US Copyright Office Rejects Request for Virtual Library Access for Video Game Studies – News

In a move that has stirred quite a debate in the gaming community, the US Copyright Office today announced their decision not to approve a new exemption under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) aimed at preserving video games. This decision followed a hearing held earlier this year for a petition that has been in the works for three years. The petition, put forward by the Software Preservation Network with backing from The Video Game History Foundation, was designed to allow libraries to offer remote access to out-of-print video games for academic research purposes.

The Video Game History Foundation presented a robust study highlighting the dire state of game preservation, revealing that just 13% of games released in the United States prior to 2010 are still available in any form. Additionally, several companies in the reissue market supported the exemption, believing it wouldn’t negatively impact their business and could, in fact, spark renewed interest in classic games.

However, not everyone was on board. The Entertainment Software Association opposed the exemption, fearing it might undermine the market value of re-releasing old titles. This stance was taken despite counterarguments from businesses like Limited Run Games and Antstream Arcade. The opposing side suggested that the 87% of games identified as unavailable were part of strategic business practices and intentional market timing. The Video Game History Foundation’s study, nevertheless, attributed these unavailability issues mostly to the complex licensing and rights problems specific to the gaming industry—challenges that are unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

Interestingly, this level of restriction doesn’t apply to other types of media or software that aren’t video games, highlighting a peculiar inconsistency since there’s currently no definitive criteria for what qualifies as a video game.

For those wanting to dive deeper into the implications of this ruling, the Video Game History Foundation has released a comprehensive statement, which you can explore further.