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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?
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."
"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.
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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