ROMs are digital copies of video games that are stored in a computer file. ROM stands for "read-only memory". ROMs are often used to play older games on modern computers.

ROMs are essentially a snapshot of a game’s data at a specific point in time. When used with an emulator, the ROM file tricks your computer or phone into thinking it’s running the original game. For example, an SNES emulator will mimic the functionality of the Super Nintendo system, allowing the corresponding ROM file (such as Super Mario World) to run seamlessly.

A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, or used to contain a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board. The term is frequently used in the context of emulation, whereby older games or firmware are copied to ROM files on modern computers and can, using a piece of software known as an emulator, be run on a different device than which they were designed for. ROM burners are used to copy ROM images to hardware, such as ROM cartridges, or ROM chips, for debugging and QA testing.

There are a bunch of popular emulators made on different platforms, such as RetroArch, ZSNES, or ePSXe, and so on. Multi-system emulators can render games from multiple gaming devices and are compatible with many tools, including Windows, Mac, Android, and sometimes iOS.

Are ROMs legal?

Downloading and sharing ROMs without owning the original game is illegal

ROM files contain code that belongs to the company that made the game

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