Old Linux game back catalog?

[intok]

Think theres any way to get all of the old games for Linux to be brought onto Steam? Games like Neverwinter Nights, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division, Majesty, Sacred, Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² etc. would be great to get, especially if the companies can be convinced to make high res texture packs.

[instabilis]

I'm guessing you'd need the publisher, developers, and whoever did the original port. I doubt theres many cases where all three will still be around.

[intok]

Then wouldn't that classify them as abandonware? Isn't that how GoG.com makes most of their money selling ancient DOS abandonware?

[Pocket]

Abandonware isn't a real legal concept. It just means "we can get away with flagrantly violating copyright law because the publishers aren't around to sue us anymore."

[intok]

Exactly, can they be brought back to life if there is nobody around to sue. Put them back up for sale with the tweaks needed for them to run on current Linux as many of these ports are over a decade old.

[Pocket]

That's not how companies like Valve do business. They don't obey the law only when they're afraid of getting caught. If they were brought up on criminal charges, they'd still have no defense. Plus, as a company that does business with other video game companies all the time, they're probably better equipped to find out who owns the rights to so-called "abandonware" better than Joe Nobody who probably gives up looking after nothing turns up on the first page of Google results and figures the worst that can happen is getting a DMCA or Cease and Desist in his inbox one day.

And GOG does legally license all the games they sell; that's why it took so long to get System Shock 2.

[Areso]

Автор сообщения: the ghost of Gordon Frohman

That's not how companies like Valve do business. They don't obey the law only when they're afraid of getting caught. If they were brought up on criminal charges, they'd still have no defense. Plus, as a company that does business with other video game companies all the time, they're probably better equipped to find out who owns the rights to so-called "abandonware" better than Joe Nobody who probably gives up looking after nothing turns up on the first page of Google results and figures the worst that can happen is getting a DMCA or Cease and Desist in his inbox one day.

And GOG does legally license all the games they sell; that's why it took so long to get System Shock 2.

Interesting, how they does, if devs and publish houses are no more exists for entire lists of games (not for all, of course).
May be, if not they, then something else claim abandonware and then sell them to / on GoG.com.
But nobody can explain, who are these funny people, who receive money for games, released are decades ago.
What's why I suppose, that abandonware with no more owners should be a public domain.

[Pocket]

The problem is that there's no such thing as "no more owners". Copyright owners don't just vanish into thin air. If the company goes out of business, their assets are transferred to someone else — often a legal firm. The trouble is tracking down who that is, because it often doesn't become publicly available information. It's not like they put out a press release or something. Just like with abandoned buildings in a city, someone still owns them; it's just not always clear who. So vagrants can move in and start squatting in it, but a real estate company can't just plunk a flag down, say "I hearby claim this land in the name of the Queen" and tear it down and build a hotel.

[intok]

Автор сообщения: the ghost of Gordon Frohman

but a real estate company can't just plunk a flag down, say "I hearby claim this land in the name of the Queen" and tear it down and build a hotel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTduy7Qkvk8

[crunchyfrog]

GOG don't sell abandonware. They sell what they're LEGALLY allowed to, and the respective percentage goes to the legal IP owner. Who would honestly think that they would just "take" a game and keep all the money for themselves?

OP, whilst it would certainly be nice for those games to come to Steam, the ball is not in Valve's court. Valve don't go out and search for games to put here, it's the other way round.

You'd be better off contacting the IP rights holders.

[leech]

Neverwinter Nights is still technically available separately, in fact GoG has it. Then you just need one of the many Linux installers. Not as nice / convenient as Steam, but still it's out there and usable. Shogo was ported by Hyperion, so maybe someone could contact them (they write AmigaOS4). Maybe if the Battlefield 4 devs can talk Electronic Arts into letting them do a Linux version for Steam, EA can be talked into releasing Nwn as a Linux version for Steam?