<
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/10/25/another-solo-actor-is-archiving-every-english-ps2-game-manual/>
"A couple of years ago, we discussed the work being done, essentially by one
enterprising individual going by the handle “Peebs,” to archive a bunch of
retro video game manuals for the sake of preservation. Earlier this year, we
updated you all with the fairly impressive news that every SNES game manual had
been digitized by Peebs. As we said in those posts, there were two major
takeaways I had when learning about these efforts. First, it’s a good thing
that fair use allows for this sort of non-commercial archiving to even take
place. That’s important because of the second takeaway I had, which is that it
sucks that these preservation efforts have been left for hobbyists or other
individuals, rather than being an effort led by any of the content creators
themselves.
Video games are art and they are culture. In addition, the game manuals that
come along with those games are art and culture as well. The idea that any of
that culture and art should fall into rarity or non-existence simply because
the direct parties are uninterested in doing the work to preserve them is not
something society would expect for other forms of art and culture. Fair use
being a defense at trial is helpful, but these individuals still take the risk
of reprisal or legal action by undergoing these efforts. Again, this sucks.
Fortunately, individuals that appreciate the cultural aspect of all of this
continue to volunteer their efforts to preserve the art surrounding video
games. Most recently we have the story of another individual, going by
“Kirkland”, who has managed to digitize every single English language
PlayStation 2 game manual online."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
