Frank Cifaldi, executive director of the nonprofit Video Game History Foundation, said the gaming industry has not provided practical options for long-term preservation of digital games, so pirated copies are effectively the only way to save many titles from disappearing.
According to Cifaldi, the issue is becoming more pressing as the industry moves away from physical media and toward digital distribution models. He pointed out that publishers and platform holders, on the one hand, prevent archiving and emulation of games, and on the other hand, do not establish legal mechanisms for people to still access these games after official support ends.
At the same time, he stressed that this was not an endorsement of piracy as a way to get games for free. In his view, piracy archiving becomes a forced means of preserving works that might be lost forever when digital stores close, servers go offline, or licenses are terminated. Cifaldi believes that the responsibility for preserving the legacy of games should lie with copyright holders. However, until they come up with a legal and long-lasting way to archive and access digitally released games, the work will continue to be undertaken by enthusiasts and gamers dedicated to game preservation.
The announcement from the head of the Video Game History Foundation comes amid ongoing discussions around the future of digital distribution and the Stop Killing Gaming initiative. The initiative calls on publishers to ensure that games continue to work even if official support ends.