A study published by the Video Game History Foundation offers a stark revelation about the current state of the preservation industry. While it is true that the vast majority of silent films were lost to the cinema due to a lack of a suitable format and that many of the tapes of old television programs were rewritten, the history of classic video games could suffer the same fate.
According to VGHF research, 86.73% of classic video games released in the United States as of 2010 are in critical danger of disappearing, and over time this is becoming more likely. Only 13.27% of historical games are represented in the current market. The only way to access these is on the one hand with the original ‘hardware’ and ‘software’, whose prices have risen in recent years. On the other, through piracy, which includes illegal copying and downloading.
The problem on the part of the same companies and distributors is that they are not facilitating access to their retro catalogs.. Sometimes they can re-release the games for current platforms. But most of them simply leave them relegated to the room of oblivion, protected by legal actions for those who try to access them by other methods. It’s as if popular VHS movies couldn’t be seen on any format other than a VHS cassette.
9 out of 10 do not have preservation
We all know and are aware that the internet is a kind of huge digital archive with a vast amount of ROMs, ISOs and all kinds of extensions related to the history of video games. Users wouldn’t have to rely on potentially virulent downloads if there were better digital preservation and predatory resellers didn’t corner the casual physical market. It is there where a correct interactive preservation of history comes in, which is not just about exhibiting them in a museum.
For this painstaking study, the VGHF categorized three types of classic game availability: abandoned, neglected and active. It’s a massive work in progress, but over 4,000 games were vetted for availability. ‘Remakes’, remasters and re-releases (as collections or compilations) are part of the count. If the game is the same but with “slight” improvements like HD resolution, it counts as active. If it’s a radically different product like some ‘remakes’, it counts separately.
PlayStation 2, the best-selling console in history with more than 155 million units, barely has 12% of its catalog availableie games assets. He shutdown of the eShop for 3DS and Wii U left an estimated 1,000 games without the possibility of legal access. The number of Game Boy family titles available has dropped precipitously and the share covered by Nintendo Switch Online is tiny by comparison. These would be part of the category careless. Platforms such as the Commodore 64 do not have any current visibility, so they are part of the abandoned.
there is work to be done
While libraries can digitally preserve and archive, they may not share video games except with special permission. Case different from other media, such as books, movies, audio. Videogames present barriers and obstacles that are sometimes unimaginable and not so fun when studying them. Even the Entertainment Software Association, the organization behind the canceled E3, constantly fights against the preservation of video games in libraries and public archives. Their interests only protect the companies represented.
Know the explanation of the complete study through this link.
Fuente: VGHF
