<
https://www.techdirt.com/2024/04/30/esa-once-again-comes-out-against-video-game-preservation-efforts/>
"I talk quite a bit about video game preservation efforts for a couple of
reasons. First, I’m just a huge gaming nerd and it is almost physically painful
to think that the cultural output of this artform can be lost to history at the
whim of publishers that have the ability to shutdown backend servers or
otherwise disappear these games from the universe. Second, those that oppose
preservation efforts do so without a coda to their opposition. In other words,
they tend to simply say “no!” without offering any alternative methods for
preserving this shared cultural history. And, finally, it simply a fact that
the loss of this culture almost perfectly negates the bargain that is copyright
to begin with. The point of the law is to offer a limited monopoly on artistic
content as a financial incentive, but that such content will eventually end up
in the public domain. If the content disappears entirely, it never goes into
the public domain.
On the middle point, the Electronic Software Association, a lobbying group for
game and software makers, continues to serve as an example of an obstinant
force offering no alternatives. The ESA recently went in front of the Copyright
Office for a hearing and reiterated its stance that no carveouts be given to
museums and non-profits for the purposes of preserving video game content."
Cheers,
*** 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
