Topic: EFF Petitions United States Government to Permit Modifications of Abandoned Online Games

[Steel Diver]

Will Mario Kart Wii rise from the ashes once known as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/38968/eff-petitions-united-states-government-to-permit-modifications-of-abandoned-online-games

The Electronics Frontier Foundation (EFF) is petitioning the United States government to allow legal modifications of games that no longer function online to do so once again.

Games like Mario Kart Wii that no longer have online support would potentially be playable online again if third-party servers can be set up by people in the modding community. As of now this is illegal, but the hope is that it will be made legal for anyone using legitimate copies of the games. They do, however, make the distinction between games with online features and MMOs, the latter of which have content stored on servers.

The petition is being filed with both the Library of Congress and the United States Copyright Office.

[Enner]

It will be interesting to see if this goes any where in favor of customers. I am always of the notion that developers and publishers of the online components of games should release software and updates (for free or at cost) for people to run their own servers when official support for those online components will cease.

[UncleBob]

With that said, I was pretty sure some folks had figured out how to set up some private Wii servers...

[Mythtendo]

LOL, do the jokers at the EFF really think they will be allowed to commit copyright infringement? This is no different than the argument pirates use for why they should be allowed to offer copyrighted games on torrent sites. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell they will be allowed to do this.

[Wah]

It would be funny if you ate does words though...

[the asylum]

Hopefully this goes through. I really really wanna play some ASE Basketball on Conduit 2 again

[Mythtendo]

It would be funny if you ate does words though...

We are more likely to see Daxter and Master Chief as DLC characters in Smash Bros.

[pokepal148]

Question: why would making servers for games that no longer have servers be illegal?

[Triforce Hermit]

This is a wonderful idea. It would actually make consoles a better long term investment if this grows into a thing.

LOL, do the jokers at the EFF really think they will be allowed to commit copyright infringement? This is no different than the argument pirates use for why they should be allowed to offer copyrighted games on torrent sites. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell they will be allowed to do this.

Most companies don't care about unofficial servers for games with discontinued online service. Even for games with servers still up. If these people want to do it the right way, I say go for it.

[Ceric]

*shrug*
If there was a real interest in doing this companies would sell the server software as is after they were done supporting it for fans.

[Triforce Hermit]

*shrug*
If there was a real interest in doing this companies would sell the server software as is after they were done supporting it for fans.

I believe those are called remakes.

[Ian Sane]

*shrug*
If there was a real interest in doing this companies would sell the server software as is after they were done supporting it for fans.

Why would they do that even if the demand was there?  They WANT you to give up on the old game so that you buy their newest one.  Unless they are selling to you in a re-release videogame companies absolutely do NOT want you to play their old games because they gain no business if you're content playing old stuff that is no longer for sale.

Ethically I have no issue with this.  You bought the game, you own a legit copy, you just want to get the full experience of the game you bought and the company that made the game no longer offers that so someone else does it.  It's not like anyone is really getting content for free here.  From a videogame historian point of view this sort of thing is really important.  Online games are going to be lost to time.  It's a part of a game that can't be saved in a ROM or preserved in a cartridge or disc.  It's totally reliant on the parent company who treats their creative works like a disposable commodity.  This sort of thing is good for videogames as an artform.

Now will the government budge on this?  No, of course not.  How often do they side with consumer interests over corporate interests?

[BlackNMild2k1]

*shrug*
If there was a real interest in doing this companies would sell the server software as is after they were done supporting it for fans.

Why would they do that even if the demand was there?  They WANT you to give up on the old game so that you buy their newest one.  Unless they are selling to you in a re-release videogame companies absolutely do NOT want you to play their old games because they gain no business if you're content playing old stuff that is no longer for sale.

Ethically I have no issue with this.  You bought the game, you own a legit copy, you just want to get the full experience of the game you bought and the company that made the game no longer offers that so someone else does it.  It's not like anyone is really getting content for free here.  From a videogame historian point of view this sort of thing is really important.  Online games are going to be lost to time.  It's a part of a game that can't be saved in a ROM or preserved in a cartridge or disc.  It's totally reliant on the parent company who treats their creative works like a disposable commodity.  This sort of thing is good for videogames as an artform.

Now will the government budge on this?  No, of course not.  How often do they side with consumer interests over corporate interests?

Was just about to make a point on both of the points you made. now I don't have to.... and you probably put it much better than I would have, so thanks for saving me the trouble.

[Wah]

Well, look at Halo:CE for pc.
Servers were cancelled a long time ago.
But there are still loads of independent servers on onlineplay with custom maps (and pretty damn fun too)
So I don't see why this couldn't go through.