The profile of a typical ROM hoarder?

[lance_miller]

theres been a lot of talk lately of people purposely hoarding ROM images and selfishly keeping them for themselves. what is the reason why they do this? isn't there an advantage to releasing the ROM as it archives the original, and also allows other people to enjoy something that they otherwise couldn't get---sort of like experiencing a piece of history.

 

Also, would anyone on this board for instance admit to being a ROM hoarder? Perhaps they can shed some light on why they are keeping them away from the enjoyment of others. lets face it, an excellent prototype ROM could be so good that it inspires some home brew sequels. then everyone wins

 

Anyone here willing to 'fess up to ROM hoarding (i doubt it)?

[Red_Queen]

Preservation of value.

 

If I loaded up my stuff somebody could just make random copies that is no diffrent. I think most people have at least one game that has not been uploaded yet.

 

I have seen five so far that is unreleased.

 

1. some fish RPG on N64

2. A gun game for the X-box that you have to order

3. A Remake on the X-box

4. Some kinda fighting game on the Saturn

5. Another RPG on the N64

6. An adventure game on the GBA

 

Also there is communities who share the stuff between each other leaving them out. Also some people here fo not have copy devices or the where abouts to get such programming devices.

 

There is also the games that is at companies that is unreleased like

 

Bullet Proof Monk

Beyond Good and Evil Sequels for the GCN and X-box

N64 Treasure hunter with some African based woman being the star almost like RE that looks extremly good.

D dinner table R2

Some other Have call of the King

Resident Evil demos.

 

and of Four Horsemen of Apocolypse...WTF they have not released that game yet on the GCN. They have the screens.

 

Then there is Ports like

 

Haven call of the King

 

Resident Evil demos.

 

RE4 has matrix affects but you can access them with a code deivice.

[Snider-man]

The reasons are as varied as the people collecting. Other than those posted above, other reasons may include:

 

- The ROM is based on a copyrighted/protected character that is still very much under copyright protection. If you don't want your butt sued into the next century by the Disney folks (or worse, have the chip confiscated as "intellectual property"), you just may want to keep that "Goofy's Swim Meet" ROM to yourself.

 

- I think another part of it is the collector's mentality of uniqueness. As long as the collector is the only one who has it, it's a one-of-a-kind collectible. It's like owning a unique piece of art. Let's say you have the MOna Lisa and no one else does. Hell, no one has ever laid EYES on it. There's only a rumor it exists, but YOU have it in your house. Only YOU have ever looked at it and know of it's existance. Nifty feeling of ownership there. Now let's say you allow prints to be run and/or copies are being made. Sure, everyone else has a cheap knock-off compared with your original, but the "essence" is no longer unique. It's no longer as exciting to be The Owner as everyone now has an identical version in their home too.

 

- Personally, I think this next point is a big 'un. Why give away something for free that cost you plenty? If *I* had spent years making contacts and meeting folks/asking for leads, and I later in life have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase a never-before-heard-of ROM for thousands of dollars, I don't think I'd be very willing to just give it away just because the nameless masses are clamoring for it. *I* spent the time and effort. *I* followed the leads and made the phone calls. *I* emptied out my bank account to get it. And now you want me to just GIVE it to you because you want to play it? No thank you, ma'am.

[+Random Terrain]

- I think another part of it is the collector's mentality of uniqueness. As long as the collector is the only one who has it, it's a one-of-a-kind collectible. It's like owning a unique piece of art. Let's say you have the MOna Lisa and no one else does. Hell, no one has ever laid EYES on it. There's only a rumor it exists, but YOU have it in your house. Only YOU have ever looked at it and know of it's existance. Nifty feeling of ownership there. Now let's say you allow prints to be run and/or copies are being made. Sure, everyone else has a cheap knock-off compared with your original, but the "essence" is no longer unique. It's no longer as exciting to be The Owner as everyone now has an identical version in their home too.

I never understood that mentality. Getting excited about being the only person to have something is weird. It's like competition taken to its nerdiest level.

