Some Random Thoughts on Archival
As services such as Nintendo's Virtual Console and GOG.com started gaining steam I couldn't help but feel excited. Historically games older than five or so years are discontinued and often locked out of newer console hardware and this all seems extremely destructive. If games are really worthwhile, why are they thrown out after five years or so? Do they have no lasting value? This practice heavily goes against my principle where everything deserves to be archived and preserved. It also shows the general mentality of the industry's audience, people who apparently don't care about anything that existed just few years in the past (read: children and teenagers).
I think of the Sega Saturn, a generation which all but completely disappeared from history when the games became incompatible with new hardware and the poorly implemented Saturn hardware made it extremely difficult to emulate the ROMs on other systems. The same situation is effecting a large portion of the Xbox library now that retailers are no longer accepting the system or games and only specific ones are compatible with the Xbox 360.
But now there are digital distribution systems specifically designed to archive these games of the past. That platform seems almost like the ideal for this kind of business. Old games are generally small in size, have low hardware requirements, are sold to a smaller audience, and of course it's pointless to revive these games if you can't play them again in another five years. Digital distribution is low cost and sensitive to software sizes, the services will theoretically exist indefinitely, and theoretically ensure that games are compatible with the latest systems. Time will have to test these two theoretical qualities, but they're part of the concept.
Unfortunately there are still issues to be had with these services. Licensing is always a problem, and is the reason why fan favorites like Goldeneye will probably never again see the light of day (hopefully we can one day look back on this post and admire its inaccuracy). This tends to be a problem that will sort itself out over time though. Eventually business deals will see progress one way or another (See: Banjo Kazooie), and in a worst case scenario these games will simply enter public domain (in a very long time, granted).
It's funny though how Nintendo seems to take not their Virtual Console, one of the selling points of the system, seriously at all. They mostly re-distribute whatever random cheap games they can get their hands on, and appear to put minimal effort into it. I was browsing their Nintendo Channel, the official Nintendo advertising hub, and decided to look at some promo videos for retro games. Phantasy Star IV had a fifty second video showing the menu navigation at a shop. Seriously? Is this their idea of promotion? Did anyone involved put any thought into this? Then I looked at Wonder Boy in Monster Land which showed fifty seconds of someone trying to make a tricky jump across some water and failing numerous times. Are they trying to say that it's a frustrating game? Are they trying to say anything? Does anyone involved in promoting these take pride in their work? I guess when you're Nintendo right now you don't need to care.
Chrono Trigger, the hugely popular game among Square fans, recently got re-released. Of course Square Enix decided to bypass the Virtual Console and remake it for the DS. I guess if all the next Nintendo handhelds keep supporting DS cartridges then that's fine, but this release is very obviously just an attempt to exploit the obsessive fans, and the fact that this port of a fourteen year old game costs more than most new releases tell this very clearly.
Even if few people even now take archival seriously, I guess at least the games are available and that's good.
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6 comments
Someone working on virtual console seems to care. They produced an English translation of Sin and Punishment, a game that previously only released in Japan, just for VC. Now if only they would release that translation of Mother that's been sitting finished and unreleased for over twenty years.
The Online Photographer(theonlinephotographer.typepad.com) just had an article that seems to be about the same phenomenon, but in a more general application, called The Trough of No Value(http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/02/the-trough-of-no-value.html). It deals with why some items become collectible and others don't, and the time in between where they are virtually worthless. The author asserts that in order for things to become valuable later they need to be worthless now, as the worthlessness encourages people to throw it away, leading to fewer preserved items being available when the demand returns, now based on nostalgia or historical significance instead of simple utility.
I think Chrono Trigger is an example of a similar situation. It's recent re-release coincides with the emergence of a large group of new gamers discovering RPGs through games like Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and Megaman Battle Net on the DS. Chrono Trigger is something a lot of them have never played before, furthermore it's difficult to find copies of the original and the hardware to play it, as a result the game is valuable again.
Services such as Virtual Console, XBLA and the PlayStation Network are the WORST for archival. Every download through those services is protected with DRM, and tied to the exact console you download it on. If Microsoft stops supporting the current XBLA a few years after the launch of the XBOX3 (whatever they'll call it) then you won't be able to play those XBLA games anymore as soon as your XBOX360 breaks. Cracking the DRM on these games very difficult, and under the DMCA, probably illegal in the US. And once you've cracked the DRM, you still have the problem that eventually your wii, xbox360 or ps3 will break, and you will need to find a way to emulate that... you'll be in the same situation as you are now with the Saturn games you mentioned.
I thought the games were tied to your account rather than the specific console? I would like to have faith that the console companies will let you transfer that account over to any future consoles since not doing so would be ridiculous. But that might just be my wishful thinking.
I absolutely hate DRM and "software as a service" based on my principles, but in all honesty I've never encountered a practical problem with console download DRM. Not that console DRM isn't bad, but I just haven't had any issues so far.
Yes, they are tied to your account. But to me "Archival" means I can still play those games in 20 years time, long beyond the expected lifetime of microsoft's current XBLA servers. When microsoft shuts down those servers, I will not be able to transfer those games to a different console anymore (and don't expect Microsoft to care, look at what happened to those people who bought music using the Microsoft PlaysForSure technology).
What about emulation on PCs? It's the best we've got.
That's kind of a sore subject between the games industry and gamers. Downloading and playing ROMs through emulation is illegal, and most publishers and developers see it as money out of their pockets, since their intellectual property is being used without permission or compensation, so there are significant roadblocks to change in that area.
It would be nice if something could be worked out to legitimize the excellent work being done in the emulation and abandonware communities to preserve the history of video games.