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Emulation can take a number of forms, ranging from compilations of classic video games being made to play on newer hardware to software development for various platforms and conventional emulators employed for personal use.
Overview
Although the concept of emulation had existed before the prominence of video game consoles, the most common definition of it today within the context of gaming consists of running older games on platforms for which they were not originally designed without alterations. Unlike porting, which involves game code revision for console compatibility, the goal of emulation is to successfully emulate an original platform for compatibility on different hardware. Despite the common association it has with the practice of illegally downloading copyrighted ROMs and ISOs, emulators themselves are legal under specific contexts, assuming no copyrighted information from the original manufacturer's hardware is present in the coding without their permission.
Types of Emulation
Emulation can take place with the help of hardware, software, or an emulation hybrid in order to achieve desired results. The most common type of emulation found today is software emulation due to the proliferation of software emulators for both commercial purposes in services like GameTap and Xbox Live and private exploits in tandem with common software found on the Internet. The aforementioned hardware and "both" techniques can be more convenient and stable if used in certain situations.
Hardware Emulation
Hardware emulation requires the usage of tangible components to emulate a given platform. Prior to the current generation of consoles, typical uses of this method provided backwards compatibility with games of older systems, usually those of the same series. One example can be found with Nintendo's Game Boy, wherein more modern platforms like the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance contain the necessary components on their circuit boards necessary for games from previous iterations to function. The Nintendo DS does this to a lesser extent, as it only comes with the means to play Game Boy Advance games.
A less mainstream use of hardware emulation can be found in the video game development industry, although this practice hasn't been common for several hardware generations due to the prominence of development kits.
Standard Features in Hardware Emulation
- Wide software compatibility library
- True to the original hardware's characteristics
- Few, if any, substantial alterations made to the hardware
- Complete transparency during emulation (user cannot tell emulation is being used)
Software Emulation
Ocarina of Time's Master Quest edition is a famous example of software emulation on a console
Software emulation is typically employed in situations deemed impossible or impractical to use the actual hardware in the process of emulation. Therefore, programs used to emulate a platform usually have the central goal of ensuring the performance on the new console is identical to that found on the old console. Although the PC is the most popular platform for software emulation, successful emulations have been created on console and handheld platforms as well. Online services allowing one to play dated video games on more complex machines often use this variation to deliver their content.
In development situations, software emulators may be among the only tools at a developer's disposal until hardware-oriented development kits arrive. This most commonly happens while games are being designed for a new generation of consoles whose parts may not yet be entirely finalized. For those instances, development of a game typically takes place with the hypothetical limits of a proposed specification being kept in mind, with tweaks being made after finalized hardware and software development kits come.
In the current generation of consoles, the Xbox 360, the Wii's Virtual Console, and certain revisions of the PlayStation 3 use software emulation in order to have backwards compatibility with previous systems. On the Xbox 360, software emulation is used because none of the original Xbox's hardware is present on the console and those games must be emulated individually. (Games employing the same engine, however, require less fine-tuning due to similar internal structures) On certain models of the Playstation 3, software emulation is cheaper to utilize. One major caveat of using software emulation on consoles in such a manner is that the quality of emulation varies depending on the game being played. While some work as they would on their native platforms, noticeable issues are often found; the result of how the emulation is being performed. The programming designs of emulators can also greatly influence their performance, as results can vary wildly depending on the purposes in mind for the emulator as well as their implementation. (Emulators designed only for specific games are often notorious for being problematic if used for unintended games. Software emulation on the Wii, however, isn't limited to past Nintendo consoles exclusively, as games from the Neo Geo, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, and others are available.
The only handheld system in the current generation which officially uses a software emulator is Sony's PlayStation Portable. Despite being designed to run downloadable PlayStation games, many of which are available online, the emulator itself is capable of running other games unofficially with mixed results.
Standard Features in Software Emulation
- Save states, which allow users to save their progress at any point in a game and reload at that same point
- Accessory emulation, although this is much more common with unofficial emulators
- For disc-based systems, reduced load times if the game is directly stored on the hard drive
Emulation Hybrid
Many times the decision is made to implement features employed by both software and hardware emulation. Sony's PlayStation 2, as well as early releases of the PlayStation 3, are the most widely recognizable examples of this type of emulation, as they both contain the internal hardware from older systems required to run their respective games while still using enhancement software. These enhancements tend to be simple graphical improvements like upscaling and antialiasing.
Standard Features in an Emulation Hybrid
- Reliable software compatibility with accurate emulation
- Ability to add superficial enhancements via software which may not be possible with solely the hardware
Purposes
Over the years, emulators has risen in popularity due to the online coverage. While some of the ideals behind them have become mainstream practices since their inception, others have drawn controversy in various online communities and as such remain debated topics in specific circles. Misinterpretation, societal perception, and personal beliefs of Free Use laws cause controversy in emulation circles around the net.
