Entertainment/Gaming Consoles

[vsp]

Originally posted by Elspode


Okay...so...let 's say I was wanting to try out this particular ROM image. How would I go about doing that, exactly? I've tried the alleged ROM sites online, but all you can really do there is vote for the site...it isn't like you ever actually get to what they purport to offer.

Of course, I would only be auditioning this in preparation for buying it...

When it comes to console ROMs, USENET newsgroups are your best friend. If you have a decent news feed (which I do -- Verizon's is surprisingly robust), and if you find a newsgroup where someone's posted what you're looking for, you can download everything from entire system collections for older consoles (say, everything for the Atari 2600 in one .RAR file) to CD-ROM images for newer systems like the PSX or Dreamcast.

The caveat is, of course, that you're restricted to whatever other people have posted recently. You can make requests, obviously, but that doesn't mean anyone has to listen. (I've been requesting PSX Cho Aniki for ages...) Still, if you wait long enough and ask politely, just about anything will turn up.

Failing that, there are always peer-to-peer apps.

(Arcade games are found at www.mame.dk; register to enable downloading.)