It was recently announced that developers would be making emulators, which let you run retro games, for Ouya. But where are those games coming from?
By Colin Lecher Posted 03.26.2013 at 3:00 pm 10 Comments

Ouya

Ouya might be one of the biggest gadget-funding success stories in recent memory. A Kickstarter raised almost $8.6 million for the Android-based console, and it's shipping to those backers this week. The idea is to create an "open" platform, where anyone who wants to build a game can, unlike in the AAA world of PlayStation and Xbox. The question now: What are the limits of what can be played on it?

There are a few interesting titles being released at launch on Thursday, but an experimental console with a dearth of brand power will need more than just a few good titles to draw people in. On its forum, Ouya recently announced that developers will be able to bring emulators to the console. Emulators are software that can be used to play games on hardware they weren't intended for. Want to relive the glory days of Super Mario on your phone? Play a round of Street Fighter II through Ouya? No problem. Note:

The problem is, even though it's easy enough to find emulators, downloading the game files, called ROMS, wanders into some tricky legal territory. Nintendo would much rather you shop and download (and pay for) Zelda on the Wii U than do it through a shady website on your PC.

Ouya told Kotaku that they will only accept emulation software, not ROMs, through the Ouya store. To submit games, developers need to show proof of intellectual property rights. But the emulations coming to the console are definitely intended to play games for IPs they don't have: EMUya, a popular NES emulator, should be available Thursday, and SuperGNES, a Super Nintendo emulator, is coming, too.

That doesn't put Ouya in any legal trouble beyond what Google Play, which is full of emulators, would presumably be in already: they might be providing a platform and the software, but going beyond the law and downloading the copyrighted games themselves? That, at least technically, is a decision Ouya users would make on their own.

10 Comments

Link to this comment
nicholasjh1
03/26/13 at 3:29 pm

Not to mention you could buy a batch of SNES games off of ebay and then have legal rights no? or would you still not have legal rights to play them on the Ouya?

Link to this comment
AnyIcon
03/26/13 at 3:38 pm

You can't punish the tool only the user of the tool, if something illegal is being done.

And if I own my retro game, and no longer have equipment to play it, what is wrong with me using this tool to enjoy the game of which I own?

You just can assume I am using it for illegal means, without proof.

Link to this comment
AnyIcon
03/26/13 at 3:41 pm

You can't punish the tool only the user of the tool, if something illegal is being done.

And if I own my retro game, and no longer have equipment to play it, what is wrong with me using this tool?

You just can assume I am using it for illegal means, without proof.

In fact, this device might inspire sales of old games 'legally', that stop selling long ago!

Link to this comment
AnyIcon
03/26/13 at 3:49 pm

You just CAN NOT assume I am using it for illegal means, without proof

Link to this comment
phoenixamaranth
03/26/13 at 4:42 pm

This was already covered some time back. There was a legal loophole on roms. Something about them being abandon-ware since the companies that owned the rights had scrapped them for so long. It was the work of independent individuals that revived them in the early 2000's and ported them to roms and emulators. That's what lead to Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo reviving their titles to charge you again for them.

I doubt there would be any legal repercussions here unless the games move into more modern titles.

Link to this comment
rosie_johnston
03/26/13 at 5:01 pm

I like the potential to have 1 source for all the old games, something to have my kids play when they are growing up so they we can have shared gaming experiences. If Ouya can be the platform for that then perfect. However I'm not sold on it yet, although it's in my WishPlz list ( bit.ly/10g4Szi ) I will be waiting to see what happens.

Link to this comment
AnyIcon
03/27/13 at 9:17 am

This little unit, looks useful and fun.

I may buy one!!!!

Link to this comment
aerosphere
03/27/13 at 4:45 pm

Woohoo! Tomorrow's launch date!

***This message will be irrelevant tomorrow***

***The note above will be irrelevant the day after that***

Link to this comment
redman.ca
03/27/13 at 5:55 pm

AnyIcon,

SPAM your consumer rights much?

In fact you'll find that EULA will dictact that even if you own a hard copy of a game, you do NOT have the legal 'right' to use it's modified, or likeness in an uninteded manor.

so NO you can't just go and buy a pile of games on ebay and then play them on emulators without reading the specific EULA first and determining the copyright status' of each IP.

ALSO< YES you can punish the TOOL & the maker of that tool if it's being used for illegal purposes. If nintendo or sega or xbox & playstation have copyrighted & licensed IP's being emulated, partially used, played or modified and the ouya makers have supplied the means (especially in a commercial environment like a consols' virtual marketplace) then they certainly are vulnerable to punishment.

Many games use specific vehicles, military hardware & aircraft, company logo's, tradmarks, etc under licenese which are covered in the EULA. Further complicating the matter when OUYA provides commercially sold known means to play obviously (nothing but) pirated software IP. It would make for an automatic lawsuit if they especially didn't offer a single legit game to play on the availible emulators.

game makers would have to only sit back and wait for the damages to pile up before suing to destroy the upstart.

Link to this comment
Auroria
03/31/13 at 6:03 pm

aerosphere, redman.ca,
I love ya guys, big BIG hug, squish!!!!

ROFL.... snort!

Popular Tags

Regular Features


140 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


April 2013: How It Works

For our annual How It Works issue, we break down everything from the massive Falcon Heavy rocket to a tiny DNA sequencer that connects to a USB port. We also take a look at an ambitious plan for faster-than-light travel and dive into the billion-dollar science of dog food.

Plus the latest Legos, Cadillac's plug-in hybrid, a tractor built for the apocalypse, and more.


Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor:Rose Pastore | Email

Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email

circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif