Should abandonware games be free ?.

[Grimaldus]

I vote yes.

Currently there is a ton of games from the age of 640*480 or otherwise that has been left to rot on the stores and very very few games are updated to fit todays 1080p which is a very common resolution.

And no, i'm actually not asking games to be free as a goal, would i really want is
all these days updated to be enjoyable with todays screens.
But i do however have the opinion that once a game stops reveiving updates
and becomes an "abandonware" it shouldn't be in the store with a price,
anything abandoned should imo be free.

I'm not asking for a complete graphical overhault. But if you as devs won't put
in time to at the very least update your games to fit todays resolutions,
your games, imo, qualifies as abandonware and should be free.

[DarkCrystalMethod]

I can't think of any abandoned games that I'd suddenly be interested in... because if its not supported then no bug fixes, etc. You get what you pay for.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

I tried playing UO on my screen and it was unplayable, everything was supertiny
to the point where i couldn't see what i was doing, and the UI overall was terrible.
I also bought a tried playing Darkstone and it was a horrible experience on a
high reso screen.
Most of the older games in general better in terms of gameplay and run,
but they're simply not compatible with todays screens.

Having to pay for a game that doesn't work on today monitors is just wrong.

You may need tweaks to make them work. Playing old-school games tend to do that.

UO isn't even abandondware as it still has active development in EA.

https://uo.com/category/publish-updates/

And UO also has ways to zoom in, built into the game.


As for Darkstone:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/320320/discussions/0/613937306738949434/


It is also wrong to steal from the creator of the content as well and the law is on their side.

[Leonardo Da Pinchi]

"I should be able to pirate older games without consequences because I want to play them, regardless of them being old. If you don't update them to fit on my specs, I should legally be able to play them for free."

Imagine saying this to a console dev. "Your NES games don't work on my N64 so I should get them free."

[Spawn of Totoro]

<Insert Kazoo Circus Music Here> lähetti viestin:

"I should be able to pirate older games without consequences because I want to play them, regardless of them being old. If you don't update them to fit on my specs, I should legally be able to play them for free."

Imagine saying this to a console dev. "Your NES games don't work on my N64 so I should get them free."

To be fair, I think the OP is asking for a way for it to be legal to do. Not something that Valve or anyone in these forums can do though.

It would take a huge amount of time, money and effort to get the laws changed and it would effect other industries as well, such as music, movies and I am sure more then that, all fighting against the idea.

So not really going to happen, imho.

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

Blame big companies and corporates like Disney for having it their way and constantly putting pressures to extend how long copyrights can be , the first time copyrights where invented it was only 28 years which made plenty of senses.

[Mad Scientist]

Valve has no control to give out older games for free.

The only time something can be done such as loss of ip/etc is to kindly ask any company still in possession of said game(s) to list them for free.

However, someone likely still owns something, even if you consider it "abandonware". Not being updated for a long time doesn't magically waive the right someone pays to continue having. As another stated, once it expires and they don't renew it, things change. Until then - valve can do nothing of the such without the dev/publisher choosing to list it as such.

[Gus the Crocodile]

"Anything abandoned should be free" is a nonsense proposition. Most products are "abandoned". The pizza I bought last night didn't get any updates after they made it; in fact it just got colder over time. I ate it on a plate which also hasn't had any updates since I bought it. But these things all have value to me, and they're the product of someone's labour, and it's entirely fine that those people were able to put a fee on their work.

Yes yes, games aren't plates or pizzas. But they are the product of people's labour, and clearly they do have value to you if you want access to them. Nobody owes you that access for free. The creators have as much right to charge for it today as they did any other day.

[Mr Jt (Gog is king)]

I think most of the abandonware is not even worth to be installed i always choose quality over quantity

[DarkCrystalMethod]

If we abandon this thread people can still post on it... the irony.

[MinionJoe]

Games can be considered "abandonware" once the copyright expires and they enter the public domain. Unfortunately, that takes 50-70 years and no video games are quite that old yet.

Though, games can be free if they are open domain. Such open domain games include OpenTTD and Endless Sky (which is available right here on Steam).

[TwisterCat]

Spawn of Totoro lähetti viestin:

There is no such things as abandonware in the eyes of the law. All of those are still under copyright from the developer/publisher or IP holder.

No updates does no equate to abandoned either.

Disagree, to the degree of software preservation, assuming it is no longer sold on any other marketplace, and even then there are legal loopholes which allow them to do so. There have been multiple lawsuits involving archive sites, and legally, it's become apparent there is absolutely no way to remove software that is at risk from archive preservation. I have seen no indication this will change anytime soon, especially because those companies no longer have legal departments to challenge archives, and even if they did, every past lawsuit has indicated that internet archives are legally allowed to preserve antique software.

[Spawn of Totoro]

TwisterCat lähetti viestin:

Disagree, to the degree of software preservation, assuming it is no longer sold on any other marketplace, and even then there are legal loopholes which allow them to do so. There have been multiple lawsuits involving archive sites, and legally, it's become apparent there is absolutely no way to remove software that is at risk from archive preservation. I have seen no indication this will change anytime soon, especially because those companies no longer have legal departments to challenge archives, and even if they did, every past lawsuit has indicated that internet archives are legally allowed to preserve antique software.

You can disagree all you want, but if a company does not wish it to be on said site, then said site has to take it down.

If they choose not to prevent it or let it remain, then that is on the company.

Either is a choice said company/ip holder can make.

So again, there is no such thing as abandonware.

Archiving it doesn't mean they can distribute it too, at least not until the copyright is over or the game is given to the public domain.

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/23/21293875/internet-archive-website-lawsuit-open-library-wayback-machine-controversy-copyright

People always think there is some loophole, but that tends to be unlikely, especially as lawsuits tend to plug them up.

[TwisterCat]

Spawn of Totoro lähetti viestin:

TwisterCat lähetti viestin:

Disagree, to the degree of software preservation, assuming it is no longer sold on any other marketplace, and even then there are legal loopholes which allow them to do so. There have been multiple lawsuits involving archive sites, and legally, it's become apparent there is absolutely no way to remove software that is at risk from archive preservation. I have seen no indication this will change anytime soon, especially because those companies no longer have legal departments to challenge archives, and even if they did, every past lawsuit has indicated that internet archives are legally allowed to preserve antique software.

You can disagree all you want, but if a company does not wish it to be on said site, then said site has to take it down.

If they choose not to prevent it or let it remain, then that is on the company.

Either is a choice said company/ip holder can make.

So again, there is no such thing as abandonware.

Archiving it doesn't mean they can distribute it too, at least not until the copyright is over or the game is given to the public domain.

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/23/21293875/internet-archive-website-lawsuit-open-library-wayback-machine-controversy-copyright

People always think there is some loophole, but that tends to be unlikely, especially as lawsuits tend to plug them up.

Speak opinions all you want, we shall see in November of this year what the law says. I expect the archive site to walk away victors of this legal battle, even if they lose. The copyright holders can't enforce the user content, and neither can 1000 moderators, although as it stands, it is perfectly legal.

[Irene ❤]

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

I vote yes.

Me too.

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

And no, i'm actually not asking games to be free as a goal

Ok not free. ?

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

i really want is all these days updated to be enjoyable with todays screens.

Agree!

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

I'm not asking for a complete graphical overhault.

Ok not updating the game. ?

Grimaldus lähetti viestin:

if you as devs won't put in time to at the very least update your games....should be free.

I think there is always copyright to their materials. If they don't update it, another company must pay them to use their characters. The end user must pay them to install. Very old songs can have copyright too. Not sure exactly how copyright works, hopefully a copyright can expire.

[Mad Scientist]

TwisterCat lähetti viestin:

Spawn of Totoro lähetti viestin:

You can disagree all you want, but if a company does not wish it to be on said site, then said site has to take it down.

If they choose not to prevent it or let it remain, then that is on the company.

Either is a choice said company/ip holder can make.

So again, there is no such thing as abandonware.

Archiving it doesn't mean they can distribute it too, at least not until the copyright is over or the game is given to the public domain.

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/23/21293875/internet-archive-website-lawsuit-open-library-wayback-machine-controversy-copyright

People always think there is some loophole, but that tends to be unlikely, especially as lawsuits tend to plug them up.

Speak opinions all you want, we shall see in November of this year what the law says. I expect the archive site to walk away victors of this legal battle, even if they lose. The copyright holders can't enforce the user content, and neither can 1000 moderators, although as it stands, it is perfectly legal.

Users are responsible for uploaded content, it is up to the person/company hosting said content to remove any infringing material upon request in a timely manner, regardless of being "Archived". "Preservation" also doesn't matter if someone actively has rights to the material.