Jimmy Yakapucci wrote:I keep hearing these arguments about having a back-up copy in case something happens to the original. Does that mean that I should be able to have a free back-up of the new toaster that I just bought in case something happens to it? Why do people think that when they buy a game that it will stay perfect forever and never wear out, get broken, lost, etc? What other product does that exist with? Everything else we buy in life eventually wears out or breaks or something and gets replaced. Why should we not expect the same with games, movies, music CDs, etc.? Or is it just that there exists a way to make a back-up of a digital product as opposed to a toaster?
Even if there were a legitimate reason for making an archive copy of a digital product, that does not create a legitimate reason for posting it somewhere for download.
JY
Here's the difference. Someone can repair a toaster, or a car from the 1960s, indefinitely. I lived in a house built in 1835. As long as those parts are manufactured, people can keep, or even pass on various goods. I cannot repair a CD except by copying it to another CD or disk drive. Trust me, if I could seriously repair the original CDs, I would. Maybe someday it will be possible.
It took me a full month of checking eBay every single day to find a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms 4 for PC. There was nowhere to download it on the internet. If I had never found it on eBay, was I to simply never play the game again? To what end? To teach me a lesson that things don't last? Well, if the data can last, why not preserve it? I will always go for a hard copy first when able. But my money is
far better spent on new, retail games that help the industry and creators than paying $200 for used copies of old games where the money solely goes to the individual that is selling it, and often selling it at a personal profit (Panzer Dragoon Saga did not retail for $200). Those purchases will come with time, when they won't take and leech from the money that should be reserved for current, retail games. In fact, one could argue buying old, used games hurts the industry more than helps it, unless you're constantly buying new games to compensate. After all, if you're buying old games, you won't need to buy as many new ones. This pushes money into gamers' hands, rather than developers'.
I feel the issue of legacy games is far from black and white and not one we should ever try to legislate, or even use peer pressure for people to decide. Piracy of that which is on the market is a completely different monster and I will always vehemently oppose it.
Think about this: Are we to let books simply die out with their original pages? Never to copy or reproduce them, even after their creators have died? What a horrible disservice it would be to civilization and history for that to happen. Well, I like to think of games as important cultural milestones, especially early in this industry's history, that when we're long gone, people will still be able to experience and look back on.
