A new study from the Video Game History Foundation and Software Preservation Network finds that 87% of “classic games” are currently no longer available. The study focused only on the United States.
The remaining 13% of classic games are still readily available, for example thanks to re-releases or official emulations. However, most of the classic games are too difficult or simply not available.
The study looked at more than 4,000 games released prior to 2010. Every Game Boy game launched in the United States was included in the study.
The study was conducted to show that many classic games are in permanent danger of disappearing. Therefore, there is a call to make video games, like books and movies, storeable in a structured way by libraries and archives.
In comparison, about 14% of American silent films from 1912-1929 are still available today, while only 13% of games from the 1980s to 2010 are still available today. This shows that the situation with games is much worse.
