Gamers Want DMCA Exemption for “Abandoned” Online Games

Megalith

Megalith

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To preserve games for future generations, the Copyright Office included exemptions that allowed libraries, archives, and museums to use emulators and other circumvention tools to make old classics playable. Unfortunately, these do not apply to games that require a connection to an online server, so several organizations and gaming fans are trying to change that.

When the online servers are taken down, the game simply disappears forever. This should be prevented, according to The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE), a nonprofit organization operating in California. “More troubling still to archivists, many video games rely on server connectivity to function in single-player mode and become unplayable when servers shut down.”
 
I wonder how this will effect classic WoW servers? Technically it's a game that Blizzard currently doesn't offer. Well, not yet anyway.
 
Maybe then SWGEMU will stop pretending to still be in development and actually finish
 
DukenukemX said:
I wonder how this will effect classic WoW servers? Technically it's a game that Blizzard currently doesn't offer. Well, not yet anyway.
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Blizzard announced at this year's Blizzcon that they'll be making Classic servers available next year. So, they *will* be offering it in some manner.
 
DukenukemX said:
I wonder how this will effect classic WoW servers? Technically it's a game that Blizzard currently doesn't offer. Well, not yet anyway.
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Classic WoW is still WoW. Cause you don't agree or like the current state of the game you can go play on private servers that are againts WoW ToS.
 
We actually need a whole package of protections for consumers of digital goods. The idea that a company can disappear, or stop making available something you paid for and there's no recourse is not acceptable without a clear disclaimer that you stand to lose access at any time.
 
vegeta535 said:
Classic WoW is still WoW. Cause you don't agree or like the current state of the game you can go play on private servers that are againts WoW ToS.
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Madoc said:
Blizzard announced at this year's Blizzcon that they'll be making Classic servers available next year. So, they *will* be offering it in some manner.
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Wonder if they finally realized some way to mine profit out of vanilla. Servers don't run themselves.
 
I wish there was a "Use it or lose it" clause in copyright law in which if the product is not commercially exploited for X number of years, then it falls into public domain. This would especially apply to software and orphaned works
 
Agreed, it'd be nice if the communities of fans could get their hands on long abandoned projects and be awarded provisional licenses to keep the server(s) running in the case of the right's owners coming back around to that property and wanting to use it again without having the sue the pants off the fan community to protect their rights later on down the road.
 
I don't normally do online gaming but I do believe this would be a good thing. Too many good games abandoned with fans and players still wanting to continue playing them.
 
DukenukemX said:
I wonder how this will effect classic WoW servers? Technically it's a game that Blizzard currently doesn't offer. Well, not yet anyway.
Click to expand...
I've never played WoW, but if I originally bought it way back when, and never bought any of the expansions I wouldn't be able to play WoW? Or do they at least give you the minimum level of upgrade to play?
 
sfsuphysics said:
I've never played WoW, but if I originally bought it way back when, and never bought any of the expansions I wouldn't be able to play WoW? Or do they at least give you the minimum level of upgrade to play?
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you can play up to the level cap of the original game, you just wont have access to any of the expansions or their content.
 
I use to play an old MMO called Earth and Beyond that was made by Westwood, when EA bought WW they kept the game online for a few years and pulled the plug. A group of players got together and rebuilt the server side of the game. I believe it was near the end of internal / private testing EA actually gave them their blessing on the project,and even turned over a bunch of code and story material that was never used. The only catch is they couldn't turn a profit on the project EA would leave them alone, that is completly fair in my opinion. They are able to accept donations to cover server expenses and so on.

I do wish that City of Heroes would come back, but I highly doubt that NCSoft would be kind as EA.
 
GlowingGhoul said:
We actually need a whole package of protections for consumers of digital goods. The idea that a company can disappear, or stop making available something you paid for and there's no recourse is not acceptable without a clear disclaimer that you stand to lose access at any time.
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That's really the core of it. The fact that the debate is over it even being legal or not to ATTEMPT to run your game after shut down shows insane the situation currently is. No other industry would tolerate you paying money for a "service" that gives you no guarantee on how long it will last, and doesn't have a definition of when it's done.
 
Spaceninja said:
I use to play an old MMO called Earth and Beyond that was made by Westwood, when EA bought WW they kept the game online for a few years and pulled the plug. A group of players got together and rebuilt the server side of the game. I believe it was near the end of internal / private testing EA actually gave them their blessing on the project,and even turned over a bunch of code and story material that was never used. The only catch is they couldn't turn a profit on the project EA would leave them alone, that is completly fair in my opinion. They are able to accept donations to cover server expenses and so on.

I do wish that City of Heroes would come back, but I highly doubt that NCSoft would be kind as EA.
Click to expand...
omfg looking this up now, I loved that game when I was young lol
 
Madoc said:
Blizzard announced at this year's Blizzcon that they'll be making Classic servers available next year. So, they *will* be offering it in some manner.
Click to expand...
But it will be just Vanilla WoW. Also it would be technically a remake, as they aren't using the original game engine. Like how Halo was remastered for the Xbox One.

vegeta535 said:
Classic WoW is still WoW. Cause you don't agree or like the current state of the game you can go play on private servers that are againts WoW ToS.
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WoW's ToS is nonsense. They don't offer the version of the game they want then it's technically abandon-ware. I have every right to play on a private server if Blizzard can't recognize this. God knows I spent too much money in that game as it is. Just cause I can run around in old content doesn't mean the game is still there.

This is the same problem with Disney and Mickey Mouse, where Mickey should have entered the public domain by now, but because of laws and Disney still profits from this character, then we'll never see Mickey in the public domain.

otherweeb said:
Wonder if they finally realized some way to mine profit out of vanilla. Servers don't run themselves.
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But today running a server isn't as expensive as it was in 2004. Lots of games run servers without any cost to the consumer. Like Dark Souls series, and lots of Free2Play MMO's. The WoW Private servers are done for free and they had to be scripted from scratch.
 
sfsuphysics said:
I've never played WoW, but if I originally bought it way back when, and never bought any of the expansions I wouldn't be able to play WoW? Or do they at least give you the minimum level of upgrade to play?
Click to expand...
A lot of the original game was changed to the point where it's a different game. Cataclysm changed all the Vanilla quests, and class talents were changed to the point where you don't have talent points anymore. A level 60 Ret Paladin based on Legion is far more powerful than a level 60 Ret Paladin from 2006. The gear is different, the classes are different, the mobs you kill are different.

It's a totally different game.
 
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