<s>
A	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
,	O
or	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
file	I-General_Concept
,	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Operating_System
file	I-Operating_System
which	O
contains	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
read-only	B-Device
memory	I-Device
chip	O
,	O
often	O
from	O
a	O
video	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
cartridge	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
used	O
to	O
contain	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
firmware	B-Application
,	O
or	O
from	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
's	O
main	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
frequently	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
emulation	O
,	O
whereby	O
older	O
games	O
or	O
firmware	B-Application
are	O
copied	O
to	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
files	I-General_Concept
on	O
modern	O
computers	O
and	O
can	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
software	O
known	O
as	O
an	O
emulator	O
,	O
be	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
different	O
device	O
than	O
which	O
they	O
were	O
designed	O
for	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ROM	B-Device
burners	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
copy	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
to	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
such	O
as	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
ROM	B-Device
chips	I-Device
,	O
for	O
debugging	O
and	O
QA	O
testing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ROMs	O
can	O
be	O
copied	O
from	O
the	O
read-only	B-Device
memory	I-Device
chips	O
found	O
in	O
cartridge-based	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
and	O
many	O
arcade	O
machines	O
using	O
a	O
dedicated	O
device	O
in	O
a	O
process	O
known	O
as	O
dumping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
most	O
common	O
home	O
video	O
game	O
systems	O
,	O
these	O
devices	O
are	O
widely	O
available	O
,	O
examples	O
being	O
the	O
Doctor	B-Device
V64	I-Device
,	O
or	O
the	O
Retrode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
are	O
often	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
preserving	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
computer	O
games	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
also	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
facilitate	O
the	O
unauthorized	O
copying	O
and	O
redistribution	O
of	O
modern	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
the	O
GameCube	B-Application
uses	O
non-standard	O
8cm	O
DVD-like	O
optical	O
media	O
,	O
which	O
for	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
prevented	O
games	O
stored	O
on	O
those	O
discs	O
from	O
being	O
copied	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
not	O
until	O
a	O
security	O
hole	O
was	O
found	O
in	O
Phantasy	B-Application
Star	I-Application
Online	I-Application
Episode	I-Application
I	I-Application
&	I-Application
II	I-Application
that	O
GameCube	B-Application
games	O
could	O
be	O
successfully	O
copied	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
GameCube	B-Application
itself	O
to	O
read	O
the	O
discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SNK	O
also	O
employed	O
a	O
method	O
of	O
copy	O
prevention	O
on	O
their	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
games	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
The	B-Application
King	I-Application
of	I-Application
Fighters	I-Application
in	O
1999	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
an	O
encryption	O
algorithm	O
on	O
the	O
graphics	O
ROMs	O
to	O
prevent	O
them	O
from	O
being	O
played	O
in	O
an	O
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
thought	O
that	O
this	O
would	O
mark	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
emulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
2000	O
,	O
hackers	O
found	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
decrypt	O
and	O
dump	O
the	O
ROMs	O
successfully	O
,	O
making	O
them	O
playable	O
once	O
again	O
in	O
a	O
Neo	B-Application
Geo	I-Application
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
company	O
which	O
used	O
to	O
employ	O
methods	O
of	O
copy	O
prevention	O
on	O
their	O
arcade	O
games	O
was	O
Capcom	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
CPS-2	B-Application
arcade	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
stated	O
intent	O
was	O
to	O
wait	O
until	O
CPS-2	B-Application
games	O
were	O
no	O
longer	O
profitable	O
to	O
release	O
the	O
decryption	O
method	O
(	O
three	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
last	O
game	O
release	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
full	O
decryption	O
algorithm	O
was	O
cracked	O
in	O
2007	O
by	O
Nicola	O
Salmoria	O
,	O
Andreas	O
Naive	O
and	O
Charles	O
MacDonald	O
of	O
the	O
MAME	B-Device
development	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
copy	O
prevention	O
technique	O
used	O
in	O
cartridge-games	O
was	O
to	O
have	O
the	O
game	O
attempt	O
to	O
write	O
to	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
an	O
authentic	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
this	O
would	O
do	O
nothing	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
emulators	O
would	O
often	O
allow	O
the	O
write	O
to	O
succeed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pirate	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
also	O
often	O
used	O
writable	O
chips	O
instead	O
of	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
reading	O
the	O
value	O
back	O
to	O
see	O
whether	O
the	O
write	O
succeeded	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
could	O
tell	O
whether	O
it	O
was	O
running	O
from	O
an	O
authentic	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Game	O
Boy	O
games	O
,	O
also	O
had	O
other	O
hardware	B-Architecture
such	O
as	O
memory	O
bank	O
controllers	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
