>>11969937
Let me set you straight then, OP. Emulators are inherently legal and stay legal so long as new games are not emulated, the user already owns the games, the versions of the games are rare originals hidden by their publishers, or for preserving them for posterity. Furthermore, emulators are always legal when used in conjunction with ROMs of which payment has been received.
Now, see as how I've been playing arcade games since 1979-and got steadily ripped off of numerous quarters due to improper maintenance-all of my "pirating" (as if I'm using weapons against anyone or committing rape;et al) is wholly legal.

>inb4 what of home consoles

It's all fine so long as the companies aren't currently making money from them, but if they don't care, neither should you. Btw stealing is depriving someone of their property, which is wrong and is when someone breaks into a video game store and takes merchandise. That is wrong.
However downloading ancient games that aren't being sold and may never be sold again is a moral act of preserving history and culture, with the side benefit of having fun.