A staggering 87% of classic games released in the US are at risk of being lost to time, particularly with the low availability of these games across platforms, according to a study by the Video Game History Foundation. Even as the massive cultural impact of video games dwarfs the music and film industry - with the games industry valued at over $300 billion - it still feels like video games are shambling towards demise.
When it comes to preservation, some companies aren’t ready to ensure long-term access to their old library of games. In 2022, Epic shut down online services for 17 older games, which renders all of the classic Unreal games - including Unreal Tournament 3, Unreal Gold, and Unreal 2: The Awakening - effectively unplayable; that is, unless you already own the game. Then there’s Nintendo’s vehemently anti-preservation decisions, with the entertainment behemoth ceasing sales of 1,000 digital-only games from its Wii U and 3DS online store, thus removing legal access to these games. That means that if you wish to play these games today, fans may have to resort to old-fashioned piracy.
