Study shows 87 percent of classic video games are unavailable to play right now

A study from the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network concluded that nine out of 10 classic games are actually unavailable to play anywhere.

Researchers found that this has occurred as a secondary impact of digital game distribution becoming the preferred route for releasing games. As a result, the “classic” games in this study are games released prior to 2010 which was denoted to be the year when digital game distribution “started to take off”. The list of 1,500 games was randomly generated from MobyGames, the oldest and largest video game database that is available for use.

“For accessing nearly 9 in 10 classic games, there are few options: seek out and maintain vintage collectible games and hardware, travel across the country to visit a library, or… piracy,” explained Kelsey Lewin, one of the directors of the Video Game History Foundation, in the study. “None of those options are desirable, which means that most video games are inaccessible to all but the most diehard and dedicated fans.”

The Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network praised the present efforts of archives and libraries, but claimed “outdated copyright laws are preventing institutions like ours from doing our jobs.” Consequently, the study hopes to achieve “expanded exemptions for libraries and organisations preserving video games” in the next rulemaking proceeding in the United States in 2024, and see video games treated with the same level of consideration as books, movies, audio and so on.

“The video game industry’s main lobbying group has successfully argued to the US Copyright Office that the industry already does enough to preserve its own history commercially, and that additional protections for preservation institutions would hurt their bottom line,” continued Lewin. “We proved them wrong: the industry has actually only managed to make 13 percent of its history available, and it’s unlikely to get better.”

In other gaming news, the swatter who struck Ubisoft Montreal‘s offices three times has been sentenced in a Paris court. Speaking to the media, the 22-year-old asked the publisher to unban his Rainbow Six Siege account as he has spent more than $1,500 on its cosmetic items.