 

"I have this, you don't! I win!"

 

"Congratulations. You're king nerd. What exactly did you win anyway? I will now give you one more thing that no other nerd has."

 

"Oh boy! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme! I want it now! What is it?"

 

"My boot up your ass."

 

 

- Personally, I think this next point is a big 'un. Why give away something for free that cost you plenty? If *I* had spent years making contacts and meeting folks/asking for leads, and I later in life have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase a never-before-heard-of ROM for thousands of dollars, I don't think I'd be very willing to just give it away just because the nameless masses are clamoring for it. *I* spent the time and effort. *I* followed the leads and made the phone calls. *I* emptied out my bank account to get it. And now you want me to just GIVE it to you because you want to play it? No thank you, ma'am.

Or if that kind of crap gives you a tingle in your naughty nuggets, you could make sure everyone knows that the ROM came from you. Tell people all of the trouble you went through to get the original and how you deserve to be worshiped. Keeping cool stuff to yourself is kind of like swimming in a stagnant, disease-ridden pool.

[Red_Queen]

The ROM is based on a copyrighted/protected character

 

Well that would pretty much be everybody who uses a emulator including you. Nobody cares about man laws but god laws only.

 

I never understood that mentality.

 

Mentality is not a word...it is the persons sight of things. Like a comic book, car, or even

 

Getting excited about being the only person to have something is weird

 

That is basically like falling in love with another person and having a relationship. The idea of this with a object is the same thing in terms of the mentionable of people of the objects. Like if we started to show our most collectable goods people would react diffrently and that would feed the value and pride of the object in afemerel terms.

 

"Congratulations. You're king nerd. What exactly did you win anyway? I will now give you one more thing that no other nerd has."

 

1.Well if you owned the retired concord at the strip how would all the speed fanatics react?

 

2. A nerd is a good thing nowadays unless your a idiot. Go to any college to find to find some.

 

3. The fact is we need to tie ourselves to something psyhical, not image wow we have children and that is the only that matters in the world.

 

Oh boy! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme! I want it now! What is it

 

That is a implusive buyer, which is everybody who buying the stuff in stores. A person hunting stuff outside consumers goods is on a entirely diffrent level. It is perfectly normal to go crazy over a higher grade material. I mean even the newer users who is comming around is good for the people who have been hoarding.

 

you could make sure everyone knows that the ROM came from you

 

Do most people read the movie credts?

 

It's like competition taken to its nerdiest level

 

Well most people who are into videogames is nerdish. To be honest I would rather be then spend time in the mirror all day fixing up my hair, watching tv, or making a super meal.

 

There is no competition. Think about the Olympics where people are forced to perform and do feats of super human, and then nothing after that...but only a few who actually go on to keep on doing the same thing. It is the same exact thing with everything. Some of us in life goes on to make the things people uses, while others in life are spenders and have nothing in the end.

 

Keeping cool stuff to yourself is kind of like swimming in a stagnant, disease-ridden pool

 

Your just saying that since you don't have anything cool. It is not good to be jelous.

[+Psionic]

Your just saying that since you don't have anything cool. It is not good to be jelous.

Huh?

[mos6507]

Most of the ROM hoarders are really physical prototype hoarders. So they are trying to keep the value of their investment high for the future repro run or Ebay auction. Those who just have the ROMs are usually one step removed from the physical prototype hoarders and were only given the ROM in exchange for promising to not release the BIN. So they cut a deal with the devil.

 

What tends to ultimately happen, though, is another copy of the proto will turn up, from which a bin will be released, and whatever damage is done to the proto's value as a result is done.

 

The hoarder has no legal standing to use to withhold the ROM from distribution as they don't own the original copyright. So if they look at the cart as an investment, it's in their best interest to sell it while it's still known to be the only copy.

[+Random Terrain]

Mentality is not a word...it is the persons sight of things. Like a comic book, car, or even

What in the heck are you babbling on about? Mentality is "a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations." It's a mind-set. A mental attitude.

