Video Game History Foundation estimates 87 percent of "classic" games now unavailable
A new study conducted by the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network has revealed that 87 percent of classic games released in the US are out of print.
The remaining 13 percent can be easily accessed — whether that's through a re-release on modern platforms or through an officially provided emulation service, but the majority of older games remain unavailable through easy means.
The study was produced in order to substantiate the amount of video game history in danger of being lost, the Video Game History Foundation said, and provide evidence on why libraries and archives should be allowed to preserve games in a similar way to other media forms such as books and films.
The study included over 4000 games released before 2010, the Video Game History Foundation said, including every Game Boy title released in the US. The foundation explained its methodology in full detail in a blog post alongside the results. By comparison, around 14 percent of American silent films from 1912-1929 still survive today, compared to 13 percent of games from the 80s up to 2010.
The closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops in March removed more than half of the Game Boy titles still in print at the time, leaving only 5.87 percent available today, according to the study.
As digital distribution continues to dominate sales of and access to games, the Video Game History Foundation warned the preservation of games is in danger of getting worse due to the «volatile» nature of digital stores and services. A recent but small scale example of this is Google Stadia. When the platform went offline at the beginning of the year, three exclusives were completely lost.
«We should be thinking ahead to the infrastructure needed to address
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