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Why Resurrect Abandoned Games? An Industry Analyst's Perspective and a Watchdog's View

Technology may allow computer games to be effortlessly distributed over the Internet, but why exactly are players interested in doing so? Is it because these games are free? Is it to play specific genres of games that may be somewhat scarce today, like adventure games? Is it to relive fond memories from their childhood?

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Why would you track down this classic game?
All of the above, says Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with Jupiter Media Metrix. "Game fans download and play classic games out of curiosity and nostalgia. And new games that are based on classic series will increase interest in influential games, such as Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, or Ultima." Pidgeon adds that many of these games debuted long before impressive graphics were even possible in computer games, so these games "survive on gameplay alone."

As to why these abandonware games are so easily accessible, Pidgeon believes that chasing down these sites and services may prove too costly or time-consuming. "If publishers or developers retain copyrights and can generate profits by selling older games, they may see benefits in restricting unauthorized distribution of these golden oldies," says Pidgeon. "And many abandonware titles, such as Doom, are in the public domain due to widespread availability of freely shared demos, and in some cases publishers are defunct or have allowed copyrights on older software to lapse."

"Downloading one of these games from the Internet without the authorization of the copyright holder is illegal."
-Doug Lowenstein, IDSA president
But according to Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), an organization that has actively sought out sites providing free games, abandonware is a black-and-white issue, not a gray one. That is, while Lowenstein agrees that abandonware is a result of the "quality and long-standing appeal of these titles to gamers," he cautions: "The unalterable and indisputable fact is that downloading one of these games from the Internet without the authorization of the copyright holder is illegal because it involves making a copy of the work."

"There is no justification for that, whether the game is in release or not," says Lowenstein. "The copyright holder of a game should be the only one who decides whether to authorize this activity or not, based on its own determination of the commercial plans for the title. That is a copyright holder's prerogative, and there may be a number of factors as to why a publisher would or wouldn't want to do so." For example, Lowenstein says it's a well-known fact that companies will often release new versions of classic games years after have they have fallen out of circulation, and abandonware may hurt the success of those reissues.

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Being old doesn't make an abandonware game any more legal to download.
According to Lowenstein, the IDSA generally pursues enforcement actions against any Internet sites that offer unauthorized versions of any games published by any of the organization's members. "Some of these have included what might be referred to as 'abandonware' sites," admits Lowenstein. Generally, these come in the form of a standard "cease and desist" letter.

Lowenstein continues: "While it's true that warez sites typically involve a more-insidious form of piracy, the IDSA enforcement program is comprehensive enough to include any sites that offer illegal versions of member company game titles, whether classics or new releases, and no one should feel the type of site [either abandonware for classics or warez for new releases] creates a safe haven."

As an example of its efforts, the IDSA recently attempted to shut down Home of the Underdogs, one of the first and most popular abandonware destinations on the Web. We'll hear from Home of the Underdogs and its fight to exist later on, but first, let's turn to the game publishers to see what they have to say.


 
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