Retro games are on the verge of disappearing! How to preserve them? - News - Offical News | Rustar

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Retro games are on the verge of disappearing! How to preserve them? In July 2021, Sony completely shut down all business functions related to the PSP. Although initially planned to close the digital stores for PS3 and PSV as well, the strong opposition from players managed to preserve the digital stores for PS3 and PSV. However, Nintendo, as one of the "Big Three" game companies, was less accommodating. In March 2022, they ceased game sales services for the Wii U and 3DS on their eShops. Despite players' protests, the outcome remained unchanged. As time passes, an increasing number of retro games are losing their chances to be experienced through legitimate means. The Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network recently released a report on the "Disappearing Retro Games," stating that 87% of retro games in the United States are on the brink of disappearing due to their difficult accessibility. As of now, only 13% of retro games are readily playable. The Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 by five industry veterans with years of experience in the gaming industry. Their mission is to archive, preserve, and disseminate the history related to electronic games. The Software Preservation Network (SPN) is a commercial organization founded in 2016, with the mission that all kinds of software should be protected. It's worth mentioning that in this report, "retro games" refer to games released before 2010. VGHF's rationale is that "digital games began to rise from this year." Kelsey Lewin, one of the founders of VGHF, cited "Yakuza," a action-adventure game developed by SEGA and originally released on the PS2 in 2005, in the report. Even though it had a successful remastered version, "Yakuza Kiwami," in 2016, a game produced from scratch should be considered a separate work, especially when the physical version of the original game is no longer available. Kelsey Lewin finds this situation very concerning as it means that players looking to experience these classic games must resort to older consoles or visit specialized museums, which is often too time-consuming and laborious for the average player. Furthermore, Kelsey Lewin pointed out the parallel between the situation in movies and video games. He mentioned, "What if the only way to watch 'Titanic' was to find a VHS videotape and occasionally maintain your old equipment, what would that become? Maybe the Library of Congress would hold and digitize VHS tapes of 'Titanic,' but you would have to go to the library to watch it yourself. It sounds crazy, but this is precisely what is happening to a $180 billion industry and its history." Finally, Kelsey Lewin stated that although museums offer effective preservation means for retro games, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) strongly opposes game preservation, advocating for copyright licenses and allowing the rental of digital games. This research will be used in the 2024 Copyright Hearing to request an exemption for video games. In today's rapidly advancing digital technology era, the difficulty of copyright protection and the increase in copyright infringement make the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998 a crucial legislation to provide strict protection for digital copyright. Unfortunately, this law did not provide effective support for most companies in various industries such as software, movies, and music. It largely prevented people from creating and distributing copies of digitally protected works. While the U.S. Copyright Office allows libraries and researchers to store archives or digital materials, video games are not included, which makes it challenging for VGHF to protect retro games. VGHF is not the only entity working to protect retro games. Many players have tried to port old games to PC platforms. For example, the original "Metal Gear" was repaired by a player named "oxide-NL," fixing numerous bugs and issues before being ported to the PC platform. If no one "protects" these games, experiencing them would require having the corresponding official game discs and a MSX console from 1983, making it almost impossible for players. Nevertheless, these "protection" methods are essentially the same as those used for pirated games and ultimately cannot bypass copyright restrictions imposed by the companies. In terms of the games themselves, as long as the source code exists, the difficulty of restoring the original game is not too complex. However, even if the source code still exists, game companies, for the sake of IP rights, are not willing to make them public. This is the biggest obstacle that VGHF currently faces. On the other hand, companies' "brutal" handling of old games is also a key reason for their own disappearance, as seen with Nintendo repeatedly closing the digital storefronts for their older game consoles with each new iteration. Today, people consider electronic games as the "Ninth Art." Therefore, the history of this art's birth is worth recording. Although the process of preservation is filled with challenges and difficulties, preserving a portion of this exciting history for future generations is undoubtedly worthwhile.

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