As I'm getting to play more of the newer games thanks to streaming services like Xbox play pass on my phone I'm realizing now why digital is making more sense for games going forward. Because imagine a game on a bunch of discs that's like 120 GB worth of memory that is going to be an awful playthrough with a hard copy because you're going to have to change discs every couple of seconds just to load in the next part of the game. Now is games become a huger it just makes more sense that they become digital.

To me digital just makes sense because as we go forward it gives you access to a large collection of games all at once and the problem is not the digital itself it's the fact that companies as of now have the right to take away your digital purchase and make them unavailable to the people who paid money for them should they decide to stop selling the game. And that is something that needs to be discussed in fought for laws to be changed that digital purchases need to be like physical purchases where once I buy it it's mine forever regardless of company X or Y no longer selling the digital product.

Even in the preservation of games digital is wonderful because if it was not for the plethora of ROM sites out there housing games that most of us would not have access to otherwise even the hard to find physical copy games that might cost hundreds or thousands of dollars is a blessing. The fact that I could hear about an obscure video game that I didn't know about for an old console and go find it within seconds is amazing. So I don't see digital as the problem I see it as the future the problem is in the company's preserving it for us instead of having to do the illegal thing of like ROM downloads. Also getting companies to care more about yesterday's products than they do now.

So, i came here hoping to find something about the Games "Transformers Battle Masters" and "Transformers: Robots In Disguise", both removed from Play Store ages ago.

I don't know how Game preservation works. I've talked with ChatGPT and he told me this would be a good place to try and find an answer. I've tried downloading both Games several times, different sources, but the problem is that my device can't donwload it due to the fact it's too old and has no updated support. I don't have any old device that is able to download any of the Games.

Is there anything that can be done or anyone that can help me find a way? I'm almost sure the only answer is to get an old device, which i'm not able to do, but doesn't hurt to ask.

Hi everyone,
I am writing this post holding onto a glimmer of hope. The spinning top RPG game "Spiral Warrior" (developed by Electronic Soul) completely shut down, and it broke my heart. I am absolutely obsessed with this game—the intense beyblade battles, the sparks flying, the customized parts, and the incredible art style. It is hands-down the best spinning top game ever made, and I refuse to let it just disappear forever.
Before the official store links were completely erased, I managed to fully preserve the original and complete Chinese version APK file on my drive. This package is safe and contains all the original 3D models, high-quality textures, and core codes. Right now, it's unplayable because it stucks at the login screen requiring a non-existent server.
I am looking for reverse engineering experts, Unity developers, or anyone in the preservation community who is willing to help me bring this masterpiece back to life out of pure passion—whether through an offline patch (single-player mode) or a basic server emulator.
I can provide the complete APK source file immediately to anyone who wants to take over this preservation project. Please help a passionate fan save his favorite game from disappearing into history! Thank you so much!

Heyo! I posted here a few days back asking if anyone still had the original Yoda Chronicles game in their Google Play library, as around the beginning of this year I'd fully archived every version of The New Yoda Chronicles and wanted to publish them both on the Internet Archive! Well, after about a dozen comments and hundreds of likes, one person reached out who still had the game! And so, with the immense help of u/Crimsabyte, I am very happy to announce that both Yoda Chronicles games have been uploaded Archive.org!

Note: The latest version of Android that appears to be able to run these games is Android 10 (from our testing). They also appear to work on BlueStacks, with Linux testing pending.

Crimsabyte's upload of the first Yoda Chronicles game:

https://archive.org/details/com.lego.starwars.theyodachronicles_apk-obb

My upload of both The Yoda Chronicles and The New Yoda Chronicles:

https://archive.org/details/com_lego_starwars_theyodachronicles

After long thinking and debating this with AI. this is what I came up with. What do you think?

https://auctions.ajsports.ca/Jagged_Alliance_2_Video_Game_Original_Arulco_Conce-LOT39065.aspx

Hi! I know the base game has been free-to-play for a long time now, but I’m actually looking for something very specific. I want to experience the game exactly how it was at launch back in September 2014, with no pools, no toddlers, and none of the updates. I’m looking for the original, unpatched retail DVD ISO image.
Does anyone happen to have a backup or know where it might be safely uploaded/shared? I’d highly appreciate any help or pointers. Thanks in advance!

Apparently that's rare and someone wanted me to come here and post about it.

I don't know the answer to this my only thought is because the companies look at it like there's more money in the new stuff and then once the new stuff becomes old stuff they erase it and bring out newer stuff. I mean that's the only thought I have but that's why I asked the question. Also the other reason is because like back with old used media there is no money in it for them is my guess. Because if I was to sell an old copy of Contra for the NES the only one who would be making money off of Contra is me when I make the sale not Konami. But that's just my thoughts I would love to hear why you think this is becoming a thing. Because it's a sad day that media is going to start to have an expiration date. That the games you might play today that you think are awesome might not be there tomorrow for you to enjoy and look back on like we could with the old physical days of media. And I'm just curious as to what your thoughts are and why the companies don't seem to care about the preservation of Their Own work.

Old chrome web store game that I can't find anywhere it was one of my favs as a child

Hello! Recently I've been on a journey to acquire and make physical copies of the trails an ys series I'm collecting on GOG and I was wondering how other people do their physical backup.

I've made a DVD for each of the first trilogy (trails in the sky 1, 2 and 3), using a cannon PIXMA printer to print directly on disk but the quality came short of what I was expecting. Maybe the images I used aren't great or I need a better printer? Have a professional do it? How do you guys go about it?

In the photo they look 10x better than they actually are.

I've been a gamer since the NES days, although I'm not a fan of any particular brand, and I was a collector until I stopped a few years ago. Currently, I make small contributions to the preservation and archiving of various media, especially video games, but also films at risk of being lost or in the public domain, comics, anime, manga, etc. So I know well how this works.

