Amiga Kickstart ROMS

Amiga Boing Blog cannot legally distribute the Kickstart ROM Files, which are still copyrighted, However you can try out the AROS Download on the Games Download page, to see if you like the Amiga Games which are included, before you choose to obtain the Kickstart ROMS

Unfortunately it seems “Amiga Forever Essentials” has been removed from Google Play (since I can no longer find it listed, and trying to search brings no results for it anymore), which was a Cheaper Legal way (1.79 GBP) to obtain a set of the Amiga Kickstart ROM Files

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Obtaining the Kickstart ROMS Legally:

Via Amiga Forever — https://www.amigaforever.com

• The Value Edition costs 19.95 EUR (21.95 USD* – 16.98 GBP*) but only contains the Kickstart 1.3 ROM, so this would only allow you to play the Kickstart 1.3 side of the Games Collection
  
• The Plus Edition costs 39.95 EUR (43.97 USD* – 34.00 GBP*) would allow you to Fully Play the Games Collection, But this is quite expensive if you only want the Kickstart ROMS

Look in “C:\Users\Public\Documents\Amiga Files\Shared\rom” **

*Prices correct as of August 2024

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I have been asked many times for my Personal View regarding the Amiga Kickstart ROMS so I will exercise my “Freedom of Speech” rights here and basically say ..

The Amiga Kickstart ROM files should be made “Freely Distributable” even if it is just for “Emulation Purposes Only” as the following copyright holders mentioned below have done, so I wish to personally thank every company listed below who have allowed distribution of their System ROMS (some still claim and keep the copyright over the System ROMS too, But have allowed Free Distribution of them)

For example, as of 2022, The Amiga 500 is 35 years old, and Amiga 1200 is 29 years old, and the Amiga is no longer made or sold – so in reality, The Amiga Kickstart ROM files should be put into Public Domain for use with “Emulators”

Amiga Forever even had a cheap way to obtain just the Amiga Kickstart ROM files via Google Play with the “Amiga Forever Essentials (AFE)”, sadly that avenue has been “taken down”, meaning that there is no longer a cheap LEGAL way of obtaining these Amiga Kickstart ROM files

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Many other Emulators come packaged with the required System ROMS, including while the copyright owners still hold onto the copyright, which they are legally entitled to do, but still allow Public Use of them with Emulators, when you download them, for examples please see below:

• The Atari 2600 Emulator, Stella can be played out of the box (I assume the ROMS are embedded in the Executable, since no actual ROM files are visible)

• The Atari ST Emulator, Hatari, includes EmuTOS (an Open-Source TOS.ROM) which allows you to run almost all Atari ST Software, without even needing the Official ROM file, and testing quite a few Games they appear to run fine, unlike the Amiga situation (as described below)

• The Amiga does have a Open-Source project known as AROS, The Amiga-Specific Download you will need is on the AROS Vision website, Click on the download for “Magellan (68k)” which will download an archive, The AROS ROM files are located in the “boot/amiga” folder, AROS-EXT.BIN and AROS-ROM.BIN) Which currently can run some stubborn “Must have Kickstart 1.3” Games, and even AGA-supported Games under the Single ROM file, I am really hoping that one day, This AROS ROM will be able to do it all (both KS1.3 and KS3.1) without requiring the Original Kickstart ROM Files, at that point, nobody will even need to buy any expensive package such as Amiga Forever to obtain them, of course there is a lot of work to do in AROS yet, as it is not yet completely compatible with all Amiga Software

• The ZX Spectrum Emulator, Speccy, has the ROM files included – “Amstrad are happy for emulator writers to include images of our copyrighted code as long as the (c)opyright messages are not altered and we appreciate it if the program/manual includes a note to the effect that “Amstrad have kindly given their permission for the redistribution of their copyrighted material but retain that copyright” (Source)

• Commodore 64 Emulators, such as CCS64, have the required ROM files included in its distribution

• The Amstrad CPC Emulator, WinAPE, has the ROM files included – and says this in its Help File: “A number of ROM images supplied with WinAPE are still copyright to Amstrad Plc and Locomotive Software. Amstrad and Locomotive have given permission for these ROM images to be distributed with CPC emulators, but retains the copyright. They are therefore Freely Distributable with WinAPE.”

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On 1 February 2019, Amiga Inc. transferred all its IP (including Amiga trademarks and remaining copyrights) to C-A Acquisition Corp., owned by Mike Battilana (director of Cloanto, company behind the Amiga Forever emulation package), later renamed to Amiga Corporation) from Wikipedia

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I did a Twitter/X Poll a while back which revealed many Download the Kickstart ROMS, and really I cannot blame anyone for doing this, especially now since Amiga Forever have removed the Essentials package from Google Play, thereby shooting themselves in the foot, as that was a cheaper way of obtaining them without buying the Amiga Forever Package at 30EUR which personally I do feel is overpriced

The Amiga Kickstart ROMS should be released into the Public Domain, even for “Emulation Purposes” like other copyright holders have done (as shown above)

I personally think the Amiga Kickstart ROMS should be Freely Available as well, since holding onto 30+ year old Kickstart ROMS is rather sad, and this is one of the reasons I hate copyright law, which lasts FAR TOO LONG at 75+ years, I would rather term it “Copyshite Law”

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