Your admission to playing FFXII on an emulator

[CoolJosh3k]

Decided I would bring this up, as I am curious as to the details.

For those unsure what this is about, on the "Prison Architect Alpha 26" video, it was seen that there was a PS2 emulator installed. A response given by Introversion in the comments section, admitted that it was used to play Final Fantasy.

I am one of those few people who are against piracy, thus this sort of thing raised my eyebrows. Of all people who might pirate games, I would not expect game developers to do such (as they would surely understand what harm it causes).

Where you infact, running a pirated rom image on an emulator that may include a pirated copy of the systems bios?
I find that your development process and public relations to be a great example for others. The answer appears to be yes to this question, but why would this be so?
I would hate to think that someone who has shown such genuine care about their fans, would actually be actively harming the gaming industry like this.

Please could you go into detail about this scenario. I do not wish for this to become a big deal, but it bothers me greatly.

[Pruvan]

I do not wish for this to become a big deal

Then why did you bring this to a public forum? You could've asked them this directly via their support page or even a direct e-mail. The only reason you would ask this question here is to up the drama.

Also, you serious? The game is 8 years old and no longer shipped to stores, it's basically abandonware. I'm pretty sure the game industry will survive through this travesty.

[WiseWoodrow]

I do not wish for this to become a big deal

Then why did you bring this to a public forum? You could've asked them this directly via their support page or even a direct e-mail. The only reason you would ask this question here is to up the drama.

Also, you serious? The game is 8 years old and no longer shipped to stores, it's basically abandonware. I'm pretty sure the game industry will survive through this travesty.

I agree. Piracy is actually not all bad - not everyone can just go around buying old consoles and games, likely because they might not be able to find the old relics sometimes.
Even for modern game piracy, truth be told, many people just pirate games because many developers are either too stupid, or busy, to release a demo, or make a bad demo - piracy is the ultimate demo.

Personally I don't mind it if people pirate things for reasons of "dirt old" or "want to try it out.", and neither should you, OP.
(I've seen devs even release pirated copies of their games to be nice - what was it, "Sir, you are being hunted"? I think so.)

I have an emulator, and I have a PS2. sometimes I get find ISOs of games I once previously owned but long since lost; sometimes I just play it because the PS2 is better in 1080p HD with anti-aliasing.
Either way, I'm doing no harm with it, and I doubt the PA devs are either.

[CoolJosh3k]

I do not wish for this to become a big deal

Then why did you bring this to a public forum? You could've asked them this directly via their support page or even a direct e-mail. The only reason you would ask this question here is to up the drama.

I am asking here, so that it is not just shoved under the rug.

[blipadouzi]

I do not wish for this to become a big deal

Then why did you bring this to a public forum? You could've asked them this directly via their support page or even a direct e-mail. The only reason you would ask this question here is to up the drama.

I am asking here, so that it is not just shoved under the rug.

Quite frankly... it's none of your business.

[Maxharry3]

It means their regular people just because thy make games dosent sudeny make them diffrent

[RichieGrape]

where i agree that piracy is bad ...having/using an emulator doesn't mean it was pirated...i seem to remember seeing something in the past that if you have owned a ps2 at any time the ps2 emulator is completely legit..furthermore we have no idea what kind of connections a developer of a successful company would have....so for anyone to make wild accusations on the morality of the devs or calling them thieves is ignorant if you don't how they came about that software

Furthermore i will admit to pirating PA?13? or so....i "tried" it...liked it..so i bought it...personally i won't buy a game i can't try..and its not like you can just rent a computer game

[WiseWoodrow]

where i agree that piracy is bad ...having/using an emulator doesn't mean it was pirated...i seem to remember seeing something in the past that if you have owned a ps2 at any time the ps2 emulator is completely legit..furthermore we have no idea what kind of connections a developer of a successful company would have....so for anyone to make wild accusations on the morality of the devs or calling them thieves is ignorant if you don't how they came about that software

Furthermore i will admit to pirating PA?13? or so....i "tried" it...liked it..so i bought it...personally i won't buy a game i can't try..and its not like you can just rent a computer game

Yes, the PS2 emulator is legitimate so long as you're using your PS2's own bios in them. Or if you can't obtain them, it doesn't really matter if you're using somebody elses.. I mean, really.

