Study finds nearly every pre-2010 video game is unavailable
87 percent of classic video games released before 2010 in the United States have failed to be preserved in any real capacity, according to the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF).
In a new study on classic video games and their "commercial availability," the VGHF found that these older titles are "critically endangered." While the Library of Congress has made preserving games easier, it's been an issue in the game industry for years, and the study underlines how much of its history could easily be lost.
The study shows that video games released between 1975 and 1979 have an availability rate of .89 percent , while the early '90s (1990-1994) has 19.33 percent. Coming in behind the '90s are 2005-2009 (17.89 percent). Less than 3 percent of games released before 1985 remain in print today.
A console's ecosystem was a major factor in their availability status. The Commodore 64, for example, is considered "abandoned" because of its low sales and lack of available games; the PlayStation 2 is deemed "active" since its games have been re-released on a consistent basis.
Nintendo's Game Boy systems were previously an "active" system due to their games being available on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops. But after those storefronts were ended earlier this year, the number of available games declined, turning the handheld family into a "neglected" ecosystem.
The VGHF notes that there are a small handful of ways that games can be preserved these days, from owning a collection of retro consoles and games to just straight up piracy. It attributed the industry's preservation issues to the Electronic Software Association (ESA), saying the organization "has consistently fought against expanding video game preservation within libraries and
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