Topic: retro gaming website down

im really pissed off but [removed] seems down for me for ages now. i love retro games but how else do i play em?? i tried this one too [removed] but it never loads them. does anyone else have a problem with those two classic amazing retro game sites or is it me?? anyway, im heart broken. now i cannot enjoy games anymore, because i have to keep buying new games which I HATE!!!

Careful buddy, emulators are actually illegal and talking about them here is a ToS violation. Be more careful in the future.

@asecin @TowaHerschel7 talking about roms and emulators is perfectly fine to do here, however, we don't allow links to sites that provide the ability to download roms, therefore the above has been edited.

Yeah cos buying games and putting money back into the industry that we all enjoy so much is awful.

@antdickens uhm the sites i mentioned never had download links to roms. you actually played the roms online in a browser. both of them do not work now, so why not at least lets the websites be visible? maybe someone can configure their dysfunction and report

@JoeBlogs just like the other two websites i posted, this one doesnt seem to load the games for me. even though there is clearly an option for that. thats why i wish my other links are reposted and checked because i think the issue lies on my side.

It’s still possible to download emulators the let you play your old PlayStation one discs on PC. But sites that are giving away games that someone else is still trying to sell get shutdown very quickly.

@asecin With the massive crackdown on roms, these websites are being taken down quickly. You’re going to have to download an emulator or buy the ones you want, it’s that simple.

@asecin Rules say we can’t point you in the right direction anyway. It’s the internet, you’ll find roms and emulators somewhere. Plus, it’s more portable having the roms on your laptop’s hard drive than you needing an internet connection.

@Skoda I just don’t get why you would think playing them in a browser is somehow any better than downloading them. It’s literally one in the same. I toe a pretty grey line at times but what you’re asking for is essentially stealing. These companies upload roms which aren’t their property and make money off the ads. If everything was free, games wouldn’t have value. I freely admit to having too many Steam games, it devalues each single game and I’ve probably overlooked some gems in there. It’s the same with this, if we have everything, would you truly appreciate each individual game?

@Skoda Loose games and retro consoles are very cheap. You spend more only for mint copies or limited editions, so if you are really interested in playing those game you should just buy them.

This thread raises another point though, why don't the likes of Amiga and Atari ST games have a website you can play them on - with Ads? I only play the free and legal games on PC via properly administered websites.

Maybe it's something a more technical savvy person like @antdickens or @nessisonett once finished your courses can work on. Seems like a money spinner if it was legal and you got approval from the original publishers.

@themcnoisy It’s a thorny area to be honest with those era games. I am a big retro fan and do things like subscribe to retro gamer mag etc. Firstly, the rights to a lot of 80’s and early 90’s era games are a mess. Ip’s have been bought, sold, partially sold that it is hard to work out who has got the rights any more. Some are still owned by companies like EA etc who care little about retro games.

There are some lis services, like antstream that stream retro games with full rights and profits going to rights owners. There is also a big market now in the ‘mini’ consoles such as the Spectrum Next and C64 mini where legal rights have been claimed. However a really large segment of games can only really be played illegally via roms.

I maintain that roms are ok if there is no legal way of buying those games first hand. That is not a legal position of course but I think until companies invest more in their history, Roms are the only way to preserve a lot of games and I have no issue with using them for that purpose.

As others have said though, if a site is making money via advertising for streaming or roms, it will get shutdown eventually especially if Nintendo is involved. Some really good Rom sites do it for the love of it and include no advertising.

Also if anyone is interested I absolutely would not ever recommend getting a PlayStation classic and standard usb stick for playing roms. Absolutely not.

@andreoni79 They used to be cheap but the retro market is really kicking off. For example, Silent Hill 2 in playable condition can go for over £20 and rising. Some titles are still really cheap but there seems to be a boom at the moment.

@Rudy_Manchego I made some good money with my GBA collection few years ago since all the games were in perfect conditions (box, booklet etc). For example I sold Castlevania Aria of Sorrow for € 90 while the only cartridge was sold for € 10 or less.
Retro gaming is expensive for collectors and cheap for gamers.

@andreoni79 I mean.. kinda, really depends on what you want to play. A loose copy of Super Mario 64 in working condition is still going to be £15-20 in the UK from a seller. You might be lucky and get it cheaper - Ocarina of Time is the same sort of price. Boxed is of course, far more.

You can get common titles really cheap without boxes but if you want some of the most important but not necessarily popular games on certain platforms, you are probably looking to pay at least £10 + loose. That isn't insane overall compared to modern AAA games but there you go!

@Rudy_Manchego I had a brief plan a month or so ago about playing through the games listed in 1000 games to play before you die. So started off with the Oregon trail and worked my way through (online of course).

The obscure games I played from the 70s and 80s aren't commercially viable now - especially the original incarnations. Seems like an oversight that I can find a game of Arkanoid - which is in fact a bedroom project remake with the same mechanics and struggle to play the real thing.

Will check out Antstrem in a minute.