UPDATE! I am informed that "Episode 65's" technical issues have been resolved, and the episode should be back up for Advantage-member viewing later this evening. As set before, the episode will be viewable by all audiences Tuesday, January 31st.
Okay, so... "Episode 65" was supposed to go up for early-viewing by Advantage members today and briefly did a few hours ag;, but there were some technical issues and the video has been temporarily taken down. I can't offer any more details than that, but the problem being worked on and should be back up soon.
I apologize to any Advantage viewers who may have been inconvenienced by this delay. In addition, at this time the issue is not expected to impact the scheduled all-audiences debut of the episode this coming Tuesday, January 31st.
2 comments:
(SPOILERS)
I was actually expecting RT to turn out to be the deep-voice guy.
As for the meaty content of the episode regarding older generation games, I'm kind of surprised that you didn't mention the emulation scene.
Granted, it's illegal, but as long as the games exist in some format, there isn't really much chance that the games will be lost forever.
I think arguing that video game companies need to start re-releasing their older titles or else they will be forgotten like early films were is kind of a silly argument for that reason. They shouldn't re-release the games so they won't be forgotten. They should re-release them because they will make a ton of money on games for very little production cost and because it will make their fans happy.
Yeah I don't know if your comparison entirely feels equivalent. I mean everything you cite that has ready access now is stuff that was created long ago, before copyright laws and far enough back the original creator is long dead and any rights and potential profits are no longer an issue. You then cite video games, where for a number of these properties the original companies are still around or the rights have been passed on. This is also well after copyright laws were put not place to give additional rights and restrictions to material like this. I am betting in another 100 years most if not all of the games we think are historically significant in the timeline of Video gaming history will be readily available because the majority of the original licensed companies, copyright holders and such will be gone. Sadly, by then it is too late and likely the only functioning versions of the games will be via emulation because the lifespan of cartridges and most digital media is finite and will eventually break down. Batteries in original Zelda NES cartridges will crap out and leak. Chips will decay. Data integrity will go away...
I am curious if there is actually any gaming historians that are storing any of these games in controlled environment locations, hermetically sealed containers and such. Is there a way to extend or prevent the decay of the physical media? Or is what started as a digital medium eventually live on as just that.. digital.
A lot of the point you make doesn't really draw t light the physical side of gaming, the cd's and cartridges and floppies. So are they important? If not, then as you said, digital distribution and re-distribution of the games is a natural next step.
I know emulation is looked upon with pretty unapologetic eyes for the most part, but part of me has to appreciate the fact that because of emulation, many games otherwise unavailable are being seen and learned from by younger generations. Would it be better to get legit digital downloads or collections out there? Well it benefits the companies that would appreciate the additional profits. Would the player gleam any different knowledge by playing them emulated or emulated on a greatest hits disk? Not really.
What I am curious about is.. is there a line in the sand where games of a certain age should be ok to play, view and distribute for educational and historical purposes. Will that line ever exist? Or will companies always consider their game licenses potential profits and so never allow it..?
Interesting concepts all around.. I like trying to overthink this.. hehe..
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