The short version
- An emulator is a program that mimics a console's hardware. Writing and using one has generally been found legal in the US, going back to Sony v Connectix in 2000.
- A ROM is a copy of a game. Downloading ROMs of games you don't own is copyright infringement.
- A BIOS or firmware file is the console maker's own code, and sharing it is infringement too.
- The big recent fights were about encryption (Yuzu, Ryujinx) and devices sold with games loaded (the ESA's complaint against Anbernic).
Why this keeps coming up
The Entertainment Software Association, the US games industry body, has asked the US government to list retro handheld maker Anbernic as a "notorious market". Its complaint is about devices sold with thousands of games already loaded. Our news story covers the filing.
At the same time, fan projects are getting PS4 games such as Uncharted running on PC, and NXNative runs Switch games natively on Apple hardware. So it's worth being clear about what's allowed and what isn't. This guide is a general picture, not legal advice.
Image: Zerocade
Emulators: the software itself
An emulator recreates a console in software, so code written for that console can run on a PC, phone or handheld. A well-made one is written from scratch by studying how the hardware behaves. It doesn't contain anyone's game.
US courts backed this in 2000. Sony sued Connectix over Virtual Game Station, a PlayStation emulator for Macs, and lost on appeal. The Ninth Circuit found that reverse engineering the PlayStation's system software to build a compatible emulator was fair use, partly because Connectix's final product didn't contain Sony's code. Bleem, a paid PS1 emulator for PCs, also won a key ruling against Sony that year. Bleem still went out of business, worn down by legal costs. Winning in court and surviving as a company aren't the same thing.
That's the core of it. Building and running an emulator is generally fine in the US. Which games you feed it, and how you got them, is where the trouble starts.
ROMs and disc images: the games
A ROM, or disc image, is a copy of a copyrighted game. Downloading one from a website is infringement, whatever the site says about "abandonware" or "preservation". Nintendo's stated position is that this holds even if you own the cartridge.
Making your own copy from a disc or cartridge you own is greyer. The rules depend on the country. Many modern consoles also encrypt their games, and getting the files off usually means breaking that protection. In the US, the DMCA makes bypassing copy protection a separate problem from copying, even for a game you own.
That's why projects like the Uncharted fan port tell you to dump the game from your own PS4, rather than shipping it. It's also why they still sit on shaky ground.
BIOS and firmware: the console's own code
Many emulators need the console's original system software to boot games. That's code the console maker wrote and owns. Emulator projects usually leave it out and ask you to copy it from your own hardware. Sharing it is infringement, the same as sharing a game.
The cases that drew the lines
Image: Zerocade
The modern pressure point is encryption. In March 2024, the developers of Yuzu, the most popular Switch emulator, settled with Nintendo for $2.4 million and shut it down. Nintendo's lawsuit argued that Yuzu was built to get around the Switch's encryption, and that it needed keys that could only come from hacked consoles or piracy. It also pointed out that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was pirated and played on Yuzu more than a million times before its official release.
The case never reached a ruling. Yuzu settled, so no court decided whether a Switch emulator is legal. But the message landed. In October 2024, Ryujinx, the other big Switch emulator, also shut down after its lead developer was contacted by Nintendo.
Those two cases don't overturn Connectix. They show that an emulator that relies on breaking current encryption, for a console that's still on sale, is a much bigger target than one for a 30-year-old system.
Where handhelds and fan ports fit
A handheld that runs emulators is just a small computer. Retroid and AYN sell theirs without any games. A device that ships with a memory card holding thousands of ROMs is a different story. That's selling copies of other people's games, which is what the ESA is objecting to with Anbernic.
Fan ports and recompilations, like the PS4 Uncharted port or Switch games running natively on Macs, take the same route as emulators. The code is new, and the game comes from you. They aren't approved by the publisher, though, and can disappear with one legal letter.
The legal routes
If you want old games without the grey areas, there are official ways:
- Nintendo Switch Online, which bundles NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy and GameCube games depending on the tier (Nintendo doesn't sell it officially in India, so it needs a foreign account)
- PlayStation Plus Premium, with PS1, PS2 and PSP classics
- Re-releases on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, from remastered collections to straight ports
- Cartridge-based hardware like Analogue's new consoles, which play original cartridges you own
Indian copyright law also protects games as software, and India has its own rules on circumventing copy protection. So if you're in India, the safe position is the same as in the US: emulators are fine, games you didn't buy aren't. Check the specific case before you download anything.
