DevTitanwood Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I really like the Fire Emblem series, and I'm really interested in playing hacks of ROMs, however, are they illegal? I know that normal ROMs are illegal, but if you edit a game in the way that it has different maps and characters (Like the Fire Emblem ROM hacks) are they still illegal? Also, another question, if it is legal, how do you download it? Do you first download the ROM of the Fire Emblem game it's a hack of (for example you download a Fire Emblem 8 ROM if it's a Fire Emblem 8 hack) and then download the actual ROM hack itself? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) ROM hacks are not illegal supposedly because they contain data that is original. Also, another question, if it is legal, how do you download it? Do you first download the ROM of the Fire Emblem game it's a hack of (for example you download a Fire Emblem 8 ROM if it's a Fire Emblem 8 hack) and then download the actual ROM hack itself? Yes. Have you actually tried doing this? Might have been worth at least a try before you asked. Edited August 30, 2012 by Agro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariobro3828 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 ROM hacks aren't illegal because of the way they are distributed. Essentially, they are distributed as patches that contain original, fanmade content, and not the actual ROM itself. Thus, the only thing being distributed is said original content, and nothing illegal (well hopefully). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevTitanwood Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 ROM hacks are not illegal supposedly because they contain data that is original. Yes. Have you actually tried doing this? Might have been worth at least a try before you asked. I didn't want to download it in the first place because I thought it was illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubby Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) Technically I'm pretty sure an FE hack is still illegal. I recall seeing something where even derivative works aren't allowed, and either way it's probably some kind of copyright violation, since FE is trademarked, blah blah blah :P But distributing them is not, because of the format they're distributed in. If you started handing out .GBA's, there could be a problem (Although, tbh, Nintendo doesn't seem to give a fuck if you hack their games and distribute the hacks, so long as they don't start losing profit to it and you're not selling it) Edit: I've never ever heard of anyone having a problem legally for downloading a ROM. It's like downloading MP3's, really. Edited August 31, 2012 by Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowofchaos Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I recall seeing something where even derivative works aren't allowed, and either way it's probably some kind of copyright violation, since FE is trademarked, blah blah blah :P (Although, tbh, Nintendo doesn't seem to give a fuck if you hack their games and distribute the hacks, so long as they don't start losing profit to it and you're not selling it) Pretty much this. Though I'm not a Chrono Trigger Fan, have you ever heard of the "Chrono Trigger: Resurrection" fiasco with Square Enix? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrono_Resurrection All of the models and such are fan-made. However, the content and concept is copyrighted. That's why they can shut you down. If it's similar enough and not enough original content they have grounds for shelling out a cease-and-desist order. But since I'm not in any shape or form a law student, I really don't know the extent of it. Nintendo though, despite not hesitating to protect their intellectual property, don't want to shut down fan projects. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102053-Nintendo-Doesnt-Want-to-Shut-Down-Fan-Projects Of course, we cannot say that we can give tacit approval to any and all the activities which threaten our intellectual properties. But on the other hand, it would not be appropriate if we treated people who did something based on affection for Nintendo, as criminals.If there was any sort of defining line, said Iwata, it was "whether the expression in question socially diminishes the dignity or value of our intellectual properties or not." In that case, Nintendo would have to take action - as it did in April when it killed a fan-developed Pokemon MMOG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jubby Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 I've seen that article before, but fuck if they made a Pokemon MMO... That'd be awesome. But yeah, I remember seeing something about that on the 7x site. I think they got a license or something for it, though :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zahlman Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 IIRC Nintendo used to take a harder line on this kind of thing but then they realized they didn't have the resources to go after all the little guys, and that letting them do their thing is probably a net gain for them in terms of advertising also something about arrows and knees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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