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.

[LowJack_VA1]

Lol, good luck with that! Lol!!

[veronicae]

good luck with that!

[Satoru]

There is no such thing as “abandonware”

[Grimaldus]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย LowJack_VA1:

Lol, good luck with that! Lol

Well. There's quiet a few games from the "old days" that i simply won't buy
because they're not updated to suit todays monitors.
I've even refunded a few games because they were unplayable on a high res screen.

[Spawn of Totoro]

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.

[🍋 Lemonfed 🍋]

Valve can't legaly do that because even if a game is Abandonware the publisher or developers still hold a copyright for it and these rights can last several decades (depend of the country but I think u.s.a is over 70 years or something)

[LowJack_VA1]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย 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.

You are not the first person to ask for this stupid request, they were all ignored. Your request will be ignored too.

[Grimaldus]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Spawn of Totoro:

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.

Still. There are constantly tons of posts on forums of older games requesting
updates to suit todays resolutions before they buy the games, or no deal.
For me it's very simply. If you have a product that you don't care about anymore,
have by definition, abandoned it.

I know it's not that simple. But that IS the very definition of abandoning .

[Aachen]

“Abandonware” is an informal term—presume rightsholders don’t care at one’s own risk.

[Grimaldus]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Lemonfed:

Valve can't legaly do that because even if a game is Abandonware the publisher or developers still hold a copyright for it and these rights can last several decades (depend of the country but I think u.s.a is 70 years or something)

Imo a developer that doesn't attend to or produces any form of updates to a game
or developes a game of the IP in 5 years, should have to re-apply for the licence to
said IP while at the same time giving other companies the opportunity to make
a claim for said IP to make something constructive or even update older software.

Having a bloodsucking leech like <insert optional publisher> owning several IP's for xx amount of years without actually having to do ANYTHING constructive, or even canceling whole games based on popular IP's like Star Wars.. that will in the end ruin the gaming industry.

imo..

[✨Saint✨]

You can find plenty of abandonware games on the internet, they are free. Some of those games are pretty easy to modify to today's standards, by changing certain file configurations, resolution files etc.
If you are into modding games, or tinkering with files, abandonware is a pretty hobby.

[lPherion]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Minima:

good luck with that!

x2

[ShelLuser]

Still... IMO there is something to say for the idea itself. Just look at music. if you compose a piece of music you obviously have ownership and copyright, however, if it's not maintained (for example because the artist passes away or the group got dissolved, etc.) then after approx 30 or 50 years (not sure from mind) the copyright is no more and the music becomes "public domain"; free for anyone to use.

I could definitely see something like that applied to 'abandonware' as well. But if it will change anything remains to be seen. Most well known games from the 80's / 90's are still under active ownership.

[Spawn of Totoro]

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย Grimaldus:

Still. There are constantly tons of posts on forums of older games requesting
updates to suit todays resolutions before they buy the games, or no deal.
For me it's very simply. If you have a product that you don't care about anymore,
have by definition, abandoned it.

I know it's not that simple. But that IS the very definition of abandoning .

No, it is not.

That is called completing production of the game. They sill own the IP and it is still under copyright.

Doesn't matter what people think or how they feel about it. Unless the game's developer/publisher and/or IP holder agree to make it free, no one else can touch it with out legal consequences.

The developer/publisher and/or IP holder can still use the IP and do what they want with the game.

While the game's don't run at today resolutions, that doesn't mean they can't be played on todays monitors. I have the Ultima Collection from GOG.com and it runs just fine. I even have some old games from 5 1/4in floppies that I copied over and those games still run too, even on current monitors.

People wanting it to support 4k or such, out of the box, doesn't mean abandoned.

โพสต์ดั้งเดิมโดย ShelLuser:

Still... IMO there is something to say for the idea itself. Just look at music. if you compose a piece of music you obviously have ownership and copyright, however, if it's not maintained (for example because the artist passes away or the group got dissolved, etc.) then after approx 30 or 50 years (not sure from mind) the copyright is no more and the music becomes "public domain"; free for anyone to use.

I could definitely see something like that applied to 'abandonware' as well. But if it will change anything remains to be seen. Most well known games from the 80's / 90's are still under active ownership.

That does apply to PC games as well, AND under copyright law. Such a situation would be legal.

Unfortunately it may be far longer then 30 or 50 years.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/getting-creative-with-video-games-69693/

If it was created on or after 1978 by an individual, then the copyright is valid for the lifetime of the individual plus 70 years, otherwise for a period of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first.

[Grimaldus]

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.