A study has compared classic games to silent movies by saying that only a low percentage of titles are commercially available. While services such as Xbox Game Pass and Nintendo Switch Online have given new life to a lot of previous-generation games, there seems to be a concern that only a certain selection of titles currently exists in the market.
Some players cling to their nostalgia through historical means. One gamer gained access to their grandfather's NES and Sega video game collection. The NES was very big in the '80s while the Genesis was hot during the early '90s. That's quite a few decades removed from the current date, meaning physical copies of the titles may be hard to find in this day and age. Some of the titles found aren't even available anywhere else such as NBA Jam.
According to the Video Game History Foundation's study, only 13% of games made before 2010 are available for legitimate acquisition on any platform. This means that 87% of all video game libraries are critically endangered and could be lost in time if not preserved properly. The attached charts show how many are still available and to which decades the titles belong to.
The Video Game History Foundation is hoping to establish an archive or library wherein one can explore, research, and play classic video games similar to how novels, movies, or music albums do it. The current concern and blockade as to why this is difficult to achieve is because of outdated copyright laws. While games from first-party providers like Nintendo are easily converted to run on modern consoles, non-AAA titles and third-party releases might not get as much support and could forever disappear.
At the moment, only bigger publishers get the luxury of re-releasing games in modern times. Such an example would be Atari and its Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection, which is available on current-gen and previous-generation consoles. Atari has had a huge impact on gaming history and can pull off something like this. However, for one-hit wonders, indie developers, and now-defunct companies which have not made a dent in the industry, it may be harder.
The Super Nintendo library is a prime example. The SNES was known for its vast number of great RPGs back in the day such as Robotrek, or Illusion of Gaia. These titles don't have the support that they had back in the day and are certainly not available for purchase unless fans want to scour thrift shops and used video game stores. It is a harrowing state that less than a fifth of all games to ever exist can not be found anywhere anymore. Hopefully, the Video Game History Foundation can find a way that benefits gaming historians and the companies which had produced great titles and preserve what is currently available for future generations.
Source: GameHistory