Game backups that have been distributed and/or acquired through unauthorized methods have existed for a long time. No amount of anti-piracy measures affected the act and only serve to hold back the inevitable. So why haven't companies resorted to selling their games on an easily distributed format that is usable on a variety of platforms such as emulators or flash carts? To hazard a guess, it's because this method does not translate into profits very well. It also opens companies up to relentless piracy and bootlegs of their games which in turn can affect sales for official retail copies on the market. Not only that, bootlegs also affect the consumer when they get their hands on a badly produced print causing permanent damage to their console. I do not claim to be someone who directly runs a business or has any knowledge on how unauthorized access to games affect a company, but I firmly believe it's more important to openly provide options to your potential customers instead of limiting access to your games behind specific services or formats.
Long before emulation went mainstream (relative to how widely accepted it is now), companies would reprogram their older games to run on later platforms and re-release them often as part of compilations. As time went on, compilations would become lazy collections of ROMs and emulators. I would see no real value in these compilations unless they included bonus historical content such as interviews or concept art but also had games not easily accessible or emulated in the first place. Fast forward to today, official compilations are mostly shallow and contain regular ROMs running on first party emulators typically locked behind proprietary containers. How do we know they are regular ROMs? because dedicated individuals have extracted the ROM files straight out of their proprietary containers. Without the need to alter or manipulate the files, these same extracted ROMs can be used with free emulators which has convinced people that buying the compilations were perfectly legal workarounds of obtaining the ROMs. There are some re-releases of classic games on PC that do not hide the ROM file leaving them to be plucked out easily by visiting the installation directory. I happen to own a few of these compilations and can rest easy knowing the publishers have been compensated for the ROM I decided to extract and enjoy on my preferred emulator.
Very few of the more prolific indie developers have released the full version of their games as ROM files. More often than not, the most some publishers or developers will do is release free demos while the full game is reserved for people who buy a cartridge. I have more respect for a confident company like Bitmap Bureau who let people know ahead of the cartridge version's release of Xeno Crisis that the NeoGeo ROM would be available after a certain amount of time once people got their pre-ordered copies. In the meantime, you were still able buy the ROM files for the Dreamcast and Genesis versions of Xeno Crisis on their website. Another company I have a lot of respect for is Morphcat Games who have also made the original NES ROM accessible with the purchase of the digital version of Micro Mages. It's evident that the ROM version has not affected these developers in a negative way since they continue to work on new projects, with Morphcat Games even releasing free NES games after the success of Micro Mages, albeit they are short NES games. There is no doubt people have gained access to these ROMs without having compensated the creators, but the exact same thing can be said about the DRM-Free indie games released on GOG and it does not stop indie developers from publishing there.
While it's easy to empathize with their rightful concern of the ROM version diminishing the value of the cartridge, limiting the potential audience to physical collectors has me question if these games are actually well made or only profit off of the novelty of being developed for a retro console. The physical collectors market is very tough to get into these days unless you are lucky to find what you want or are able to put in a pre-order in time to get a reprint of a game. Appraisers are going off the wall with the prices of the used games market with prospecting buyers accusing them of artificially causing shortages. Not many are able to join the hobby without investing time and money, but then again some people do get off on the hunt. Consoles are only becoming rare that even the hardly functioning units are demanding very high prices. Aftermarket solutions consisting of clone consoles are either so cheaply produced they are not fully compatible with the majority of even the commercial library or too expensive to produce that they are released in limited quantities. Most people are already content with emulation at this point with some looking towards FPGA emulation for a more faithful and low-latency experience. Why not begin tapping into this market?
In the past, I've sent several emails to some developers and publishers regarding releasing their games as ROMs. The few that did respond back to my inquiries had good reasons for their decisions. Companies in charge of distributing some of these cartridges had already signed exclusivity contracts so I speculate that these contracts would have to expire before the publishers or developers would even be allowed to think about releasing these games on other formats. The replies that make me hopeful are always the ones where I am told that eventually they will sell the ROMs, but not how soon or when. It just puts me at ease that they have the intention to do so. There is one elusive developer who has failed to respond to both of my emails that I sent out at least a year apart. Part of me has already accepted that I was probably blocked, but then there are stories of other people who have sent similar emails and have gotten negative replies from this developer. Being asked if you will release the ROM by many people might get tiresome, but that is a huge problem happening when you decide to only release your highly demanded indie game in limited quantities on one platform without offering others the option to buy it in a different format. From this same developer, there have been re-releases on modern consoles with added features or gimmicks, yet the originals retain the same demand or higher.
If you're genuinely interested in supporting developers through the purchase of a ROM or would like to provide free publicity by demonstrating their games in a gameplay video, I have come to rely on itch.io as the leading distributor of these ROMs. Most ROMs on Itch.io will be decently priced, but you will also find free games and demos that actually run on a flash cart or MiSTer FPGA for you to check out.
Do you agree that more developers should be open to selling the ROMs of their games, even if we have to wait a certain amount of time after the cartridge version goes on sale? Are there any other outlets or developers who might currently only offer their games on other websites?
