When are certain ROMS considered "freeware or Abandonware"?

[Vampirrella]

I was wondering if there is a guideline as to when games / apps really become freeware or abandonware. Is it only when the maker of the said program/app says it is or does it start when the maker says we dont support it anymore?

Like many of the old old game consoles SNES, NES, N64 ect ect, no longer produced, are these all considered abandonware now?

 

[styrafoam]

If you were to ask nintendo they will say no to any game being abandoned, no matter how far out of print. The only time I know that they have taken any kind of action against someone was over the holidays when the 30 in 1 game pads were showing up in mall kiosks, even then they only went after the sellers and not the importers.

The thought around most abandonware is that if the publisher is no longer receiving revenue from the game or the publishing company is no longer in business and no other company bought the intelectual property from whomever wound up with said publisher's assets then it is abandoned. The reality is that a game is only truely 'abandoned' when the publisher releases it into public domain.

 

[skace]

Styrafoam summed it up in his second paragraph. A product is only ever freeware if the developer/software house makes it so. Abandonware is a consumer title for when a product is virtually un-aquireable. If it wasn't for the consumer, this product would cease to exist.

 

[Yossairian]

I would love to have another go at chrono-trigger. Was that NES or Super NES ? Man that seems like so long ago.

 

[mundane]

Originally posted by: Yossairian
I would love to have another go at chrono-trigger. Was that NES or Super NES ? Man that seems like so long ago.

SNES. I'm replaying Secret of Mana right now on zsnes =). I would've never had the chance to try some of these games if it weren't for the emulators (ChronoTrigger, FF3, SoM, etc).

 

[shortylickens]

Its basically been covered here already but.......

The main reason a company can sue somebody and win is if they prove the piracy hurt their profits. If Nintendo isnt making any money from Mario Brothers than the lawsuit will go nowhere. So they dont waste their time.
Just dont ever sell an emulator or ROM. Most enthusiast sites make this point clear anyway.

I havent seen an XBox emulator yet. But if you had one and put the disc in your computer and played it, you would be cool. I dont think we have laws that say the game has to be used a certain way. Once you pay for it, its yours. Do what you like.
And remember, not matter what the companies would have you believe: You can make a backup copy of ANY media you own. The BS in most EULA's notwithstanding.
This includes printed media too. Despite what the inside front jacket might say.