[Chibs]

Just... Just shut up.

[WiseWoodrow]

Just... Just shut up.

..Can you atleast try to be a bit more relevant?

[Chris]

It's a valid question I suppose.

I had a boxed copy of ff xii for my ps2 years ago, played it for a long long time. These days my ps2 and the boxed copy are buried in the loft, in the same box as the dreamcast, gamecube, and wii. My overriding memory was that it was a great game, but it looked shit on my big tv because the native resolution was so low and the graphics were super pixellated. The ps2 emulator has some awesome modern shader trickery going on and can actually run the original rom at extremely high resolution with anti aliasing, better texture filtering etc, and most elements scale up very well indeed. It looks great. Ironically, I couldn't get the ps3 controller to work with the emulator, so I ended up playing it using an xbox 360 usb controller.

[tertaim]

off topic: I just bought final fantasy X remastered and X-II for my PS3, LOVE IT!

i completly understand why someone wants to play the original! (pirated)

[Gintoki]

It's a valid question I suppose.

I had a boxed copy of ff xii for my ps2 years ago, played it for a long long time. These days my ps2 and the boxed copy are buried in the loft, in the same box as the dreamcast, gamecube, and wii. My overriding memory was that it was a great game, but it looked shit on my big tv because the native resolution was so low and the graphics were super pixellated. The ps2 emulator has some awesome modern shader trickery going on and can actually run the original rom at extremely high resolution with anti aliasing, better texture filtering etc, and most elements scale up very well indeed. It looks great. Ironically, I couldn't get the ps3 controller to work with the emulator, so I ended up playing it using an xbox 360 usb controller.

I do the same. I play FF titles and others on emulators, due to the fact that they look shitty on my TV screen, but with all the filters and whatnot these days, it looks half decent on a PC.
About the ps3 controller thing, I use the ds3tool but for some reason it seems to mess up my controllers settings when I switch it back to the ps3, so this is just a warning for anyone that uses it.

Also like to add I own the titles I play on an emulator, so as far as I'm concerned it's our choice what we do with our games.

NOSTALGIA <3

[xander]

NOSTALGIA <3

PS2/3 games trigger nostalgia now? Fuck, I feel old.

xander

[CoolJosh3k]

It's a valid question I suppose.

I had a boxed copy of ff xii for my ps2 years ago, played it for a long long time. These days my ps2 and the boxed copy are buried in the loft, in the same box as the dreamcast, gamecube, and wii. My overriding memory was that it was a great game, but it looked shit on my big tv because the native resolution was so low and the graphics were super pixellated. The ps2 emulator has some awesome modern shader trickery going on and can actually run the original rom at extremely high resolution with anti aliasing, better texture filtering etc, and most elements scale up very well indeed. It looks great. Ironically, I couldn't get the ps3 controller to work with the emulator, so I ended up playing it using an xbox 360 usb controller.

Thankyou for explaining this. I am glad that you are not just going out of your way to pirate things, but rather you are still trying to adhere to anti-piracy laws.

Now that the thread has become more mature, I feel I should mention a few things:

*- Since downloads are copies from another persons game, it does not fall under the Fair Use Doctrine. For it be be legal, you actually have to copy your own game (even though it is impractical).
*- Pirating media repeatedly, tends to lead to less guilt and more acceptance to the concept that one is doing wrong. Eventually one begins to form reasoning as to why it is "okay" (much like Robin Hood).
*- What I believe to be the more damaging effect of piracy, is the influence it has on others. A person may only pirate a few times, but (aware or not) they will convince peers to do the same, resulting in hundreds.
*- I disagree with how hard some companies make it to enjoy their products, thus I can understand when piracy occurs so as to boycott harsh restrictions.
*- For those who feel that the laws only apply to the US (and not their region of the world), please note these laws are part of the WIPO which covers the majority of the world.

I would (in my opinion) conclude that you mean no harm and that you support the works of those who made FFXII. Thankyou for coming forward on this matter.

PS: please keep up the great work on PA. I look forward to each months video blog.