GamePlayCopy

You have probably heard about playing console games on PC by using emulators. There are many consoles and almost all have emulators on the PC.

What are Emulators? They are basically PC programs that behave like consoles. So, if you load a backup copy of your old SNES game into a SNES emulator, you can play it on your PC. The backup copy is called a ROM or an ISO image (depending on whether the original is a cartridge or a CD)

Emulators are programmed by gaming enthusiasts that have programming skills and usually emulators give a little more control over games than your standard console. The most popular feature of emulators are cheat codes. Sure you can enter cheat codes in your console using Action Replay or GameShark but can you create/test/edit them?

Also, since the ROMs and ISO images are data on your computer you can manipulate them in ways thats impossible on consoles. Ever played a game and found it too easy? Well edit the ROM or ISO so that the monsters have double the health and then see if you can beat the game. Edit gameplay elements, create/delete/edit characters, create whole levels, the list is endless.

One example of this is a Nintendo Gameboy Advance game called Advance Wars. After a few installments of the series the developers of the game decided to move on to another console and drastically changed the gameplay. Guess what the community did? They completely revamped the game (they edited the ROM) and put up ROM patches so that others can play it. If you are a fan of the Advance Wars franchise you gotta check this out: http://awbw.amarriner.com/

The main problem is usually getting the ISO or ROM. It is Illegal to own a ROM or an ISO without owning the original copy. And it is definitely illegal to share your ROM or ISO. So there is only one way to get your hands on an ISO and that is to make one yourself. Since your Playstation or Xbox uses CDs, you can just pop them into CD and make a backup copy. Then use an Emulator to play that copy.