Game preservation is an issue that anyone passionate about gaming should care about. Countless releases from previous decades, especially before the era of digital libraries, are virtually inaccessible on modern machines, so it’s up to both players and companies to step in and ensure their longevity and accessibility. This is where organizations likeGOG, CD Projekt Red’s online storefront, have come into play,launching programs like the GOG Preservation Programthat strive to keep older titles from fading to obscurity in an ocean of new content.
Older games, specifically those released before 2010, are becoming increasingly difficult to acquire through legitimate means. With so many titles locked to original hardware, which is often difficult to track down and exorbitantly priced, many gamers are effectively forced to turn to PC emulation and illegal ROM downloads if they wish to access them. Naturally, these are advantageous circumstances for many IP-holders, especially large corporations, as they can re-release or remake these titles for modern devices and turn a tidy profit on the back of scarcity. But for audiences, this is nothing short of exploitative, not to mention the fact that the original versions of these games are being discarded, despite their importance to gaming history.GOG’s new Game Preservation Program is a step in the right direction.
Why GOG’s Game Preservation Movement Is Important
Thousands of Classic Games Are At Risk of Becoming Permanently Inaccessible
A study by the Video Game History Foundationfound that a whopping 87% of games released before 2010 are not easily accessible to modern audiences. This means that thousands of older titles, those that never received ports, re-releases, or were made backwards-compatible, may be lost to time forever. This issue is particularly pronounced in the era of digital storefronts, which often do not sell the original versions of these games. Even when they do, permanent access to them is not guaranteed thanks to DRM.
While many classic games can be re-released at the whim of their IP-holders, more obscure titles may never present enough financial incentive for this to happen.
Sadly, this problem is only getting worse. Groups like theSoftware Preservation Network are fighting against outdated copyright lawsthat restrict the non-commercial sharing of older games, to the end of cultural preservation and study, but they are often blocked by the US Copyright Office and similar powers. Though large gaming conglomerates may never intend to re-release all the classic games in their portfolio, they still have a vested interest in resisting this sort of decentralization, making games preservation a frustratingly uphill battle.
How GOG Is Helping Preserve Classic Games
But the fight is far from over, and GOG is doing its part. The newly mintedGames Preservation Program allows customers to download 100 classic games without DRM, meaning that the software is actually owned by the consumer, not simply licensed to them. Essentially, if a network like PSN were to go permanently offline for whatever reason, players would lose access to the games they purchased through the PlayStation Store—this is not the case with DRM-free downloads, like those offered by GOG. Some of the notable classic games that the Games Preservation Program offers include:
This program aims to preserve both older games and more recent ones that have been abandoned by their original developers. GOG touts over 500 improvements and enhancements across this entire library, while optimizing the games for compatibility with modern hardware, making thisa promising step toward greater games preservation. And with no DRM, customers can rest assured that these games are actually preserved, not just borrowed from a database that could revoke access at virtually any time.