Archival
The concept of archival exists due to the presence of a few pertinent things, many of which are disputed in their justifiability. The first concerns the concept of bit-rot, or the deterioration of data due to aging in computerized storage mediums. Because cartridges are especially prone to this as they age, archival is often used as a justification to emulate systems in order to ensure that their games are preserved in a more permanent form. Also, in the United States, archival is dependent upon a provision of Free Use laws allowing for the transfer of data to another platform if using the original platform is deemed impractical. Considering how older hardware like the Nintendo Entertainment System isn't immutable, archival is intended to be used as a way to circumvent preservation issues arising from such trends.
Development
Although it has been mentioned earlier already that emulation can be used for commercial development, it is almost always the only choice for those who wish to partake in homebrew and open source development, as the legal acquisition of official development kits for most platforms is impossible without a license. (Specific exceptions exist, such as with the Wonderswan, although these are far and few between in the industry.) In those cases, the coding, compiling, and other such tasks take place as normal while reliable software emulators which accurately emulate the chosen platform are used for testing. Commercial hardware is often used for additional testing to ensure that no new problems crop up under real world conditions, although this may happen later in development, depending on the system.
The Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a retail compilation using emulation
Commercial
In order to profit on nostalgia, the practice of allowing consumers to pay for older games on newer systems has been gaining popularity. This can be done via a retail outlet or through an online store, the latter being more common today. In the former, a specific set of games are packaged with an emulator designed to play them on a specific platform, usually a console. The emulators accompanying these compilations vary in quality, as they can either use specific emulators for individual games or they may contain regular, open source emulators prepared for use by the seller. In the online arena, games are given out in a downloadable form at a set price, with varying methods used to achieve proper emulation.
Notable Emulators
Although a large number of emulators exist, there are a handful which are more worthy of recognition on a historical and technical level. Though their reliability by today's standards is often considered subpar, their existence paved the way for future generations of emulators.
The front cover of Bleem's PC Emulator
The front cover of Bleem's PC Emulator
bleem!
Bleem's fame can be summarized in two ways, both of which are arguably of equal importance. First, bleem is noted for having been the first commercial emulator that efficiently utilized a popular platform, the PlayStation, and made its respective games playable on a PC. Secondly, Bleem is infamous for the legal battle it brought to its creators by Sony, who claimed that the emulator brought in illegal competition. Although the developers of Bleem ultimately won the case, their business had to shut down because of the costly legal fees. A Dreamcast version of Bleem was also in development during this period. This version was designed to support more specific games on each disc and only a few games received official support, although the emulator could be configured for unofficial games.
MAME
MAME, the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, is known for the wide breadth of arcade systems it covers, with thousands of arcade games being emulated in some manner. From a technical standpoint, MAME is prominent because its developers choose to meticulously emulate the original arcade machines so as to properly replicate every nuance of the original hardware. Additionally, its fame is due to the variety of different operating systems on which it is available, including outright consoles like the Xbox. MAME is predominantly an emulator for arcade machines rendering sprites, although some polygons are serviceable.
Yuji Naka's Nintendo Entertainment System Emulator
Although this emulator has never been examined by the public, Yuji Naka, a man commonly associated with the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, created a basic Nintendo Entertainment System emulator for the Sega Genesis. Despite the fact that it was only partially capable of playing Super Mario Bros. at a speed less than ideal, it is nonetheless a retro example of console emulation. During that generation, NES emulation was mainly used with DOS.
Associated Practices
Because emulators allow users to have access to and manipulate a platform without the requisite hardware's presence, they are often vital tools in projects undertaken by various members of underground communities. Most emulators used in such contexts are predominantly for older consoles from the 1980s to early 1990s, although sometimes they still play a role in projects pertaining to younger games for newer machines. The legality of many of these undertakings is usually dubious, if not outright illegal. Developers and publishers, however, have historically not resorted to taking any major legal action in such instances, presumably because the products which are effected tend to have negligible economic impact on them.
Translations
In translation projects, emulators are usually employed by a team a means to go undergo debug tests without resorting to the usage of expensive physical hardware such as copiers. Additionally, more developed emulators may also be used directly in the translation development process itself, as many are capable of disassembling the games and indicating programming routines which are being used in real time. On the consumer end, emulators are used to play translated games after a patch has been applied, as few typically have the means to play on the actual system due to anti-piracy lockouts.
Hacks
Much like in the area of translations, hacks use emulators for testing purposes. After a game's ROM has been edited via a specifically designed tool or manually with things such as hex editors, a recompiled ROM is often used in tandem with an emulator to ensure that the new modifications work as intended. Except for a few specific exceptions, emulators are also usually the only means of enabling the public to play these hacks once they have been published online.
Emulation games
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| Concept Name: | Emulation |
| Appears In: | 32 games |
| 1st Game Appearance: | n/a |
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