Emulators. They’re a touchy, murky, grey-area subject for many people and one that we don’t touch on a lot here on the site due to their often quasi-legal status. But we can’t ignore the fact that they exist, and so I want to devote today’s topic to asking where you stand on the issue of emulators.
Keep in mind that there are three categories in play here, more or less. There are emulators of currently operating MMOs, there are emulators of dead MMOs that studios often turn a blind eye to (such as Star Wars Galaxies or Earth & Beyond), and there are studio-sanctioned player-run servers, as in the (eventual) case of Asheron’s Call.
Personally, I’m torn. The law is the law, but in the case of abandoned projects, I would much rather see them continue in some format than left to rot. What do you think?