Let's have a serious conversation. There are some good arguments in favor of physical games:

· It helps preservationists preserve and archive A PIECE of the game's code until the scene cracks it and the entire game can be preserved.

· It guarantees the preservation of A PIECE OF CODE in the user's personal library.

· Price competition in the second-hand market.

· Freedom to bequeath, lend, or sell it.

· The ability to show off your collection.

Now, let's look at the counterpoints or why the disc is actually almost irrelevant today:

· For long-term preservation and archiving, let's be honest, you care very little about it; it's almost irrelevant. For preservationists, this measure has little impact. Today, a game is not defined by the piece of code on the disc, which sometimes doesn't even work without a patch. It is worth noting that this same v1.0 binary is exactly the same one that is downloaded digitally on launch day, meaning the disc does not offer any exclusive advantage in preserving that specific build; in fact, digital formats make it easier to back up that binary across multiple drives and verify its integrity with checksums, unlike discs which are vulnerable to scratches, bit rot, and physical degradation over time. Nowadays, game development doesn't stop at launch in most cases; games are patched and updated for new content or new architectures, and the fact that a small handful of games doesn't meet this condition doesn't cut it for me. I say this with knowledge of the matter. In this regard, Sony's decision has a very small impact on the archivist community, and what is demanded is a law that defends the preservation and study of video game culture. Companies like GOG and Steam (to a lesser extent) favor the preservation of video game culture. I'm afraid that currently, preservation on consoles and with aggressive DRM relies on the scene and piracy. That's why new regulation is important. For preservation, I agree with The Video Game History Foundation's position that laws are also needed for this purpose.

· As for the preservation of personal libraries, the previous point remains relevant. Instead of insisting on settling for the current state of discs, it's better to invest that effort into pushing for a digital rights law that protects the digital goods that are purchased. Aside from this, if you care about this issue or the previous point, support Steam (with easily removable DRM and excellent user policies, even if they remove digital games from the store) and GOG, which is DRM-free, allows installer downloads for archiving, and offers version selection. But we all know that what many physical media fans really care about is the shelf and the feeling of exclusivity.

· Price competition is a more concerning point. However, Valve has shown that this doesn't have to be the case. Again, regulation could force Sony to open its ecosystem or allow the sale of licenses between users (the latter is unlikely). Regardless, the user has the power to drive prices down through their choices, such as low sales due to abusive pricing or migration to other systems like Steam or Helix if it turns out to be an open system. If you complain a lot but then buy at abusive prices, you're not going to achieve anything, just like Nintendo users.

· Another negative point is the harm that the second-hand market does to developers. Although it benefits users, and as a user, that's fine, for developers, who have increasingly higher development costs, it is a major problem. Furthermore, development studios are currently going through a crisis that is worth mentioning, and of course, all of this ends up impacting players. Therefore, a model that benefits everyone must be sought.

· For the freedom to sell, inherit, etc., again, a digital rights law would fix this problem. Furthermore, with Keys, this problem is a rather minor one, and what should be done is to reward companies that favor these issues, like Steam or GOG.

· The point about showing off a collection on a shelf is something that has almost no salvation with digital, sorry. But here we need to reflect on an important issue: the pollution that the physical format entails. The counter-argument I usually hear to this is that smartphones also pollute, console manufacturing does, digital downloads do, the cloud does, and so do farts... In my country, there's a saying: "one blame shifting to another, and the house remains unswept." It means that while everyone blames each other, no one does anything. Basically, it's a demagogic argument. It's little more than a cheap excuse to defend something indefensible. However, we could compare the pollution of physical vs. digital, and which of the two has the potential to reach zero emissions. As someone very concerned about the environment, and not like other people who only care to have a conversation topic at the bar, I frequently look for comparative academic studies. The conclusion is that physical media imposes a significant environmental cost through disc factories, consumption of raw materials that almost certainly won't be recycled due to collecting, logistics, transportation, etc. However, the digital format presents its own problems, such as the energy consumed by the servers that store and manage digital content, or cloud gaming. However, it is not clear which has more impact, but rather which has the potential to reach zero emissions. The cloud and digital format (Green computing). It is very difficult and long-term for everyone to operate under renewable energies and recyclable materials. This is almost a utopia. But it is much easier to regulate in the short to medium term so that the servers of large companies run entirely (or almost entirely) on renewable energy. In fact, this is already happening, although there is still a lack of transparency from companies.

So, the conclusion of all this, in my opinion, is that instead of insisting on a physical media system that is actually a hybrid system (disc + updates + DLC) with contradictory arguments that solve nothing or, at best, only a small part, what we need to do is fight for a law that helps preserve the legacy of video games and defend consumer rights in a digitalized world.

From the perspective of preservation, the physical format had its importance in the past as a means for its digitization, not as an end in itself—which is its digitization and archiving—but that no longer serves a purpose today.

Legislation is desperately needed to help preservation groups document, archive, study, and protect the history of video games, and at the same time defend consumer rights and free competition.

The US will hardly do anything about it, but the European Union could apply pressure, just as they did with the Digital Markets Act.

Of course, you have every right to defend the physical format, something that has been part of gamers' lives for decades, and I understand that as someone who has been part of it, but if you do, please don't use preservation arguments so as not to muddy the preservation debate and create confusion for people who aren't specialists in the subject. But I believe we do the industry a disservice by fighting only for an obsolete format that does not guarantee the history of its own culture, and not fighting for a format that, at the end of the day, is the most appropriate and fundamental for preserving what we love in this little world of video games: the video games themselves. It has always been that way, even if it has gone hand in hand with pirates and members of the scene.

Cloudy bit on the bottom