That probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to retro gaming enthusiasts, but those outside the gaming community might not even know there is a problem…
Piracy is the only way to preserve most retro video games.
If the game is complete abandonware, and not sold on any digital storefronts, is it even still piracy?
That’s really the only time it’s ethical to pirate. The rest is just stealing.
How could you steal something you don’t even ever own you just buy a license to play it essentially. Either way piracy is not theft in my eyes it is called piracy for a reason. You cannot claim a pirated copy of a piece of software is a lost sale.
Piracy isn’t about preservation. Piracy doesn’t create the roms. It’s the dudes with rom dump devices who do that. And making archival copies isn’t necessarily piracy.
But yes, piracy is the only practical way for new customers to access older content that is no longer sold.
sadly with the increasing DRM protections, the legality of it isn’t as clear anymore. Breaking a protected standard is still illegal, which in my opinion is really stupid because if it was for archival purposes from something you own, I feel it should be in the same category as self repair/right to repair acts.
Legally speaking, you don’t own any copyrighted work; you own a license to consume that work.
Copyright law is kinda stupid in concept.
Oregon Trail gone forever
