I originally posted this in its own thread but I thought it pointless to have two parallel threads about abandonware - sorry if you were replying to it before I deleted it.
I've been visiting this forum for a while now when I've been having a few problems with a couple of games, so I thought it was high time I registered and made a few contributions. One of the things that's struck me is the arguments for and against abandonware, but nobody's really said anything about arguments for abandonware.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those peeps who goes around downloading hundreds of games off abandonware sites in one go - actually I have 200-250 original DOS games (mostly compilations, some rereleases but also some real rarities, photo available if anyone doesn't believe me) but I wouldn't say I'm above downloading the odd game that I can't find elsewhere (of course, if I *do* find it elsewhere, I buy it). The fact remains, however, that abandonware has its arguments for:
* The argument that copyright owners are losing out is defunct. If a copyright owner rereleases a game and it is still on the market, then that is not classed as abandonware and most sensible abandonware sites (Underdogs, Abandonia) make people aware of where they can buy these games. Indeed, uploading a game which is still available to buy is piracy. If a copyright owner chooses not to rerelease a title however, the only way you can obtain the game legally is through secondhand means - for which the copyright owner is not reimbursed anyway.
* Abandonware is what's keeping interest in DOSBox alive. Sad, but true. It would be great if everybody who used DOSBox was using original software, but it's ultimately the abandonware scene that's kept interest in this project going. How many people genuinely collect masses of genuine old software? Personally I know only myself, and I know that there is a minority out there that do the same. The problem was that if DOSBox was somehow restricted to only using original software (someone suggested it), interest in the program would wane.
* Abandonware does keep these games alive. I know those who contest that abandonware is evil full stop dispute this, but many games that are released on abandonware sites from before 1995 are titles that only the older generation (25+) remember. A very small minority of cult titles (Doom, Tomb Raider, LucasArts adventures as examples) have been revived, other classics have been left to rot by copyright owners who don't have any interest in them. Really, I can't encourage those too young to remember enough to take an interest in gaming heritage and buy these titles, but I know that they'd rather spend their money on the latest 3D shooter with Pixel Shader 3.0 technology.
I'm not pushing myself as absolutely right here, as this is going to be a subject that is going to be argued over and argued over until the cows come home. It's subjective. I realise that copyright law in many countries forbids this officially. But then again law in many countries forbids a lot of things we've taken for granted in the past - taping films off the TV or songs off the radio, making backups of games for personal use (I've done this for my rarest games, but when I lived in the UK that was technically illegal). Point is, just because it's law doesn't automatically make the law right.