Way back in time, a plea was made by the Software Preservation Network and the Video Game History Foundation to let libraries share old video games with researchers online, but sadly, that wish was crushed.
The US Copyright Office, agreeing with video game lobbyists like the Entertainment Software Association, feared that letting libraries share these games would mean people might play them for fun, not research, breaking copyright rules.
The Video Game History Foundation expressed their dismay about this decision, highlighting a startling fact: “around 87 percent of video games released in the United States before 2010 remain out of print.” Frank Cifaldi, who leads the foundation,
, “I’m proud of the work we and the orgs we partnered with did to try and change copyright law. We really gave it our all, I can’t see what else we could have done. This fails the needs of citizens in favor of a weak sauce argument from the industry, and it’s really disappointing.”
Interestingly, the decision also noted that allowing libraries to do this might hurt video game companies’ plans to resell old games. Yet, groups like VGHF argue that companies, even big ones like Nintendo, often leave their old games unavailable or out of print.
Sometimes, fans feel like their voices aren’t being heard at all.
What comes next for those who want to save video games is uncertain, but the ESA has already made it clear they won’t budge on the idea of sharing these games online with researchers.
