Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie

thelostsoul

@zhajdu Roms itself aren't illegal to sell, if they got the license. But this thing is out of control and many are selling roms without a license. There are too many to fight against. If you kill one, 5 appear, it is almost impossible. Even famous pseudo-rapper tries this. In China is no thing such as copyright (is this correct?) and so the market is flooded with roms filled machines.

Besides this, there are still roms which are free. Some companies gave them free to use, some homebrew developer made games by its own and gave it free to the internet. And then there are roms you can buy and use legally in your emulator. But you are not allowed to sell them, as long as I know.

mitu

@zhajdu RetroPie does not come with any ROMs. The fact that some people sell systems preloaded with both RetroPie and ROM doesn't mean it's legal - see the episode @thelostsoul talked about in the (in this topic or anywhere else).

zhajdu

@mitu I know I know on the other hand everyone is playing with something.

mediamogul

@zhajdu said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

on the other hand everyone is playing with something.

Perhaps, but that's a decision that every end-user should make for themselves. This thread is proof that it's entirely possible to source a quality selection of ROMs legally. By including copyrighted material, the sellers you mention are aiming to enhance the value of their otherwise overpriced offerings and profit off the hard work of others. That's not only illegal, it's just pretty damn slimy.

mitu

Looks like Konami released an Anniversary Arcade Classics the other day:

Scramble
TwinBee
Nemesis (also known as Gradius)
Salamander (also known as Life Force)
Typhoon (also known as A-Jax)
Haunted Castle
Vulcan Venture (also known as Gradius II)
Thunder Cross

cyperghost

There are some freebies ready to download here

The MegaDrive games are brilliant...

DEFLECTOR
RICK DANGEROUS II

matthewrt

Hi All. Here's a little feedback for those who might be interested. I've succeeded in setting up a RetroPie with roms aquired via some of the methods described here. I've been able to extract roms from the Steam MagaMan 1-6 collection and Sega Genesis Classics collection. I also succeeded in extracting the NeoGeo Metal Slug rom from the linux installer purchased from GOG.

Clyde

@matthewrt Thanks, and welcome to the forum. :)

pbuyle

https://atarigamer.com/articles/in-2019-we-have-eleven-new-games-for-the-atari-lynx
11 Atari Lynx games to download for free

themazingnesd

@BenMcLean A possible lead for the paid section is the PC versions of Taito Legends and Taito Legends 2. I haven't verified this, but I read this on one of the Steam community forums. They aren't in production any more but you can still find copies to buy online.

VictimRLSH

Something else I forgot to mention about the Aminet is they have a TON of music content too, more techo than you can shake a MOD file player at.

BenMcLean

Wow, I really need to update this, and my PI. :)

Clyde

@BenMcLean Welcome back!

BuZz

Is this the latest topic on this subject? Let me know if not as I pinned it.

GOG have just released a bunch of games for free. Some which may be usable on RetroPie. I've not checked thoroughly but this seemed like the best place to post even being an old thread.

https://www.gog.com/partner/stay_at_home

simpleethat

@BuZz I can't recall any more recent.

VictimRLSH

Oooh, they got Ultima IV for free now. :)

BenMcLean

I really need to update this

BenMcLean

I thought I had updated this with everything but then I saw RetroBrews. Will have to try that out soon!

BenMcLean

@RetroBrews please add a script that automates downloading and running all the other scripts to get all the ROMs at once

thelostsoul

Great list. Here are some more emulated games in Steam. But I don't know if the roms can be taken out.
https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/SNK
https://store.steampowered.com/app/400020/Atari_Vault/