QA: 10-23-2003

Regarding the preowned issue in the last q&a: You said that the difference between used games and downloaded ROMs is that the game is _never_ purchased brand-new in the case of the ROM. But then where does the ROM come from?

My understanding of the process is that someone buys the game and then manages to sneak it into digital form using something like this: http://207.44.176.77/~admin28/gbaemu/faq/f2awriter1x.htm

So the first person is buying the game, then giving out multiple copies. How is that different then buying a game and letting a friend borrow it? You have the right to give your game away, correct? Do you not have the right to copy something you own? Or are you only "renting"?

Also, I've seen other sites have something like a "featured forum thread of the week". Why don't you guys do something like that? Community not good enough?
-XRoad

Josh: Yes, the original copier of the game often does purchase it. But the copies this person creates are never purchased. See Brenden's lengthy reply below for more information.

Brenden: ROMs have been the subject of great debate in our forums quite a few times. I'm sure that the same debate arises in countless other creative outlets. There are many different ways of looking at it and ways to argue it from both sides, but since you're asking the question, I'll stick to your points.

You say: "You said that the difference between used games and downloaded ROMs is that the game is _never_ purchased brand-new in the case of the ROM. But then where does the ROM come from?"

The simple fact that a videogame is purchased once and then distributed a large number of times through the means of a ROM really does amount to peanuts (in terms of dollars and cents) for the publisher, which in turn, amounts to peanuts for the developer. You have hundreds of hands at work going into the creation and distribution of a game, all needing to be paid. You have hundreds of resources and facilities going into the creation and distribution of a game, all needing to be paid for. There's a gross amount of money required to handle these things. You can throw in advertising, market research, etc. to it all, and it should be fairly obvious that the end result of a videogame isn't cheap.

You say: "So the first person is buying the game, then giving out multiple copies. How is that different then buying a game and letting a friend borrow it?"

It's incredibly different! When you let a friend borrow one of your games, does another copy of the game magically appear in your hands so you can continue to enjoy it after it's gone? Unless you have some bitchin' trick you're not telling us about it, the answer is no. The fact is, that there is only one copy for the game that was bought once by you. You also have to look at the ease of distributing ROMs. Do you really think you would have the same effect if you lent out your game to thousands of people? Do you really think you could find thousands of people to lend your game to? I highly doubt both.

You say: "You have the right to give your game away, correct?"

I would say that in most cases, yes. I can't be sure of every copyright law that's out there, but the fact still remains, that when you give away a copy of the game, it's gone. The major problem with ROMs is not the fact that you have given someone else your game, but the fact that you have given someone else a copy of your game.

You say: "Do you not have the right to copy something you own?"

Believe it or not, you do not always have the right to copy something you own. Why? Because you are not the owner of the creation of that product. That's a really weird way to phrase it, but I can't say that "you did not create it" because many people are required to create a game and even they don't own the copyright to the game. You own whatever you bought, that's true. But owning it doesn't mean that you can go ahead and copy it at will (read any none-freesoftware licensing agreement and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about). Naturally, this is nearly impossible to protect, but the reason it's in place is to prevent the possibility of the distribution of copies of the game. Just because you think that "backing up" something you own is a justified reason for copying a videogame, doesn't make it legal.

You say: "Or are you only "renting"?"

I'm a little confused as to what you mean by this. But as far as renting goes, I'm not exactly sure what it takes to distribute games in such a manner. I'm fairly certain though, that it at least requires a business license. Also, how many copies of the game are involved in a single rental of that video game? One.

So, as I've probably repeated too many times to count, the major problem behind ROMs are the fact that they are indeed copying the copyrighted material of a videogame and can be distributed with ease. No matter how you look at it, it's illegal. Now, getting to your comments about our forums ...

You say: "Also, I've seen other sites have something like a "featured forum thread of the week". Why don't you guys do something like that? Community not good enough?"

To be perfectly honest, I don't think we've ever considered the idea that much. We almost thought of linking each news item with a forum thread for discussion (as we do with N-Sophisticate), but then decided that it would just clutter up the forums too much. Either way, I consider our forums to be extremely intelligent and ripe with wonderful discussion on everything Nintendo and industry related. The community's great because the forum members are great. It's partly due to the level of intelligence, but it's mostly due to the level of respect amongst everyone that participates in discussions. Yes, things get heated sometimes, and yes, some people don't like other people at times, or even never. But that can be expected in any human interaction. I realise that I'm speaking from a biased view here, but we've received many compliments in the past. You'd be amazed at who reads that thing.

I don't know if you actually read our forums or not, but please, don't try to insinuate that we think that our community isn't good enough. Most of our staff, and I really do mean most, came from posting in the forums and being recognized by senior staff. They may have applied to join the site at other times, but most of them (including myself) had participated in plenty of forum discussion and debate before joining on. We obviously have exceptions to that rule, but it's a scary trend when you start to think about it. So all that being said, we love our forums. There really is no denying it.

What happened to N-Universe?

Hi N-Sider Staff. I'm generally new to your page and I'd just like to say that you have a great website. It's nice to hear what some decent people have to say about Nintendo (Not like the X-Box fan boys). Anyway, when I first came to your site, there was a comic strip up. That strip was hilarious, but now I see that N-Universe has been taken down. Will it ever come back?
-Dave

Josh: N-Universe is being worked on very hard behind the scenes, Dave. We hope to have something to show you guys before long. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait: we've got some really incredibly talented artists working on the revamped universe, and some really dedicated writers, researchers, and what have you for the data aspect. It's definitely going to be quite a sight when it's done. Who knows -- the comic may return, too.

GCN: going down in Australia?

What is happening to GCN sales in Australia? I ask because almost everywhere I look, retail support for the GCN is waning. Is it still keeping pace with the Xbox (cause retailers just love the xbox). If retailers start to disfavour the GCN, how forgiving will they be with the launch of the next Gen consoles?
-Tom

Josh: It's true -- the dear old GameCube is not faring very well in the land down under. Is Nintendo's marketing to blame, or is it simply public perception of the system -- however unfair it may be -- run amok? Perhaps it's a bit of both, combined with an occasionally-sketchy release schedule for first-rate software. However, though the GameCube may be taking a dive in Australia and a few other places, Nintendo is reportedly hammering away quite hard on the next console, particularly where garnering third party support is concerned. If they can convince more third parties to give them another chance, and maybe give their image a little poking and prodding in the process, demand will be there. And when there's demand, retailers have no choice but to stock. What store wouldn't want to carry an item continuously asked for by customers?

Q&A By: Josh Righter and Brenden Petracek.

Send your questions for next week's Q&A!