Editing ROM image (section)

== Uses ==

=== Emulation ===
[[Video game console emulator]]s typically take ROM images as [[Input (computer science)|input]] files.

=== Software ROM ===

ROM images are used when developing for [[Embedded system|embedded computers]]. Software which is being developed for embedded computers is often written to ROM files for testing on a standard computer before it is written to a ROM chip for use in the embedded systems.

=== Digital preservation ===

The lifespan of digital media is rarely great. While black-and-white photographs may survive for a century or more, many digital media can become unreadable after only 10 years. This is beginning to become a problem as early computer systems may be presently fifty or sixty years old while early home video consoles may be almost forty years old. Due to this aging, there is a significant worry that many early computer and video games may not survive without being transferred to new media. So, those with an interest in preservation are actively seeking older arcade and video games and attempting to dump them to ROM images. When stored on standardized media such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs, they can be copied to future media with significantly reduced effort.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property |last=Conley |first=James |author2=Andros, Ed |author3=Chinai, Priti |author4=Lipkowitz, Elise |author5= Perez, David |title=Use of a Game Over: Emulation and the Video Game Industry, A White Paper |volume=2 |issue=2 |date=Spring 2004 |access-date=2009-05-06 |url=http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/njtip/v2/n2/3/ |quote=Fans of classic games argue that emulation preserves video arcade games, many of which would otherwise be approaching extinction.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About MAME |work=[[MAME]] |url=http://mamedev.org/about.html |date=2007-11-30 |access-date=2009-05-06 |quote=MAME is strictly a non-profit project. Its main purpose is to be a reference to the inner workings of the emulated arcade machines. This is done both for educational purposes and for preservation purposes, in order to prevent many historical games from disappearing forever once the hardware they run on stops working.}}</ref>

The trend towards mass digital distribution of ROM image files, while potentially damaging to copyright holders, may also have a positive effect on preservation. While over time many original ROM copies of older games may deteriorate, be broken or thrown away, a copy in file form may be distributed throughout the world, allowing games which would otherwise have been lost a greater chance of survival.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Hyman |first=Paul |date=2004-10-08 |access-date=2009-05-06 |title=Game over? Not if preservationists have their way |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663278 |quote=[T]he archivists feel that the more copyable something is, the more likely it's going to survive in the long term. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928102455/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000663278 |archive-date=September 28, 2009 }}</ref>

=== Hacks and fan translations ===
{{Main article|Fan translation of video games|ROM hacking}}

Once games have been made available in ROM format, it is possible for users to make modifications. This may take the form of altering graphics, changing game levels, tweaking difficulty factor, or even translation into a language for which a game was not originally made available. [[ROM hacking|Hack]]s can often take humorous forms, as is the case with a hack of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] version of ''[[Mario Bros.]]'', titled ''Afro Mario Brothers'', which features the famous brothers wearing [[Afro|Afro haircut]]s. The ''Metroid Redesign'' mod is a hack of ''[[Super Metroid]]'' that revamps the game and adds new objectives.

A large scene has developed to translate games into other languages. Many games receive a release in one part of the world, but not in another. For example, many [[role-playing video game]]s released in [[Japan]] go unreleased in the West and East outside Japan. A group of [[Fan translation|fan translator]]s will often translate the game themselves to meet demand for titles. For example, the 1995 game ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]'' was only officially released in Japan; DeJap Translations translated the game's on-screen text into English in 2001. Further to this, a project called [http://topping.zophar.net/vop/ Vocals of Phantasia] was begun to translate the actual speech from the game. An official English version was not released until March 2006, some five years after the text translation was released. Another example was that of Mother 3, a Japan-only sequel to the cult-favorite [[EarthBound (series)|Earthbound]]. In spite of massive fan response and several petitions for an English translation, the only response from Nintendo was that Mother 3 would be translated and released in Europe, which it never was. Instead, the fan website Starmen.net undertook a massive [[translation project]] and released the translated version of Mother 3 in October, 2008. The translation was praised by fans and even employees from Nintendo, Square Enix, and other industry professionals.

The Japanese [[Nintendo 64|N64]] game ''Dōbutsu no Mori'' (Animal Forest) has also been translated into English. The game was originally only released on N64 in Japan, but it was ported to [[GameCube]] and renamed [[Animal Crossing (video game)|Animal Crossing]].

Hacks may range from simple tweaks such as graphic fixes and cheats, to full-blown redesigns of the game, in effect creating an entirely new game using the original as a base.