Video game consoles ebb and flow like any other piece of technology in this world, rising and falling in popularity based on the latest-and-greatest system and the next must-have game. The evolution is so quick that we often forget there was a time when Nintendo was the king, when the PlayStation was considered groundbreaking for using compact discs, and Sega was still doing something other than milking that blue hedgehog for all he’s worth. Needless to say, video games have come a long way from the heyday of cartridge-based functionality and 2D, side-scrolling masterpieces. But just because a game is old doesn’t mean it’s no longer fun — nothing gets a party going like Diddy Kong Racing, after all. What is emulation?
Play retro games online in your browser! The best quality emulator online for GBA (Game Boy Advance), SNES (Super Nintendo), SEGA (Genesis & Mega Drive), NES and N64 games online. Play your favorite Pokemon, Mario, Sonic, Zelda and Kirby games now. Play SNES Games Online in high quality. All the retro Super Nintendo games for the retro gamer, there are many SNES games in the collection. Start playing favorite SNES emulator games now and use the menu on the right to browse game collections.
That’s where emulators come in. An emulator is a piece of software for your computer that functions as a virtual console, allowing you to play ROM files that work in a similar fashion to digital copies of your favorite cartridges or discs. Most of them do so by recreating the correct environment for games to function, often by using demanding games to determine how API calls should be rendered. As you might imagine, emulating newer consoles becomes tricky without high-end hardware, but even Android smartphones can emulate some older consoles.
The software is pretty easy to obtain — many emulators are freeware distributed as zip files, after all — but downloading your ROM files online presents a legal quandary since you might not actually own the game in question. The issue is one of intellectual property. Emulators on their own aren’t illegal to use, they’re simply a custom compiler for certain applications.
The actual game files, on the other hand, are a different story. Depending on where you are in the world, the laws regarding personal backups may vary, but the rule is generally that it’s okay to have a digital backup of a game you already own a copy of. Sites that host or share torrent links to copies of games do so for users who don’t have the means to back up cartridges or discs themselves. The exception to this rule is the (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) program, which catalogs classic arcade titles and makes them available as an act of historical preservation.
If you just want to play those titles, look no further.
Welcome to Game-Oldies.com! Play retro games online in your browser at Game-Oldies.com. Game-Oldies.com is an online emulator website and community. We support many classic systems, and add some very often.
Our emulators are written using Adobe Flash technology in order to be compatible with most computers. We support most of the 8-bit and 16-bit systems, including popular ones like Nintendo NES & SNES, Sega Master System & Genesis, but also thousands of arcade games including popular Capcom CPS-1, CPS-2 and SNK Neo-Geo arcade boards. Ready to jump into?
Play now by browsing our games, searching your favorite childhood classic, or learn more on how it works and available features!