Bootleg games
Term for unofficial video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In video game parlance, bootleg is a term widely used with varying range of usage, including but not limited to pirated games,[1] multicarts,[2] asset flips, romhacks,[3] modifications marketed as full games,[4] unauthorized reproductions, fan games,[5] unlicensed titles, unofficial ports and demakes,[6][7] plug and plays,[8] video game clones[9] and any titles that use copyrighted materials without a license or permission. They have garnered wide attention in the gaming community, often infamy, with seemingly bizarre choices in game design,[10] poor graphics and glitches, mistranslations[3] and blatant disregard for copyright, but have also garnered a cult following with appreciation given towards their creativity, the creation of increased gaming accessibility in the developing world, the pushing of hardware limits,[11] the use of what limited resources the developers often had available, their influence on official titles[12] and their wider place in video game history.[13]