 

 

 

A nerd is a good thing nowadays unless your a idiot.

Unless you're an idiot, you'd know that "your a idiot" is not something a nerd from college would post in a forum. There's nothing wrong with being a nerd, but being a grasping, ultra-competitive nerd who gets his self-esteem from the rare things that he owns is just as pathetic as non-nerds who get their self-esteem from all of the rare sports cars that they own or whatever expensive crap they think they must have to fill the hole inside of them that can never be filled with objects.

 

 

 

Your just saying that since you don't have anything cool. It is not good to be jelous.

First, you don't know what I have. Second, I'd never be jealous that a person had a prototype or rare finished game because you usually find out that it sucks once it is released. The only thing that is good about rare items, most of the time, is that people with more money than brains will want to pay you a ton of money for the item just because it's rare. Rarity doesn't make me want to own something. I want to own something because it will provide years of fun, it will make my life easier, or it will save time or money.

[Red_Queen]

That is it I don't care about this topic no more I am too bored to counter-chat with somebody who feels buying a demo is not worth it. Personally I have gotten to the level where I play a little of everything, and get back to games at a later date. I will admit, there is too much at stake to break into a good game. I have been playing more comic adventures, and mini-games lately. I am done with this topic unless something new arises.

 

GAME OVER

 

I am only posting this over here since the board is not displaying anymore messages. Expect no more replies on this topic.

Edited June 19, 2008 by Red_Queen

[RARusk]

Red Queen = Rugal Sizzler wannabe.

 

Either embrace the madness or just let him be, your choice.

[A.J. Franzman]

Red Queen = Rugal Sizzler wannabe.

I dunno about that, but IMO he writes similarly to wrenchien.

[+Random Terrain]

Regaurdless of meaning this is a psycologist word who reads Frauds book of cocaine nonsense as if it was the bible. It is a way of thinking and has nothing to do with a persons attitude, responce mecanism, or problem sloving. Hell a person who thinks fish swims in the sky and elephants live in the deep blue sea will know there ways around the world.

 

The word mentality is a unfit word in any language and as a buyers responce to a item should relates to there way of thinking, regaurdless of the manor that it is given.

 

I just dislike the word to refrence to somebodies way of thinking since it is used commonly as anti word like gang, notorious, or even minor. I hear that word and think about the selfish people who has a terrible way of thinking themselves.

Well that was a big ball of nothing. Any other words in your dictionary from planet crazy that people shouldn't use?

 

 

 

What is the diffrence when some people only want play prototypes while other people only want to play the game for the game?

 

They have the same fun, or your going to tell me that you have a magic fun meter that measure funness? Like I was playing a game where I would not have fun if it was a regular game but just for that small diffrence I have oodles of fun with that knowledge alone.

In case you didn't notice, my post wasn't about people who love to play unfinished games. It was about people who collect them as if owning unfinished games somehow makes them special (based on the post by Snider-man).

 

 

 

but being a grasping, ultra-competitive nerd who gets his self-esteem from the rare things that he owns is just as pathetic as non-nerds who get their self-esteem from all of the rare sports cars that they own or whatever expensive crap they think

they must have to fill the hole inside of them that can never be filled with objects.

 

That is just your opinion on people who would rather not follow the crowd of implusive spenders. It is like if I am a scientist I collect body parts, past expriements, and even souls in the bottle. There is no diffrence to the carrer feild, it is the want that comes with the need. Back then I will admit I wanted this and that, however that was a childish manor after seeing commercials on during my cartoons. However we grewed to love this type of media and it is apart of me. For some it is a hobby for others it is there lives.

People who say "that is just your opinion" need a swift kick in the nuts. Of course it's my opinion. Would you rather have me post Abraham Lincoln's opinion? I'm talking about a certain type of collector that Snider-man brought up and you're going off of some crazy B.S. that has very little to do with what I was talking about.

 

 

 

ultra-competitive nerd who gets his self-esteem from the rare things that he owns is just as pathetic as non-nerds who get their self-esteem from all of the rare sports cars that they own or whatever expensive crap they think they must have to fill the hole inside of them that can never be filled with objects.

