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:''This is an explanation of a what a console emulator does. For a list of existing emulators, see list of video game emulators.'' A video game console emulator is a type of emulator that allows a computing device, usually a personal computer, but also other video game consoles and mobile devices running operating systems such as Android to emulate a video game console's hardware and behavior and play games for that platform. Emulators are most often used to play older video games on personal computers and video game consoles, but they are also used to play games translated into other languages or to modify (or hack) existing games. More often than not, emulators offer additional features above and beyond that of the original console, such as multi-controller compatibility (such as PSX controllers being used with N64 games and vice versa), timescale control, higher framerates, higher resolutions, unlocking of gameplay features, memory modifications (like GameShark), and one-click cheat codes. Emulators are also a useful tool in the development process of homebrew demos and the creation of new games for older or discontinued consoles. Code and data of a game are typically supplied to the emulator by means of a ROM file (a copy of the data contained on a game cartridge) or an ISO disc image (for systems that use optical media). Most game titles retain their copyright even with the original system and games being many years past discontinuation and increasing rarity, so many resort to the obtaining of these games for free on various internet sites rather than purchasing and ripping the ROM from the game (although, this is popular among those who already own the games). Specialized adapters such as the Retrode allow emulators to directly access the data on game cartridges without the need to copy it into a ROM image first. ==History== By the mid-1990s personal computers had progressed to the point where it was technically feasible to replicate the behavior of some of the earliest consoles entirely through software, and the first unauthorized, non-commercial console emulators began to appear. These early programs were often incomplete, only partially emulating a given system, and often riddled with defects. Few manufacturers published technical specifications for their hardware, leaving it to programmers and developers to deduce the exact workings of a console through reverse engineering. Nintendo's consoles tended to be the most commonly studied, for example the most advanced early emulators reproduced the workings of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and the Game Boy (GB). Programs like Marat Fayzullin's iNES (which emulated the NES), VirtualGameBoy (GB), Pasofami (NES), Super Pasofami (SNES), and VSMC (SNES) were the most popular console emulators of this era. A curiosity was also Yuji Naka's unreleased NES emulator for the Mega Drive, possibly marking the first instance of a software emulator running on a console. The rise in popularity of console emulation opened the door to foreign video games and exposed North American gamers to Nintendo's censorship policies. This rapid growth in the development of emulators in turn fed the growth of the ROM hacking and fan-translation community. The release of projects such as RPGe's English language translation of ''Final Fantasy V'' drew even more users into the emulation scene. ==Legal issues== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Video game console emulator」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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