Marketing itself as an online video game rental store, Console Classix offers a paid subscription giving you access to thousands of games from a variety of platforms: ranging from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo 64, our beloved GameBoy Advance, and many more.

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Console Classix differs from a standard rental store in that you don't actually receive the physical game at home: you're actually playing ROMs using emulators. So how does that work? Why are they claiming this service as fully legal, and why has it been up and running for so many years? According to the owner, Aaron Ethridge, this is all due to a legal loophole of sorts:
1) For starters, Console Classix owns at least one physical copy of every game it distributes
2) When someone wishes to play a game, the game isn't actually stored on the gamer's computer, it is only available in RAM so there is no (easy) way for the player to retain the game. So this can be considered as lending rather than distributing.
3) Console Classix doesn't lend more ROMs simultaneously than it owns physical copies. If they only own 1x Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) cartridge, then there can only be one person playing that ROM at a given time through their emulation service.

Whether or not this is technically legal, Console Classix has yet to be taken to court. Back when they started their business, they received a cease and desist letter from Nintendo, but this never went any further, and so Mr. Ethridge went on with his business.

What do you think about such services? Have you ever used Console Classix?

Make sure to read Ars Technica's excellent article on the subject

 

[Raylight]

Isn't afraid eh? we'll see about that

 

[Cyan]

Sounds about as viable as those video game bars in Japan. Btw, a number of said bars were dunked, those were all physical copies too.
derp

It makes me think about these video game shops where you can play LAN games in dedicated room. the place is now closed in my town, but it wasn't a bar, you paid for one hour play session. I don't think the owner ever asked copyright owners authorization to play "outside of the home private circle".
And that's probably the same with all LAN party ever created everywhere in the world. are owners contacted before playing in a public space?
How about video game store providing a simple TV and console in free access?
Tomorrow my town makes a public Just dance contest ! I wonder if Ubisoft or Nintendo gave their agreement to display Wii consoles publicly. edit: seems they canceled it. I wonder why... or just already did it part of a past gaming exhibition.

I always wished making an association, or a sort of place where people could come and play video games, and where I could teach about legal hacking or homebrew development, but I wonder how it would cost to get proper authorizations.

 

[Kourin]

That title is a bit odd, it implies this is some sort of major business and the average user is paying him for ROMs but in reality this thread is the first most of us are hearing about him.

 

[Costello]

That title is a bit odd, it implies this is some sort of major business and the average user is paying him for ROMs but in reality this thread is the first most of us are hearing about him.

it's a figure of speech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech
there's a strong chance that no gbatemp user (not one) has ever gotten a paid subscription to that service, considering, you know...

 

[Deleted User]

Never heard of them, but it's really damn clever. However, just because you ignore a C&D doesn't mean you aren't in the wrong. It's more likely Nintendo's lawyers usually are complied with, assumed the job was done, and never did a follow up.

 

[ThoD]

Interesting take on the whole thing, lending still counts as distribution though (it would be legal if they had official rights to lend games like rental stores do), but oh well, getting to play some good old stuff is more than worth it with everything that's going on on most major hosting sites. Wish it was free though...

 

[Localhorst86]

I can forsee them being gone soon. This is, at a strecht, a grey area. But I feel like it probably is not legal at all.

 

[MikaDubbz]

Its cute that they think they are in the legal right here. Just saying I wont be surprised to see them down within a year, especially now that they're calling attention to themselves.

 

[Zumoly]

I think Nintendo cannot do anything against their system.
They are basically using the "buddy" system where the law cannot interfere in any way.
I can pretty much rent my own cart games and ask for a small fee no?
That's so smart I might actually do it

 

[KiiWii]

And it’s entirely impossible to dump the rom data from the ram..... uhuh

 

[Localhorst86]

I can pretty much rent my own cart games and ask for a small fee no?

Not a lawyer, but my guts tell me "no". As soon as payment is involved it's a commercial background and different rules apply. You'd most likely have to get the copyright owners to agrree to some sort of licensing. Afaik, DVD Rental shops had to purchase specific Rental versions that were a lot more expensive, they couldn't just walk into Bestbuy, get a bunch of blurays and rent them out.

 

[FAST6191]

Never heard of them. Interesting take on things though, and proving losses in that scenario would be very difficult which would make a civil case that much harder.

I am not sure of the hard specifics of game rental in the US right now -- a lot of it got complicated not long before the DMCA arose (1996 WIPO and 2004 Madrid Protocol) so I will leave that one for now. Practically though it seems free and clear and unrestricted in the sense that one does not need to buy rental specific copies like we saw in VHS and DVDs.

Cases wise I would probably look at that one where people were making censored versions of DVDs and buying/destroying a copy for each one sold. They got smacked down though.
Similarly the RAM defence might be slightly shaky, some of the World of Warcraft cases hinging upon such a thing. Few were happy with the interpretations the lawyers were using for that though.

 

[hamohamo]

gotta admit. if you actually ever use this shit then you gotta be the huge fucking moron.

 

[Costello]

I can forsee them being gone soon. This is, at a strecht, a grey area. But I feel like it probably is not legal at all.

they're older than us, what makes you think they'll be gone soon? Nintendo will do something because they are getting press coverage?

 

[Localhorst86]

they're older than us, what makes you think they'll be gone soon? Nintendo will do something because they are getting press coverage?

Lets face it: this is the first time most people ever heard of this company. It's by no means as far as big as emuparadise or loveroms was. With the recent crackdown by Nintendo regarding ROM sites, I would assume this business would also reappear on big Ns list of targets.

While the concept of the site does not sound morally wrong, I do believe that, despite their confidence, the site technically has no legal right to operate the way they do.

 

[DinohScene]

I thought it was prohibited to lend it to others when you bought a game...

 

[ThoD]

I thought it was prohibited to lend it to others when you bought a game...

It is, they are just nitpicking because they think using similar words that alter the definition of laws are loopholes No matter where you live, copyright laws are international and while dumping disk images (ROMs) for own personal/private use is legal, lending out either the item itself or a dump of it IS illegal as you need a license from the publisher/copyright owner in order to do that (if for a fee, if free it's straight up piracy). That's the reason Steam for example can't sell a game unless the copyright holder puts it on there, because it's renting games, just indefinitely, so they need license/permission from copyright holder (also reason games disappear from places like Steam when the holder changes).

 

[PRAGMA]

I'm actually working on a similar project with a much bigger goal in mind
> Be able to start a game in mere seconds
> All from a browser with no downloads
> Mass-Compatibility

So, it will have roms, but you wont be able to download them for use outside my project.
The project is a website, it allows you to play emulators on any system (Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox One, *switch should in theory work, but the webkit might have stripped necessary features for it to work*)
All it requires is a keyboard input, OSD Input wont be a feature at least not on initial launch.

It's essentially like this, but many people can play the same game at the same time, it doesn't lock-down the game when its full.
It will also be pay-walled just like this website, except it will be a pay-by-monthly service.
Essentially getting it to work just like a Spotify-like system which is well due.

I cant say its 100% legal, but I can definitely say its less illegal then other rom related websites out there.

 

[DarthDub]

Sounds like a paid version of Vizzed..

 

[Spider_Man]

Loop hole my ass unless he is paying a lease on the games then he is breaking the law.

All games state unothorised copying, even charging to rent is prohibited and regardless where it's stored he is charging a fee to play.

It even says something along the lines of broadcasting.

I'm sure it won't be long I'd he keeps acting like egohot, that Nintendo will shut him down.