With the coming of the internet, we are able to view an uncountable amount of information. We are also able to download just as much content. Music, movies, word documents, system32 files, the list goes on. We are even able to download components of consoles and big name cell phones such as the iPhone which can add to their capability, to make them even better.

We can even download games, and with emulators of all kinds and sorts, play them on our computer. This post isn't about the negatives and positives the industry gets from people downloading them. I am more concerned about the moral ethnicity about doing such a thing, what rules applies to it, etc.

I love old games. As the industry got more advanced, in my eyes the games got worse. Games like Super Mario were extraordinarily simple, and yet to this day you can still play it and love it all the same, no small thanks applied to nostalgia. Most people will say downloading any NES and SNES game would be alright because they are just so damn old that they are not being published any longer, and add on how Gamespot only sells current generation games, it will be near impossible to find a physical copy.

But isn't this stealing? Our Sunday school lessons should define this as so, but this is a very different medium, and different rules apply. File sharing is illegial because the company is losing money every time a person downloads a game. But if the publisher no longer publishes a game, how are they losing money? Simply put, they aren't. Even if you got it used, the publisher doesn't get a penny. It all goes to Gamestop.

Age has alot to do with the morality of downloading games. If its a game that was just released, or was about to, most people would look at you with shame. But if its something SNES, NES, or heck, even PSX generation, people wouldn't be so hard on you. After all, those games are hard to find. Case in point: you won't find Final Fantasy VII anywhere. Thanks to some wonderful parent groups who felt the game was teaching their kids terrorism and witchcraft, all the big name stores took the game off shelves.

So how in the world are we supposed to get that game? Ebay? That's a very risky maneuver, and there is still the risk of you getting a game that doesn't even work. It is an old game after all, and these things are to be expected.

Downloading is a feasible option here. Its not hard to go to a torrent site, do Final Fantasy VII Ultima (the fan modified version of the PC port which does away with the CDs and puts in fan created updates, God bless their souls). In a few days (or hours, if your very lucky) you will have one of the greatest games ever made on your hard drive. And since the PC version had even less copies sent out than its PSX counterpart, it can see why Final Fantasy VII – of both kinds – is such a popular search on torrents.

In my opinion, age and availability is the only thing that keeps one from downloading current games. Square-Enix is still making money off of Final Fantasy XII. I am always seeing new games coming in at my local Gamestop. The same goes for Final Fantasy X, IX, and heck even VIII. Sure, they are the greatest hits versions, but they are still versions being publishes. Thus, they are versions that SE is making money off of. The games are old – FF8 is 10 years old, if my memory is right – but they are available. You may have to do a little hunting for them, but that is nothing compared to what you would need to do for most PSX and other Golden Age games.

My personal quote is this: if the game is at least eight years old, is no longer being published, and can't be found at any retailer (unless its at an outrageous price that exceeds even the released price) , then I am validated for downloading a game. Perhaps yours is different. Maybe it's the same. But remember, there are consequences for every action. It probably won't affect you directly, but if people keep on downloading brand new games, it won't be long until we will have to dish out seventy dollars for a game.