GAME Drops Ouya SNES Emulator Advertising, Ouya Does Not
Emulation software courts controversy
Super Gnes on Ouya.tv
Retailer GAME has pulled an ad for Ouya that included SNES emulator Super Gnes from BubbleZap Games after it caused a minor stir.
The image was visible until late this morning, having been replaced by the more innocuous Muffin Knight since CVG ran a story on the ad.
While GAME is obviously a little touchy about showcasing legally shady software on its website, however, Ouya doesn't seem to have any qualms about it. At the time of publication, it was being promoted in the 'popular' section of the console's website.
The running of Nintendo games on non-Nintendo hardware is not the stuff Ninty's happy thoughts are made of. BubbleZap claims in its FAQ under the question 'Are emulators legal?', however: "Yes. In 1982, precedent was set in the landmark Coleco vs. Atari case where Coleco produced an Atari 2600 emulator for the ColecoVision. Even recently, Sony was unable to prevent the distribution of the PlayStation emulator 'bleem!'."
The really sticky part, though, is the way in which emulators enable piracy. Going back to the FAQ, BubbleZap states: "Even if you own the original game, you are not entitled to download a copy of it. Copyright law clearly states that the only copy of software you are entitled to is the one you make yourself."
But everyone's definitely only running ROMs that they've made themselves derived from games that they already own, right?
The image was visible until late this morning, having been replaced by the more innocuous Muffin Knight since CVG ran a story on the ad.
While GAME is obviously a little touchy about showcasing legally shady software on its website, however, Ouya doesn't seem to have any qualms about it. At the time of publication, it was being promoted in the 'popular' section of the console's website.
The running of Nintendo games on non-Nintendo hardware is not the stuff Ninty's happy thoughts are made of. BubbleZap claims in its FAQ under the question 'Are emulators legal?', however: "Yes. In 1982, precedent was set in the landmark Coleco vs. Atari case where Coleco produced an Atari 2600 emulator for the ColecoVision. Even recently, Sony was unable to prevent the distribution of the PlayStation emulator 'bleem!'."
The really sticky part, though, is the way in which emulators enable piracy. Going back to the FAQ, BubbleZap states: "Even if you own the original game, you are not entitled to download a copy of it. Copyright law clearly states that the only copy of software you are entitled to is the one you make yourself."
But everyone's definitely only running ROMs that they've made themselves derived from games that they already own, right?
Companies:
Ouya
Read More Like This