In partnership with the Video Game History Foundation
<https://gamehistory.org/>, the Software Preservation Network
<https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/> is excited to share the first
ever survey of the commercial availability of classic video games
<https://zenodo.org/record/7996492>.
Video games are part of our cultural history. But while the video game
industry and cultural heritage institutions agree that video games should
be preserved for both entertainment and study, there is disagreement about
whether the commercial market preempts the need for libraries, museums, and
archives to expand their preservation activities. The study, written by
Phil Salvador, seeks to better inform discussions of video game history and
preservation by gathering empirical evidence about the state of the video
game reissue market in the United States.
The results are stark: Only 13 percent of historical video games published
in the United States are currently in release. These low numbers are
consistent across platform ecosystems and time periods, dropping below 3
percent for games released before 1985. These results raise questions about
whether the commercial market alone can adequately preserve the medium of
video games, particularly for the needs of researchers.
Why did Phil and the SPN Law & Policy working group do this now? Well, the
next rulemaking proceeding <https://www.copyright.gov/1201/> under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), Title 17, section 1201, of the
United States Code is scheduled for 2024. As it stands, libraries are
allowed to digitally preserve video games, but they can only provide
on-site, and not remote, access. We’re hopeful that this study will inspire
broad involvement in enabling stronger software preservation, and that it
will support an expanded exemption that makes access policy development for
preserved software in the US more clear.
In addition to reading the full report, you can glean more from this
groundbreaking study through several blog posts from the VGHF
<https://gamehistory.org/87percent/>.
We hope you will find the study informative — please share with your
colleagues and communities!
Best regards,
Jess on behalf of the SPN Law & Policy Working Group
<https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/core-activities/law-policy/>
--
Jess Farrell | she/her/hers
Community Facilitator <https://educopia.org/bitcurator-edu/>
Software Preservation Network <https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/>
and BitCurator Consortium <https://bitcuratorconsortium.org/>
Educopia Institute
Schedule time with me: https://calendly.com/facilitator-jess/
Working from Malden, MA
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