compl3x Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 After reading about the whole P.T. demo controversy, and enjoying the oxymoron of the idea of "future retro", it got me to thinking about what the future retro gaming scene will look like considering so much of current content is digital. We still have physical evidence of the bygone eras of gaming. People were literally able to dig up old E.T. game cartridges to prove they existed, but in 5, 10 or even 20 years time are recent games going to be largely lost because so many people are switching to digital only purchases? I suppose you also have to ask yourself whether or not you care if games are preserved for posterity. I would argue it is important and perhaps I will elaborate later in the topic but I thought I would get the ball rolling and see what other people thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulligan2k Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 i would suggest the presence of websites like gog.com means you dont have to worry. they already have games on there which are 20+ years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Good point, however, they are largely, or perhaps entirely, concerned with PC games. What about console games? It also puts the posterity of gaming in the hands of private companies which aren't motivated by a desire to archive and preserve gaming treasures but by what they think is profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkyMike Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I thought of the same thing when I watched that video posted by Frank. We all know there are bunkers that hold all sorts of memorable media copies that were released within our time. However are there laws that require developers to at least put aside a physical Gold copy of sorts? Funnily enough I recall that when Remedy released Max Payne 2 on Steam, they removed the copyright protection by using a NoCD exe. There should be some mechanism or law which would require the submission of the Gold copy and the subsequent works / patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 However are there laws that require developers to at least put aside a physical Gold copy of sorts? Not as far as I know. Private companies (publishers or developers) can't be compelled to keep their creation for future generations to enjoy. We all know there are bunkers that hold all sorts of memorable media copies that were released within our time. I don't know about bunkers, but certain artistic creations can be preserved by governments if they are deemed to be of social or historic value. Unfortunately, video games are a young creative outlet compared to music, film, literature and so on. Some of the best creations might never be considered for preservation simply because they were made in a time when they weren't considered important. Many silent era films are completely lost because no one thought it important to preserve them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkyMike Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I don't know about bunkers, but certain artistic creations can be preserved by governments if they are deemed to be of social or historic value. Unfortunately, video games are a young creative outlet compared to music, film, literature and so on. Some of the best creations might never be considered for preservation simply because they were made in a time when they weren't considered important. Many silent era films are completely lost because no one thought it important to preserve them. Pretty sure they have massive salt mine bunkers in the States holding media that are equipped to survive nuclear war or something. You can bet that Star Wars Episode 1-3 can be found in those bunkers ; ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulligan2k Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 You can bet that Star Wars Episode 1-3 can be found in those bunkers ; ). don't you mean 4-6? who would want to keep 1-3? you might as well put the matrix sequels in there too! FunkyMike and +E.Worm Jimmy 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Game are already being preserved - https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games https://archive.org/details/consolelivingroom https://archive.org/details/classicpcgames https://archive.org/details/internetarcade Just because the purchase is digital and physical doesn't take away the fact that the software/data still exists out there online since many people have already started to archive them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I know there are some attempts but a lot of that stuff is demo or abandonware, and even distributing abandonware has had some legal issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Sorta on topic.. Have you heard about the Retro VGS Console? It's a new console that is going to take carts! http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/05/retro-vgs-console-aims-to-revive-the-humble-video-game-cartridge/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Sorta on topic.. Have you heard about the Retro VGS Console? It's a new console that is going to take carts! http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/05/retro-vgs-console-aims-to-revive-the-humble-video-game-cartridge/ Just look up SuperEver Drive or EverDrive 64, I already have both of these and use them in the original consoles, they contain an SD Card with all of the roms for those systems on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneNutter MVC Posted May 12, 2015 MVC Share Posted May 12, 2015 Piracy plays an important role in game preservation, a good example of this is on the classic Xbox. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 More problem is how to preserve our current 'modern' digital-only with online-authentication games, when future generation consider our current games as 'retro' and the authentication server was already dead. https://www.eff.org/files/2015/02/09/2014-07_eff_gaming_exemption_comment.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 don't you mean 4-6? who would want to keep 1-3? you might as well put the matrix sequels in there too! I'm not sure how comparing one terrible trilogy to another terrible trilogy makes one of those better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusi0n Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Just look up SuperEver Drive or EverDrive 64, I already have both of these and use them in the original consoles, they contain an SD Card with all of the roms for those systems on them. I had a few everdrives, Favorite was for my TG16, but I sold them and started buying the carts to collect. However, what I linked to, is a BRAND NEW console with NEW games.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I thought of the same thing when I watched that video posted by Frank. We all know there are bunkers that hold all sorts of memorable media copies that were released within our time. However are there laws that require developers to at least put aside a physical Gold copy of sorts? Funnily enough I recall that when Remedy released Max Payne 2 on Steam, they removed the copyright protection by using a NoCD exe. There should be some mechanism or law which would require the submission of the Gold copy and the subsequent works / patches. Most countries have a national library which actually requires anything published there to be submitted. Norway I know has it, and I believe America has it. there was even an article a while back somewhere about a lost game, where they got the original code/gold master from the library to remake it or something. unfortunately I don't remember what game it was or what the exact circumstances where, but I believe it was some old game, where the original developer had lost everything in a fire or something. FunkyMike 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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