

Perhaps as mobile devices become more capable and MAME ports to those devices get more mature there will be a stronger demand for an a la carte ROM biz model.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.  And thanks again for quoting the book...it's interesting to see that history.

[SavannahLion]

Ah... I see. Well, my original comment still stands but it does narrow the selection somewhat.

Perhaps as mobile devices become more capable and MAME ports to those devices get more mature there will be a stronger demand for an a la carte ROM biz model.

Don't get me started on this. There are a few developers who ported MAME to mobile devices and I find they just flat out suck. The problem is the typical control interface on a powerful mobile device is usually a touch screen. Exceptions exist, but it currently isn't the rule. Arcade games almost always have tactile control. ThinkGeek's iCade is awesome but restricted only to iOS devices. Sucks for the growing number of Androids out there.

Even the official direct ports (I'm looking straight at you SEGA and 3D Realms) and unofficial ports "redesigned" for touch screens really truly suck. Here is an opportunity to revamp the control scheme and truly create a game that would really shine using the touch screen and these damn developers keep insisting on using a "classic" joypad/button control scheme. 

[ark_ader]

Ah... I see. Well, my original comment still stands but it does narrow the selection somewhat.

Perhaps as mobile devices become more capable and MAME ports to those devices get more mature there will be a stronger demand for an a la carte ROM biz model.

Don't get me started on this. There are a few developers who ported MAME to mobile devices and I find they just flat out suck. The problem is the typical control interface on a powerful mobile device is usually a touch screen. Exceptions exist, but it currently isn't the rule. Arcade games almost always have tactile control. ThinkGeek's iCade is awesome but restricted only to iOS devices. Sucks for the growing number of Androids out there.

Even the official direct ports (I'm looking straight at you SEGA and 3D Realms) and unofficial ports "redesigned" for touch screens really truly suck. Here is an opportunity to revamp the control scheme and truly create a game that would really shine using the touch screen and these damn developers keep insisting on using a "classic" joypad/button control scheme. 

My Mame4ALL works great on my Tegra 2 Android with the Zeemote - Look Ma no fingerprints!   

[wizkid32]

Dang it!  I really hoped that this thread had lead to something!

I heard that Exidy had something like that a while ago, with licensing on their shooters, but from what I heard, that is dead. 

The only thing that's improved in the ROM/M.A.M.E world since the first book is that more ROMs are now free for noncommercial use.  There are still no classics, however.  Still, progress is progress.  With some luck, other manufacturers will follow suit with Exidy and offer some of their onld ROMs for free.  (I can dream, can't I?  )

[Afterburner]

Even the official direct ports (I'm looking straight at you SEGA and 3D Realms) and unofficial ports "redesigned" for touch screens really truly suck. Here is an opportunity to revamp the control scheme and truly create a game that would really shine using the touch screen and these damn developers keep insisting on using a "classic" joypad/button control scheme. 

Yep...agree with you 100% there.  My first android device had a mini-trackball that was a decent joystick stand-in for most 8-way games.  Now my phone has the small scrollpad rather than a trackball and it doesn't work as well.

I bought the pack of Atari Classic games for my phone and you are right...they did sort of a poor job on the interface.  I have a "free" version of a ripoff of Missile Command that is way more fun than the Atari version because the touchscreen interface is done so well.