Jamie Sanders And The virtualNES

By: Eric M. Martin

Saturday February 16, 2008

If the Colonel were a gamer, this would be his secret recipe for retromania!
Greetings gamers! Static Multimedia had the privilege of interviewing Jamie Sanders, the creator of the much-beloved website, virtualNES. Unfortunately, it has fallen prey to some copyright issues, but this has not deterred its creator from making sure it will live on. Without further ado, here is a small glimpse at the mind behind vNES.

Static Multimedia: What was the defining moment in which you decided, "time to make virtualNES!"

Jamie Sanders: I've been interest in Emulation since about the age of 8, really. After examining a handful of NES emulators in Java, it seemed that the existing solutions are either horridly slow or have rather low compatibility. The concept of playing NES games using a browser always seemed like a logical step, and hopefully one that would dent the output of the productions of those awful Flash remakes of NES games.

Static Multimedia: After all was said and done, why choose Java?

Jamie Sanders: Java is something of a challenge, and really, it seems like a better idea to deliver all this server-side, instead of trying to assist non-technical users in configurating an emulator. At the time, the only logical choice for implementing a web-based emulator was by using Java, and with the introduction of Silverlight, that might change. I could easily be wrong, however.

Static Multimedia: Can you describe the process in what it took to put a ROM onto vNES, from start to finish?

Jamie Sanders: After we've obtained the copy of the cartridge, we take a screenshot of the game, assign it an identity code, and upload it to the server network. The game then gets listed on the pages of vNES.

Static Multimedia: Now that you've done this, how much fanmail do you get?

Jamie Sanders: When I was listed on Digg, it was a good 50 letters a day for six weeks. When the forums were brought around, I stopped listing my email, but we're probably going back to the "just send me an email" method.

Static Multimedia: How much trouble did you think you would run into with copyright laws, and how much did you, or do you, actually have to deal with?

Jamie Sanders: Because of the way vNES is designed, it conveniently skates around the current copyright laws, making it legal to run. There have been attempts to close the loophole used in vNES to stay legal, and to prevent interruption of service, we've begun asking people to donate their old NES games. If we build a warehouse of the old NES games, it becomes much more difficult for overly-litigious organizations to cause headaches for the team.

As for actual results, we deal with a minor problem every three to four months. It happens, I don't mind it so much.

Static Multimedia: Is there anything bigger or better after this, or have you achieved all you wish to achieve?

Jamie Sanders: Right now, I'm a little more concerned with school. I've also been getting a good amount of playing Nintendo DS games, and trying to learn Japanese.

Static Multimedia: If you had to narrow your list down to your ten favorite NES games, please list them, with the top being your most favorite.

Jamie Sanders: That's a hard one. I'd have to go with Super Mario Bros. 3, Baloon Fight, Ice Climber, Monopoly, Bomberman 2, Shatterhand, StarTropics, Solomon's Key, Anticipation, and Kabuki Quantum Fighter.

Static Multimedia: Contrarily, if you had to permanently delete ten games, please list them, with the top being your least favorite.

Jamie Sanders: I'm a little selfish, so some of the games I don't particularly like haven't been added. Then, I get people angry with me, because their favorite games aren't there. So, I'd have to go with Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, 10-Yard Fight, American Gladiators, Bad Street Brawler, Barbie, Classic Concentration, Urban Champion, Paperboy, Othello, and Micro Machines.

In order to help keep virtualNES out of the claws of illegality, please visit: http://www.virtualnes.com/help/aid/games.html. The idea is that if there is a collection of the games actually physically owned by Jamie, the operation of virtualNES should not be illegal, considering the games themselves are not downloadable, but merely playable on the site. And, dependant upon your donations, there may be a little something in it for you as well. Keep this alive, if you are so inclined. I know I am! Who wouldn’t want the entire archive of the NES on their computer for their own time-killing benefit?

Any questions, comments, or donation inquiries, please feel free to visit the website or contact Jamie Sanders: thatsanderskid-at-gmail.com.