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Popular fan translation and ROM hack-sharing site CDRomance has taken all of its hosted files off-site after an apparent legal challenge.
CDRomance is popular with retro gamers as it hosts a variety of pre-patched ROMs that give easy access to fan-translated games or titles which have been subject to fan-made improvements and modifications.
"CDRomance is an engaging online community and archive dedicated to preserving the heritage of video gaming with a focus on fan contributions," reads the site's official description. "Our collection showcases a wide range of fan-made mods, mods/hacks, translations, and original games, as well as freeware and abandonware titles. Committed to the ethical and non-commercial distribution of games, CDRomance offers a valuable resource for game enthusiasts and historians, celebrating the ongoing creativity and dedication of the gaming community."
The site's summary also notes that it complies with the DMCA.
It was noticed recently that the site is no longer hosting any files, although details and links to the original patches are still online:
However, all is not lost; as spotted by Twitter @gunstargum, the files have been moved to a different location:
There's been a crackdown on ROM-sharing sites recently following legal action from IP holders who take obvious issue with their copyright being infringed. While CDRomance hosts patched games, it naturally doesn't own the copyright to the titles being distributed.
However, critics of such practice are keen to point out that, by removing such sites, video game preservation takes a considerable hit; if companies aren't interested in translating games from decades ago, then fan-made, pre-patched versions are a vital means of getting these games to new audiences.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 13
Normally I wouldn't have anything to say about ad-running ROM sites, but CDRomance is run and maintained by a really dedicated videogame fan. He actively updates the fanhacks on his sites and writes lengthy and accurate descriptions, respects fan translators who ask if their work not be posted in pre-patched form, and works pretty tirelessly to answer people's questions quickly. Everytime I have a little update to my PSIV retranslation he has it updated within 24 hours with a reply, which is pretty amazing considering how big the site is and he probably has a real life beyond it!
It's not because of the pre-patched ROMs that the site has gotten to be such a great resource.
Glad the site is continuing!
It had the fastest downloads I had ever seen.
A game which would take an hour on the Internet Archive took 3 to 4 seconds on CDR.
It allowed me to fill my ODE for multiple systems.
As said, the site owner was super cool. When a rare DC game wasn't loading for others, I sent one I had from years ago, and that same day he replaced it.
This off site hosting. Is it as fast? How long will it last?
I'm tired of the "but it's piracy" excuse used by companies. As a creative I've issued take downs for my books being hosted. But they are still sold. There are CD games from 30+ years ago no one even remembers, the rights holders are gone, and the only way to experience them is spending a fortune to buy a copy off speculative scalpers.
The law needs to delineate between something still available, and something forgotten to limbo.
I'm going to miss CDR, like Emu Paradise before it.
That’s a real shame, I often get pre-patched ROM hacks and translations from there as it’s often quicker than doing the patching myself (I usually find I’ve got the wrong dump of the ROM that the patch needs!)
Sometimes I find hacks there I’d not heard about too, so it was a really useful resource. Hopefully this “workaround” continues to be available.
First of all, RIP CDromance, if this is the end. Secondly I used this site a lot, and donated to Spike's Kofi. I used this site since it sucked, it had nothing on it, maybe like 7 years ago or something, and I watched it grow into the best thing since emuparadise. But I knew this was coming, it just got too big to ignore, and the comments sections were full of riffraff. This is just what happens when things get too popular, it happened to the "emulation on android" subreddit too. Demanding normies who want everything handed to them, going around telling everyone to go there. This is why we can't have nice things. Hopefully Spike can keep going with the prepatched rom files, that was the best feature of the site.
Will continue to check in see what’s new for hacks and patches
A couple of notes: The ESA was the group who filed the copyright complaint. 2: The site itself didn't actually get a DMCA, it just got a notice that google will be checking over it to see if they'll still be willing to put ads on the site. You can check out their discord for more info.
These corporate pigs who treat games like Star Wars films with all these limited edition botched rereleases can try and take preservation away from us, but you can never stop the preservationists and pirates, we’ll always come out on top and for every rom site you take down, another one will take its place>; )
@alexybubble Didn't know they had a Discord, will check it out! And thanks for the info
This definitely sucks though, one of the few genuinely great sites on the internet. An absolute treasure trove of forgotten gems and hacks that deserve to be out there and loved by everybody.
Speeds seem OK with the new method. Grabbed the translations of Linda3 and Boku Natsu 2.
CDRomance is a great resource for both ROM preservation and hacks. As I have said before on both YouTube and NintendoLife, if purchase no longer guarantees ownership (I'm looking at YOU Sony), then piracy is no longer theft. I have zero problem with the distribution (for free though, not for profit) of ROMs for discontinued gaming platforms. Pirating ACTIVE gaming platforms like Gary Bowser was involved in is obviously not okay.
I donated money to them during Christmas and thanked the admin for archiving so much good stuff. My Retroid Pocket 3+ wouldn't be the same without it, I'm so happy the site is still up and hosting roms and ISOs.
He doesn't have any new or newish content and his Nintendo roms are limited to fanhacks from a bygone era so I don't see what all the hoopla is about. Vimm's Lair and edgeemu.net are also great sites I highly recommend.
"There's been a crackdown on ROM-sharing sites recently following legal action from IP holders who take obvious issue with their copyright being infringed."
well, i have 2 more video game purchases then i will be going full piracy aside from ps+ (glorified rental and the paid multiplayer) and buying dlc for games i already have.
any future purchases will be via resell or third party sources so these companies get NONE of my money.
why? after 30+ years of putting money into this industry and things only ever getting worse, i QUIT! NO MORE REWARDING THESE COMPANIES!
if it's not malware (drm and kernel lvl anticheat), it's content cut out and sold on the side for extra profit (aka dlc) or microtransactions or MUH LIVE SERVICE BS!
NO MORE REWARDING IT!
i know how to get what i want for approximately $0.00! instead, i'll finally be ticking a few things off my to-do list like getting a few decently large external hard drives...
The thing in that tweet doesn't seem to work anymore. Going to cdromance.com just forwards you to the .org site.
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