What's your view on abandonware?

[dekkarax]

Abandonware is software that is no longer commercially available or supported, or the copyright ownership may be unclear for some reason.
Some sites offer the download of abandonware games, and while some companies do take legal action to have the game removed, some companies tend to turn a blind eye.
What is your view on it?

Mine is that governments should have some form of legislation on it, just so I know were abandonware stands in the gaming industry

 

[-Seraph-]

I think abandon ware and old games that are no longer sold are completely fine for download. I sigh and roll my eyes every time some uptight person pulls the "you have to have a real copy of the game to have to ROM" bullshit. They don't realize it's a double standard and completely pointless. I think these ROM sites and such are actually a GOOD thing, they distribute games that companies make no profit from anymore, that are really hard to find unless your collector, and show companies that their old games are still being appreciated and play even after so long.

 

[SaintWaldo]

Copyright is supposed to expire. It would be ideal if abandonware could be reliably identified and marked as public domain. Now that services like GameTap and the upcoming Good Old Games, some titles we thought were abandoned may be available by legal means. I purchased the recent redux of "Pirates!" precisely because I had been playing an abandonware version before that was released.

It's really up to the owner to make the product available and support it to claim continuing copyright, IMHO. I know the law differs on this point, but the law can currently be used to grant perpetual copyright, which is the exact opposite of copyright's actual intent. If we fix that part, most of what we consider abandonware could properly be classified as public domain.

And so could the classic Disney movies, which is pretty much the primary reason modern copyright is so completely borked.

 

[TheThanatos]

I love my abandonware. Where else can I get copy's of the old DOS game's I played as a kid?
I have a reasonably big collection of classic PC and nes/snes game's that I love to kick back and play on my wide screen TV via media center. There are some great old game's out there, if not for abandonware these would be nothing more then a few happy memories for some people, to be honest it should be mandatory to play paratrooper, eye of the beholder, and elite and all those classics. Long live abandonware!

 

[DeadlyFred]

Mine is that governments should have some form of legislation on it, just so I know were abandonware stands in the gaming industry

There already is one: the copyrights don't "expire" just because the game is old/no longer supported. Abandonware is a theoretical legal loophole with very little basis in reality. The only case in which it might well and truly apply is in the case of companies which totally do not exist anymore (were never bought by another company, etc) and even then, I'm not sure that voids applicable copyrights.

For any sort of legal action to be taken on the part of "abandoned" games, would admittedly be a long shot but it is still a possibility. If someone wants to spend the time and money to raise a case in the matter.

**Edit** Enlightenment -- Created 1/1/1978 or after - When work is fixed in tangible medium of expression - notice is irrelevant - copyright protecion lasts for the life of author and 70 years based on the the longest living author if jointly created or if work of corporate authorship, works for hire, or anonymous and pseudonymous works, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation.

So they can, apparently, expire but even old DOS games are a long way from that threshold.

 

[Slycne]

With the continued advancement of digital distribution, I think you will see this become a non-issue in the next few years. Steam already offers a number of classic games that are no longer available. As the market shift more and more in that directing and as cost comes down, game developers will likely release their first few runs of production as well as offering it through digital means. Then simply leave it up available once hard copies run out, because once price for hosting comes down( which it will as more and more companies start this) there is no reason for them not to continue to make money should someone want to buy a game years down the line.

Or they could take the Disney approach and screw everyone over...

 

[dekkarax]

Or they could take the Disney approach and screw everyone over...

My money's on screw

 

[GCM]

They should probably at least be available on Steam or something. As emulation, mostly, of course. And this is if the developers still want to make money off it, but only in minute amounts, since few will be looking for it.

Otherwise, leave it online.

 

[kosamae]

Abandonware is kinda like when you're at a resturaunt and the people at the table next to you leave their perfectly good unfinished fries behind. They're not your fries, but you can eat them, and the waitress is going to give you a dirty look when you do.

 

[Amnestic]

Abandonware is kinda like when you're at a resturaunt and the people at the table next to you leave their perfectly good unfinished fries behind. They're not your fries, but you can eat them, and the waitress is going to give you a dirty look when you do.

That's not it at all, because fries are a readily available item at the restaurant. Abandonware, as the name implies, is often used for things which have been abandoned. Games which are no longer in circulation or production.

And as for my opinion, I'm all for abandonware. I miss my Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures game for the Mega Drive

 

[Slash12]

Abandonware is great, I love browsing through abandomware websites and seeing some great old games that I never got the chance to play and being able to download them right there and try them out. Or even seeing old games that I lost and want to play again. Its almost impossible to find a lot of these games anyway in stores so I think its perfectly fine for abandonware to exist.

 

[Jhereg42]

Most Abadonware sites use the justification that if it is not available for purchase anywhere it can justifiably be posted for free. Even with Abandonia and Home of the Underdogs being hugely popular, I can think of very few instances where they have been asked to honor old copyrights. Most of the time when the request is made the comply.

As far as I am concerned, it's pretty fair game. A lot of these old DOS games are classics that would never see the light of day otherwise.

ROMs could become a legal issue now though if Nintendo chooses to push the issue. Wiiware is allowing classic game downloads via digital distribution, so it's possible that they will crack down on ROMs and Emulators in order to promote a few more Wii console sales.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

I suspect abandonware is covered by most existing copyright legislation, just like books and other IP. That being said I don't feel particularly bad about scoring a game that's totally gone from the market off Underdogs or a torrent. The truth is that I'd rather buy it legitimately, for cheap, but I'm trying to have fun and if abandonware is the only way to get a copy of Panzer General I or Ironseed, that's I'll get it. But- the moment the publisher ports it to XP/Vista and releases it on Good Ol' Games for $6, I'm there, dude.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Abandonware is a dubious thing in most cases.

