People who support abandonwarez claim that after a game or app is not sold anymore, or after three-5 years or things like that, then those thngs become freeware.
But don’t owner copyrights expire only after 75 years according to the official law?
I have an uncle who’s a lawyer and I have been talking to him and his colleagues lately, and they say that abandonwarez are piracy. In order to get a program or a game you need explicit permission from the author or the one who’s holding the copyrights of the thing you wanna copy. And since the rights and stuff only expire after 75 years, and not selling something anymore is not the same as giving permission to copy…
Still, I think laws are only for real if they can be enforced. Now you guys n’ girls give your opinions and stuff.
Personally, I think that the 75 year long copyright is total grade A bullshit. Whats the point of having a copyright for a game thats obsolete to 99% of its audience within a year or 2? I think that they should change the laws that were made before technology was progressing as fast as it is today. (not sure about when the law was enacted) If no-one but a few people are willing to buy old ass games, why not make them available to the public? Its not like if they’re released for free they’ll harm the company in any way, shape, or form since they publisher already got their money by selling to the retailers.
Ok if any of that is more incoherant than usual, I apoligize, I’ve been up for a really long time playing Eternal Darkness and Megaman Network Transmission.
Let’s face it. After two or three years, they’l just stop making more copies of the games that they just released, and then it’ll be very difficult to find them. Unless they do a remake some time later, the copytight is useless to them. But what annoys me the most is when someone waits for the games to become abandonware and then buys the patent, just to suck up on anyone who tries to do anything new with them.
Think about copyrights to game like you would movies. Liek the Wizard of Oz so to speak. It is probably over 75 years old and it’s coyright probably expired, and was renewed. However, just because it is so old, doesn’t mean that the creators can’t make money off of it and don’t want it being shared for free. I’m not explaining my point quite as well as my thought, but think of it a bit in temrs of movies and you’ll see that, “well companies won’t make money off it anymore” thing is bullshit. Copyrights are to protect ideas and creations, despite the money involved. Also, abandon ware and warez are two different things. Abandonware is fine download. Abandonware is software whose creators decide not to support it anymore and release it to the public. Abandonware is very similar to freeware.
In my world, abandoware = no longer made. Simple as that. If they don’t think they can make money from it any more, then they have effectively said ‘we don’t give a shit’.
Originally posted by Pierson In my world, abandoware = no longer made. Simple as that. If they don’t think they can make money from it any more, then they have effectively said ‘we don’t give a shit’.
It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what’s the law and actual definition. Just because it isn’t supported anymore, doesn’t mean that the copyright is voided. Look at way MS Word 2002, the one jsut before XP, is it being supported anymore? No, but you can believe that MS will fight you to the death if you try to steal it. Part of it is also that they want you to buy their new product. Think about it in terms of sports games. Each year the previous version no longer really makes the company money, but they still won’t give it out for free since that will take away sales from the new stuff and they obviously do give a shit then. Look at Final Fantasy, almost 20 years old, yet here it is a brand new game. No one saw this coming for a bit. However, if you can get FF1 for free or the new version which mostly has updated graphics, what are you gonna get? The old one since it is free and practically the same thing. Just because it isn’t supported and the company doesn’t think that they can make money off of it, doesn’t mean that their intellectual property shouldn’t be protected. Fuck, you see it with guys who make walkthroughs and RPG Maker 2000 games. They always say it is copyrighted (even though it isn’t a true copyright) and say that only certain places can distribute it. They aren’t making any money off it, but they still don’t want people stealing it.
Originally posted by Infonick It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters what’s the law and actual definition.
Hey, I know that man, just my opinion on it. I my opinion has more to do with old retro console games then anything else though. I don’t think conpanies like Capcom/Konami/Square will make as big a fuss when 10 year old games are stolen more than Microsoft would if someone ripped off a copy of Word etc that is still a viable commercial product.
Abandonware is a violation of the law, that doesn’t mean that it should be. What I don’t understand is that publishers can’t relalize there’s still money to be made from old, but yet, fully playable games. They should open a section that deals with that, reproduce old games, in small quantities of course, and sell them to those interested in buying them. But that’s not going to happen, since they’re deluded by the idea that graphics means all and gameplay nothing.
Originally posted by Nulani should open a section that deals with that, reproduce old games, in small quantities of course, and sell them to those interested in buying them. But that’s not going to happen, since they’re deluded by the idea that graphics means all and gameplay nothing.
A damn good idea. It’s just a shame you’re right. I take my own addiction to the X series as an example of some games still being popular.
Another idea that would never work, companies auctioning off older games on sorta specialised-eBay type sites. They could make loads.
Lucas Arts does a medium to good job with some of its old games. As for the rest of the companies, the real thought they have in their heads is: “if I can’t get lots of easy money with it, I want people to die”
True dat. Look at Core. Tomb raider game flopped and now the franchise has been ripped from their still-living hands and given to Crystal Dymanics, them of Legacy Of kain fame. A good thing too in my opinion.
Originally posted by Pierson
[b]A damn good idea. It’s just a shame you’re right. I take my own addiction to the X series as an example of some games still being popular.
Another idea that would never work, companies auctioning off older games on sorta specialised-eBay type sites. They could make loads. [/b] It’s not a shame she’s right, it’s a shame that it’s not currently being done.
That’s because most gamers out there are morons that love a good-looking game over a good-playing game. That explains about half of the games on XBox.
The biggest foe of abandonware today? Windows XP. You can’t get a computer without it, software is being made that requires it, and it has NO DOS whatsoever. A lot of abandonware games require DOS. So, bad Windows XP. Shame on you.
Anyway, I have Windows 98 CD-rom copied in my HD, if I really get into playing DOS games again all I have to do is install Win98 in its minimal install, which must be some 200 mb. Almost nothing in a 40 Gb HD and I won’t have to uninstall XP.
Originally posted by Infonick XP is DOS free, it only emulates it now.
I could ask why the hell windows decided to do that, but it would probably involve a long and stupid explanation. I mean, just give them DOS for chrissake!
It’s not a shame she’s right, it’s a shame that it’s not currently being done.