Quote:
Originally Posted by JimMorrison
Why is Abandonware considered Pirating, again? That's exactly the sort of attitude that we only really see out of LucaArts. Any sane person says "we published that OVER 10 years ago, and no longer print or sell it, have fun".
I think the general consensus is that once you no longer have the will or means to profit from your creation, it belongs to the world to which you unleashed it.
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Abandonware is not legal. No
publishing company can allow people to discuss how to illegally acquire games on their discussion forums. It sends the wrong message for 1) people who consider buying their games, 2) people who consider using them to publish games and 3) other publishers.
Also, old computer games are easier to share and harder to get to work than most traditional media, but the same rules and laws are in place. As an example, it's illegal to scan and share 1980s comic books, even if the company that published them isn't selling them any more and the artists/writers have moved on to do other stuff. Rights aren't lost that easily, and they shouldn't be. There are sites, like Good Old Games, that sell old, classic games for cheap, without DRM, and in formats that work on newer operating systems.
http://www.gog.com
All games aren't available, but many good games are. I found out about the site when I saw a guy playing Oddworld: Abe's Odyssee (9.99$).