There are a few cases of things which actually are legitemately abandonware. Elder Scrolls: Arena. Renegade's old pointy clicker games like Beneath a Steel Sky and Flight of the Amazon Queen (both playable on SCUMMVM, and you have no fucking excuse not to, especially BaSS).

Most things on "abandonware" sites though are simply old games that no-one cares enough about to write a cease and desist order for.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

Abandonware is a dubious thing in most cases.

There are a few cases of things which actually are legitemately abandonware. Elder Scrolls: Arena. Renegade's old pointy clicker games like Beneath a Steel Sky and Flight of the Amazon Queen (both playable on SCUMMVM, and you have no fucking excuse not to, especially BaSS).

Most things on "abandonware" sites though are simply old games that no-one cares enough about to write a cease and desist order for.

I think if the copyright holder says that it's ok for people to download it for free, as happened with BaSS and FotAQ, it ceases to be abandonware and becomes freeware.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

I hated the gameplay of Beneath a Steel Sky. (Yes, I do that sometimes - hate games that everyone else likes.) There's one scene where you open a locked door with a credit card. That sounds reasonable until you remember that there's no other door in the game that you've previously come across (which is a lot) that can be opened with a credit card, and no indication that this door would be any different to them; but that's the kind of broken logic that this game employs at every turn. It's a pity, because the world, story, characters and music that the game employs are pretty lovingly created - so much so that it's almost worth finishing it just for them (which you will do pretty quickly if you can be bothered to try and suss out the illogical puzzles - it's a very short game.) It's a seriously frustrating experience though.

That said, with games like "system shock" and "transport tycoon" coming out as abandonware (and if you haven't played either of those two genuinely great games, all I can say is DO IT! - System Shock remains my favorite game ever, and for good reason) I'm 100% in favor of it. Let's keep the classics alive.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

NES and SNES would fall under this topic: while you can get them in some places, they aren't readily or even often available.

Hello Virtual Console. Of course most people would still go for the free rom.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Personally, I'm all for emulation for 10 year old games that I'm never gonna be able to buy unless I pay $200 on ebay to some collector.

Having said that, Steam is the way forward I think, if we can get small bundles of classic old games, fixed for vista, for a lousy $5 or $10, who's gonna be bothered to hunt thru multiple torrent sites to find something that might not even be out there any more? Ignoring the more obvious issues with torrents, one of the big problems is that they do rather revolve around popularity.

I'm just not gonna pay full price for a second hand SNES cartridge from 10 years ago on ebay, is all, especially when the creators won't get a dime.

 

[DeadlyFred]

Words +
So they can, apparently, expire but even old DOS games are a long way from that threshold.

Copyright law hasn't yet fully evolved to encompass all the nuances that computers bring about. Not like it would happen, but the law should be changed so that copyright on software is still in place as far as not being able to re-program or edit the software for one set duration, and that it should be free-to-download after another.

As an example, if game copyright protection gave the product 3 years after the original developer/distributor, then it became abandonware in the sense you can freely share it, but you can't tamper with the software itself. Then say 3 years after the game goes off the market, it's also legal to decompile and edit. This way, those software "classic" resellers still have a three year window from when they purchase a game to when it's free, and three years after nobody will sell it anymore, basement programmers can tear it apart to learn how the code worked.

Back to how copyright DOES work, the life+70 is actually life+50 in Canada. The reason for it being life+X is the basis that the author's children should be able to reap the benefits of their father's creation, but beyond a certain point, any work still of interest would be a "classic" and therefore the elimination of copyright frees up schools to use it for teaching.

Copyright law works the same way for software as it does for anything else, there's no reason to think otherwise; even if the rules are not nearly as strictly enforced in some cases. "Abandonware" is an entirely made up concept which has no legal basis what so ever, or at least it won't... for another couple of decades.

Abandonware is nothing but internet jargon for "old games which companies probably don't care enough about anymore to bust your balls for downloading them against copyright laws". From a legal standpoint it is a very clearly cut issue regardless of how advocates try to dress it up with rhetoric and make it seem like there's some sort of "hazy middle ground".

Not that I have a problem with the idea of Abandonware at all, I mean I agree with the arguments to its favor but that still doesn't grant it any literal immunity in the eyes of a lawyer.

Abandonware is a dubious thing in most cases.

There are a few cases of things which actually are legitemately abandonware. Elder Scrolls: Arena. Renegade's old pointy clicker games like Beneath a Steel Sky and Flight of the Amazon Queen (both playable on SCUMMVM, and you have no fucking excuse not to, especially BaSS).

Most things on "abandonware" sites though are simply old games that no-one cares enough about to write a cease and desist order for.

I think if the copyright holder says that it's ok for people to download it for free, as happened with BaSS and FotAQ, it ceases to be abandonware and becomes freeware.

Abandonware does not become freeware. Copyrighted software becomes freeware, with the publisher's explicit go-ahead.

 

[khululy]

I'm no familiar with Abandonware.
What type of software is it? 3D?

LOL, graphic whore no just kidding.
yes some are 3D if you like sofware 3D or in some cases you get 3DFX games.

Abondware are actually games that are left for dead in the void called internet. I love it.
And as those games are abandoned no one really cares about them. most of them are already pirated to hell and back on floppy disks or some other medium.