Printable View
I have a physical copy of Juiced 2 on the PC that is pretty much useless. Juice games went out of business years ago, so the ability to activate Juiced 2 isn't available. I'm pretty sure that there are going to be many PC games that I have a physical copy of, that will not work when I decide to install them on newer PC hardware that I'll have in the future. DRM is such a bitch!Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
The pirates will preserve the history.Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
That's because the game developers/publishers themselves only care about their games when those games bring them money. It's true that there are some game makers who see their games as being their children in a sense, and do their best to preserve them and keep them out there. But when it comes to the big companies? Well, all you have to do is keep in mind how many of them have lost the original code for their own older games, and that tells you how important those games are to them. It shows that the fans of those forgotten or unable-to-be-activated/run games value them more, and thus, piracy to preserve them is born. It's what happens when the companies that made them don't give a shit more often than not once the cash inflow dies off enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
Those three examples aren't valid analogies though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
To watch a movie again you don't need the book it's based on, screenplay manuscripts, actors, cameras, etc. The final product can be reproduced gazillions of times without the need of preserving the sources/resources which created it.
The same for books and recorded music.
In those cases the final product can be completely separated from the material which was used to create it.
^Another side of this topic that isn't addressed here is that video games are the only format that require a specific device to enjoy. It's a lot easier to preserve something that's used in a single medium, that will run on any device, no matter what company builds it, than it is something as all over the place as video games.
Let's take Castlevania for example. Going by the timeline Igarashi set up, in order to play the games in chronological order one has to:
*Start with the PS2: Lament of Innocence
*Move onto the NES: Castlevania III
*Go back to the PS2: Curse of Darkness
*Move to the green and black Game Boy: Castlevania: The Adventure
*Remain on the green and black Game Boy: Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
*Back to the NES: Castlevania
*Still on the NES: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
*Move to the Game Boy Advance: Harmony of Dissonance
*Move to the PC Engine CD/PSP: Rondo of Blood
*Move to the PS1/Saturn/remain on the PSP: Symphony of the Night
*Move to the DS: Order of Ecclesia
*Move to the Genesis: Bloodlines
*Back to the DS: Portrait of Ruin
*Back to the GBA: Aria of Sorrow
*Back to the DS again: Dawn of Sorrow
That's 7 or 8 machines to keep up with the story of 1 series, without taking into account the games that appear on the SNES, digitally distributed WiiWare(covered in the latest GS video), The Japanese mobile phone exclusive, Circle of the Moon(GBA), 2 N64 games, Legends(Game Boy), the digital distribution PS3 and 360 game, the Lords of Shadow games(3DS,PC, PS3, 360), the spinoffs for the Famicom and Game Boy, a weird Wii fighting game, and a couple of arcade games.
That's rough to keep up with as a fan of the series, nevermind finding a way to preserve it all.
Movies/television, music, and whatever else so far that isn't video games, are all on 1 format that can be played on any device meant to play that format, no matter if Sony or anyone else makes that device. That's the first obstacle that holds video games back.
Virtual console also happens to make use of emulation for the record, which is something that pretty much started as, if it still isn't really, piracy.
At the same time, it's not like Movies, Music, and literature got it right instantly either. I'm sure there were things written down somewhere, that no one copied, that are lost to time(obviously pre-history). Music most likely existed long before there was a way to record it. Something like 80% of all movies before the 1920's have been lost to time, as well as about 50% of all movies between the 1920's and the 1950's(if I'm recalling this correctly). It took those industries a long time to care about preservation, and they're much older. So until this one does, the pirates are the ones keeping video game history alive, and it's lucky to have that, especially with some formats rotting over time, like disks(and sometimes even discs). Who knows if cartridges will continue to hold up?
I do.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightrider
They won't.
They're very valid analogies, actually. If industries that don't need to preserve resources take the time to do safeguard their history, then an industry where it's common knowledge that most games aren't playable after their format dies should make a greater effort to do so. Wouldn't it make sense to take the time to safeguard and preserve all the source code and resources that cost so much time and money to produce? Why spend all so much to create a throwaway medium? We're always hearing developers whine about how piracy undermines all the developer's hard work and sacrifice, but that argument suddenly goes silent when we talk about preservation and not money-making. It's ironic then, that the same evil pirates who developers say are costing them profits are the same ones who keep all their hard work and sacrifice from fading into the obscurity of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barone
Sega is the big culprit in losing the source code to its older games.
When I first learned about it a few years ago I was aghast.
Capcom hasn't been a shining example of backing up their work, either. If memory serves, they lost the source code to all of their Game Boy Mega Man games, which was why that anthology for the GBA never came out.
I didn't know about Capcpom, that's disgusting.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Coop
This could easily happen to any company.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentlegamer
It took forever to find the assets for Killzone 1 for it's HD remake and that game is barely 10 years old.
A lot of Japanese game developers apparently did not keep their old source code. It's really unfortunate, but true.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Coop
They had arcade cabinets that would erase the EEPROM, when the battery died on the board. What kind of idiot designs an arcade board that erases itself?Quote:
Originally Posted by The Coop
Then I guess that shows either A) how utterly imbecilic they were, or B) how little they gave a shit...Quote:
Originally Posted by A Black Falcon
... and gamevet's reminder here makes me lean more toward A.Quote:
Originally Posted by gamevet
There are actually good reasons behind that.Quote:
Originally Posted by gamevet
First, CPS1 system that did not have such protection was bootlegged to hell which caused tons of money being lost by Capcom. CPS2 suicided when anyone tried to copy the board and there were no bootlegs until the protection was cracked in 2000s. Arcade business was the most profitable for Capcom before they started milking Resident Evil and don't forget that bootlegs were one of the causes of SNK death.
Second, arcade boards were made for businesses, they weren't supposed to be shelved by collectors. Most arcade operators usually used the board for a year or two and then disposed it. Nobody cared about collecting or retro arcades in mid 90's. You could send the board to Capcom for repairs anyway, that was the service exclusive to arcade businesses, so there were absolutely no problems for you if you were an arcade business owner. If you are just a guy who bought a board for your own use then shame on you. The PCB wasn't made for you and it's your problem if it suicides.
The suiciding PCBs are one hell of a headache for collectors but they actually are a clever design when you consider their supposed application.