30 Mar
2016
30 Mar
'16
5:59 p.m.
(As as side-note, it's of interest that arcade and
home video game console
ROMs, from roughly the same era, don't seem to fall into the abandonware
class.. at least not so far as I have seen. Is this because the copyright
holders are most often large, visible corporations? Perhaps, but it's also
clear that the rights to a number of canonical abandonware titles, such as
the Lucas Arts "SCUMM" point-and-click series, are likewise held by extant
corporate concerns..)
It's because the authors of the old games can keep reselling the same
stuff every time a new platform comes out. Windows versions, mobile phone
versions, etc. Or at least the corporations that own the titles do.
There are still issues with ownership though.
--
Ethan O'Toole