In a curious footnote, the Register also notes that emulation of classic game consoles, while not infringing in and of itself, has “historically been associated with piracy,” and therefore “raises[ing] A potential concern” for any emulated remote access to the library’s game catalogs. Ironically, this footnote cites Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) founder and director of the 2016 Game Developers Conference Frank Cifaldi on the demonization of emulation and its importance in video game preservation.
“The moment I became the Joker was when someone in charge of copyright law watched my GDC talk about how wrong it was to link emulation to piracy and their conclusion was that ‘emulation is linked to piracy.’” Cifaldi he mocked in a social media post.
The fighting continues
in statement Released in response to the decision, the VGHF called out “lobbying efforts by rights holder groups” that “continue to impede progress” for researchers. The status quo that limits remote access “forces researchers to explore illegal methods to access the vast majority of out-of-print video games that are otherwise unavailable,” VGHF writes.
“Frankly, my colleagues in literary studies or film history have routine and regular access to digital versions of the things they study,” New York University professor Lynn Nooney He argued to the Copyright Office earlier this year. “these [travel] Obstacles [to access physical games] “Real and important, it hinders research in ways that are unfair compared to our colleagues in other disciplines.”
Speaking to Ars Technica, VGHF Library Director Phil Salvador said the group was “disappointed” in the Copyright Office’s decision but was “proud of the work we did and the impact this process had. The research we conducted during this process has really helped us “In justifying everything from game re-releases to grants for research into the history of video games, our fight this cycle has raised the level of discourse around game preservation, and we will continue to keep that conversation going within the games industry.”
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