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MAME To Become GPL?
BigJimSlade writes "The 'What's New' file for the latest release of the Multi Arcade Machine Emulator (or MAME, as it is more affectionately known) states that the developers/maintainers are considering re-licensing the not-so-open source code under the GPL/LGPL. Currently the source is under a slightly restrictive licence that prevents modifications to certain areas of code from being redistributed. (L)GPL source for this project would be quite a boon for devlopers, who could reuse the CPU cores and other key components in other OSS projects."
Just a thought.
MAME was free software, but only free as in beer. It wasn't free as in speech. The change to (L)GPL would make it free software.
Sorry about the anonymous post. When I try to make a subtle point, I always get "-1 overrated" by people who don't read carefully. I don't know why I let the bother me, since I still gain unneeded karma.
For those of us that do have boxes of cartridges filling up storage sheds or closet space emulation makes perfect sense. The fact that the majority don't have the carts doesn't mean emulation isn't usefull for those of us that do have carts. Personally I use MESS more than MAME, but that's simply because I have more old console carts than anything.
<RANT>
Why is it that every time a project announces that it is changing it licensing to be GPL, somebody has to ask why it wasn't before? Why does it matter? Really? Who cares why it changed, why it wasn't GPL before, or even that it is GPL now?
</RANT>
I can't say that I don't give a fuck. I've just run out of fuck to give.
The biggest problem with some of the ROMs, even though a lot are Abandonware is that some game makers are realizing that we want to play these old games and are releasing them as packages like Nameco Museum on the GBA and the Pac Man collection too. Who knows, other games may appear this way too.
.sig: It's what's for dinner.
BTW, if you're curious, what makes the difference between video games and gambling games for us is whether skill can make a difference. In gambling games, all is decided by the return ratio the operator set in the configuration
Not for blackjack. Blackjack is a balance between skill and chance, just like Tetris (which MAME currently emulates). A player who know what he doing can beat the dealer pretty reliably in four-deck blackjack.
Outside the realm of coin-op games, is "Casino Kid" a video game?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Then it occurred to me that I SHOULD be able to play the PC version, as it is essentially (but not literally) the same intellectual property as the PS2 game, which I own (or have purchased the right to play).
I would buy this if you were talking about having a tape copy of a DVD you own, because the film only gets made once.
However, the same game for different consoles means spending development time on all of the versions. They're the same game, but different products.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
Sure, there are people who are interested in only piracy, and there are people who are only interested in free games, but in a hundred years, the reason why we will have copies of arcade games from 1975 on up will be because of emulations projects like MAME.
I don't condone piracy to avoid paying for the latest game or to avoid paying a theater for a movie. But there is a difference between downloading GTA3 and downloading a 25 year old ROM that is not available for commercial sale. Not legally, but ethically.
(Btw, support Capcom. They are one of the few companies that will sell [some] older rom images)