That makes no sense? How is a person a non-nerd for getting into cars, busses, and planes? There is no diffrence and half of those guys can't even afford to live in a house in a positive area of town. The people who do autos tends to be iffi sometimes also if you havent noticed.

 

Have you seen these so called non-nerds in action?

You have a special talent for focusing on things that don't matter. The point is, whatever society has labeled you, getting your self-esteem from the things you own is pathetic. It should come from the inside, not the outside. If you base your worth on what you own, what happens if you lose everything?

 

 

 

First, you don't know what I have

Then where is this cool stuff that I assume you don't have? Images, references, words, something to negotiate that you have cool stuff?

 

Kids don't count also. I have met tons of people with cool kids and they are horrible people compared to there children

I don't have to list the things I have that I might think are cool to some faceless nutbag on the Internet. If something has to be expensive and rare for you to think it's cool, look elsewhere because I never had a desire for expensive and rare things. Except for a cool futuristic house that would probably cost millions, most things I'm interested in cost less than $1,000.

 

Don't expect any more replies from me. I'm tired of wading through what seems like the insane ramblings of a lunatic or the work of a troll who likes to play the part of a nut.

[darthkur]

Red Queen = Rugal Sizzler wannabe.

 

Either embrace the madness or just let him be, your choice.

 

I'd place a fair wager that Red Queen and Rugal Sizzler are one in the same person. The inane responses, gratuitous misspellings and general butchery of the english language are equally prevalent between the two.

 

 

Don't expect any more replies from me. I'm tired of wading through what seems like the insane ramblings of a lunatic or the work of a troll who likes to play the part of a nut.

 

 

I'd say that's a very good idea. Whether these postings are the result of an extremely mentally disturbed person or some weirdo pretending to be so, for some unfathomable reason, is of no matter. Trying to make any sense of it is tantamount to trying to disassemble your car's engine with a Q-tip. It just can't be done.

[carmel_andrews]

If you like ROM's....Use Emule...not the internet

 

Apparently there's a lot more goodies on emule if you look hard enough (that's where i got all the amiga bios's from...incl. modd'd versions)

[skeen]

If you like ROM's....Use Emule...not the internet

 

Apparently there's a lot more goodies on emule if you look hard enough (that's where i got all the amiga bios's from...incl. modd'd versions)

I'm just curious what these modd'd versions are? I've never tried Emule, but recently found a torrent with 100+ kickstart Roms. I don't think any of them were modded though. Also had good luck finding Amiga game torrents.

[jimid2]

If you like ROM's....Use Emule...not the internet

 

Apparently there's a lot more goodies on emule if you look hard enough (that's where i got all the amiga bios's from...incl. modd'd versions)

What does eMule offer me that justifies it's $6.95 installation fee? If I have to PAY to run the install program, I damned well want to know what it is I'm getting for my money... It looks like nothing more than another peer-to-peer client to me from what I can see on the website...

[skeen]

Hey jimid2, I checked out emule recently and it there is no charge. You must have stumbled on someone trying to scam people.

Try the official home page 2nd one down on google.

[carmel_andrews]

Sorry, I don't have the latest emule...only an old one (v. .48)...didn't need to pay for it or anything

 

Only downside to emule is that like is better known but no longer available variant EDONKEY...Emule employs a 'queueing' system and sometimes it can be several 100 or 1000 people deep...so you have to wait for your file to dwnload

 

 

in regards to the file with the modded amiga bios's...just type amiga o/s in emule (best select either global server, filedonkey or if connected KAD network) and look for the following file

 

Amiga.Kickstart.Roms.-.All.Amigas.(a1000.Through.Cd32).All.Action.Replay

 

I do have it on my HD, unfortunately I don't have a BB connection/ only DU and as it's not my connection i haven't got 1 and 1/2 hours to wait to upload the file to AA...sorry (the file is over 18 meg's in size...zip filed)