cartridge	B-General_Concept
bus	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
would	O
send	O
data	O
to	O
this	O
hardware	B-Architecture
by	O
attempting	O
to	O
write	O
it	O
to	O
specific	O
areas	O
of	O
ROM	B-Device
;	O
thus	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
ROM	B-Device
were	O
writable	O
,	O
this	O
process	O
would	O
corrupt	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Capcom	O
's	O
latest	O
arcade	O
board	O
is	O
the	O
CPS-3	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
currently	O
implemented	O
by	O
MAME	B-Device
and	O
a	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
CPS-2	B-Application
emulator	O
Nebula	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Video	O
game	O
console	O
emulators	O
typically	O
take	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
as	O
input	B-General_Concept
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
are	O
used	O
when	O
developing	O
for	O
embedded	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
which	O
is	O
being	O
developed	O
for	O
embedded	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
is	O
often	O
written	O
to	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
files	I-General_Concept
for	O
testing	O
on	O
a	O
standard	O
computer	O
before	O
it	O
is	O
written	O
to	O
a	O
ROM	B-Device
chip	I-Device
for	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
,	O
those	O
with	O
an	O
interest	O
in	O
preservation	O
are	O
actively	O
seeking	O
older	O
arcade	O
and	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
attempting	O
to	O
dump	O
them	O
to	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
stored	O
on	O
standardized	O
media	O
such	O
as	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
and	O
DVD-ROMs	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
copied	O
to	O
future	O
media	O
with	O
significantly	O
reduced	O
effort	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
trend	O
towards	O
mass	O
digital	O
distribution	O
of	O
ROM	B-General_Concept
image	I-General_Concept
files	O
,	O
while	O
potentially	O
damaging	O
to	O
copyright	O
holders	O
,	O
may	O
also	O
have	O
a	O
positive	O
effect	O
on	O
preservation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
over	O
time	O
many	O
original	O
ROM	B-Device
copies	O
of	O
older	O
games	O
may	O
deteriorate	O
,	O
be	O
broken	O
or	O
thrown	O
away	O
,	O
a	O
copy	O
in	O
file	O
form	O
may	O
be	O
distributed	O
throughout	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
allowing	O
games	O
which	O
would	O
otherwise	O
have	O
been	O
lost	O
a	O
greater	O
chance	O
of	O
survival	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
games	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
available	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
format	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
make	O
modifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hacks	O
can	O
often	O
take	O
humorous	O
forms	O
,	O
as	O
is	O
the	O
case	O
with	O
a	O
hack	O
of	O
the	O
NES	O
version	O
of	O
Mario	O
Bros.	O
,	O
titled	O
Afro	O
Mario	B-Application
Brothers	I-Application
,	O
which	O
features	O
the	O
famous	O
brothers	O
wearing	O
Afro	O
haircuts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Metroid	O
Redesign	O
mod	O
is	O
a	O
hack	O
of	O
Super	B-Application
Metroid	I-Application
that	O
revamps	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
adds	O
new	O
objectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
1995	O
game	O
Tales	B-Application
of	I-Application
Phantasia	I-Application
was	O
only	O
officially	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
;	O
DeJap	O
Translations	O
translated	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
on-screen	O
text	O
into	O
English	O
in	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
example	O
was	O
that	O
of	O
Mother	O
3	O
,	O
a	O
Japan-only	O
sequel	O
to	O
the	O
cult-favorite	O
Earthbound	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Japanese	O
N64	B-Operating_System
game	O
Dōbutsu	B-Application
no	I-Application
Mori	I-Application
(	O
Animal	O
Forest	O
)	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
translated	O
into	O
English	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
only	O
released	O
on	O
N64	B-Operating_System
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
GameCube	B-Application
and	O
renamed	O
Animal	B-Application
Crossing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Image	O
files	O
derived	O
from	O
computer	B-Architecture
tape	I-Architecture
are	O
known	O
as	O
tape	B-Application
images	I-Application
,	O
while	O
those	O
derived	O
from	O
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
and	O
CD-ROMs	B-Device
(	O
and	O
other	O
disk	O
formats	O
)	O
are	O
known	O
as	O
disk	B-Application
images	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Images	O
copied	O
from	O
optical	O
media	O
are	O
also	O
called	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
,	O
after	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
standard	O
file	B-Application
systems	I-Application
for	O
optical	O
media	O
,	O
ISO	B-Application
9660	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creating	O
images	O
from	O
other	O
media	O
is	O
often	O
considerably	O
easier	O
and	O
can	O
often	O
be	O
performed	O
with	O
off-the-shelf	O
hardware	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
tape	B-Application
images	I-Application
from	O
games	O
stored	O
on	O
magnetic	O
tapes	O
(	O
from	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
Sinclair	B-Operating_System
ZX80	I-Operating_System
computer	O
)	O
generally	O
involves	O
simply	O
playing	O
the	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
using	O
a	O
standard	O
audio	O
tape	O
player	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
line-in	O
of	O
a	O
PC	O
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
then	O
recorded	O
to	O
an	O
audio	O
file	O
and	O
transformed	O
into	O
a	O
tape	B-Application
image	I-Application
file	O
using	O
another	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
