The hypocrisy of 'reproductions'

[Melf]

If I sell you a flashcart, I'm not banking on the fact that you're going to play Star Ocean in english. You can play any game you want to load on the hardware, maybe they're not even copyrighted products, prehaps you're buying the product to play games you've personally developed. I don't know. But if I produce a Star Ocean cart in english I'm directly selling someone else's work. That cart never would have sold in Japanese, what would be the point of buying it over an SFC original? The only thing that makes my cart valuable in the eyes of a buyer is that it's playable in english. A fact that ultimately I had nothing to do with. That's the difference.

Does anyone who sells flash carts honestly believe that people are not going to play copyrighted work? For most of these products, it's not only implied, it's actually advertised as a feature. Look at the listing for the Genesis Everdrive, for example. The first three features listed? It supports the Genesis, 32X, and Master System libraries. The intent of the product is pretty clear there.

To suggest that you have a right to play someone else's work in the format you prefer just because you want it that way IS entitlement.

Aren't flash cards exactly the same thing in this regard, though? Paying someone for the ability to play everyone else's work (ROMs of all types) in this preferred format is less an example of entitlement than doing so on a game-by-game basis? The only difference you're establishing here is that someone is selling you the means to play trademarked work instead of outright selling you the trademark work itself. In terms of your argument of ethics regarding repros, there's ultimately no difference. Facilitating the means to violate copyright is as shady as actually doing it yourself, so again, there's no moral high ground to flash cards in today's consumer market. Everyone knows that people are using them to play ROMs of all types, including those that are copyrighted.

Here is my take on the whole flash cart verses repro cart issue.
First of all, you buy a flash cart you are getting a device that can play almost any games for that one system, including translations, hacks, homebrews. No actual games are sold with the flash cart. Most flashcarts cost 80-150$, soemtimes more.
When you buy a repro, you are paying somebody for one playable game (which can be played off a flash cart). Its like you are paying someone to make you a copy of a game. Repros will cost about 40-50$ and will play one game.
I generally dont think people should be able to sell other people work, which is why I look down on repros. Plus it takes donor carts which is wasteful. Not that I really care if someone wrecks his copy of mario 2, it just seems silly to break an original nintendo product from 1985 to make a hacked together repro that can be played off flash carts.
I think flash carts are a excellent way to play games. I think everybody should be able to enjoy old nes/genesis/snes/atari games without having to own an original or pay for some download.

But if we're arguing intent, how then are flash cards inherently more moral than repros? You're paying someone for the means to play games that are someone else's work. The only difference is that you're paying one person for those means rather than paying for each game individually.

I would disagree with this sentiment. The reason that fan translators get upset about reproductions comes down to the fact that they get uneasy if their patches get sold. They don't want to get in legal trouble. It would be difficult to go after a fan translator who just distributes a patch and lets a private person use that patch (with the implicit "you own the cart already" argument). The word "reproduction" is just a nice word for "pirated game". Selling a reproduction is no different than selling a burned disc of a modern game, though most companies don't bother going after them because they are small time operations. The makers of translation patches don't want any negative attention sent their way from game companies through the sale of pirated copies of games.

A flash cart, however, is not explicitly sold with any game on it. You have to put the games (patched or not) on them after you buy them. There is no destruction of carts, nor is there any copyright infringement at sale. Selling a flash cart is 100% legal, and there are people who get them for playing homebrews and for development work. I've played some of the MSU-1 demos on my SD2SNES, for instance. Playing a translation patched game on a flash cart also brings less negative attention to the hacker, which is the main thing they desire.

Again, I seriously doubt that anyone who sells flash carts doesn't think people are going to play copyrighted ROMs on them, especially when they advertise that feature as a selling point. If we're talking about ethics (and I'm not taking anyone's side, just pointing this out), then facilitating the means to infringe on copyright is as shady as doing it yourself.