ESA rejects new proposal to preserve video games

The U.S. Copyright Office recently reviewed a proposal that would allow researchers to remotely access video games stored in online libraries. Unfortunately, attorney Steve Englund rejected the proposal, not being satisfied with the proposed solutions. In 2023, an analysis conducted by the Video Game History Foundation revealed that 87% of games released before 2010 are currently not preserved and may therefore no longer be accessible in the future. However, according to the ESA, this is an issue that publishers should address. The ESA’s statements come from a hearing held at the Copyright Office to evaluate a possible copyright exemption to allow researchers to remotely access past games, a proposal put forward by the Software Preservation Network in 2023. Attorney Steve Englund looked into the matter, but his response was not positive: Currently, Englund does not believe that ESA members could support such a decision.

Several solutions to address the ESA’s concerns were proposed at the meeting, but were rejected. The attorney was satisfied with neither the proposal to limit access to users with college degrees nor the idea of ​​limiting the exemption to libraries with physical locations. On this point, Englund said any library operating exclusively online could open a physical office to meet this requirement. This could enable the creation of what is essentially a vast free-to-play arcade. The question of video game preservation is often the subject of debate. In January, Frank Cifaldi, founder of the Video Game History Foundation and Black Tabby Games, spoke about the role of piracy in video game preservation. For Cifaldi, in fact, several titles particularly appreciated by users are only still present today thanks to piracy.