Should old games be legal to download?

[galaxyAbstractor]

I've just got in mind that I want to play some of the old PlayStation 1 games I liked when I was younger, but I haven't got a playstation 1 nor the games left. This made me thinking, as you can't buy old games anymore (except on second hand, where sony etc wont earn anything on it), so why not make it legal to download them for use in an emulator on your PC?

[xmaverick]

If these games cannot be played anymore, so their destiny will be to die, yes, I think they can be downloaded, and played over emulators, as they will contribute to game's history.

[noerrorsfound]

@xmaverick: Just because they're not as convenient to obtain legally doesn't mean they're impossible to play legally.

Should old games be legal to download for free after a certain age, or just after new copies are no longer being produced?

[adamparkzer]

I've heard before that literary works over a hundred years old lose their copyright status and can be used freely as long as nobody else claims the work to be their own. Does the same apply for video games, like in this case?

[vekou]

well, if it is really old and their copyright expires, other than that, it would not be legal to share copies of it illegally.

generally, companies earn revenue from old games. they usually port it into the newer consoles.
one example would be chrono trigger from SNES, which was ported to PS1 years ago. others are ported into PCs.

some versions of PS3 has a built-in emulator for PS1 and PS2 games. and some of these games can be downloaded from the Playstation Network.

[Smith6612]

Truthfully I would love to see some of the old games freely downloadable and able to be emulated inside of a PC. It'd bring those classics back to life that haven't been re-created in Adobe Flash or some console/PC app. Of course, the only thing you can really do is wait for the copyright to run out and hope that the maker of that doesn't re-establish the copyright.

[xav0989]

I believe that it would be extremely difficult to handle such thing. All the games would have to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
However, some companies are using the old games to make more money. For example, the possibility of downloading and playing n64 games on the Wii.

[Kayos]

After so long some games basically lose there copyright and so it can be freely played with out any legal issues. Many of the original NES and even DOS games are with out any copyright so that means they can be freely distributed.

As for games from newer systems like N64 and PS1 I don't think it should be legal to download them. You can still find them for rather cheap on the internet, yard sells, second hand stores and flea markets as well as the systems they play on. They are considerably cheaper now than when they were in circulation too.

Also publishers have released many digital versions of the games that you can play on consoles. Sony has many PS1 games and soon PS2. Microsoft has released various Xbox originals and the Wii has the virtual console.

Now that said I have played many of my games on my PC. I own the discs though. A huge benefit to doing it that way is less wear and tear on your aging consoles as well as improved visuals. Really the only way to condone using an emulator is if you own the game imo.

[changc]

All games should be free and legal to download. ;)

[ichwar]

I've heard before that literary works over a hundred years old lose their copyright status and can be used freely

Close. It's 70 years after the author's death actually. The 100 years only kicks in if no one knows who the author is. Either way, if this applies the old ps1 games, they won't be freely available in our lifetime.