3 ms·
This game is a great example of how piracy helps rightsholders. Because the original game was cancelled (and the multiple corporate restructurings Atari went th
by ndiddy 4y ago
This game is a great example of how piracy helps rightsholders. Because the original game was cancelled (and the multiple corporate restructurings Atari went through), the only copies of Akka Arrh in existence were in the hands of private collectors. Typically, these collectors act like they own the exclusive rights to a game simply because they got a hold of the board. This often makes it impossible for unreleased games to see a legitimate release, as the collectors will either not cooperate at all, demand far more money for the ROMs than the game is likely to make, or try to place restrictions on the release (must be digital only, the ROM files must be encrypted, etc.) in order to "preserve the value" of their collection. Meanwhile, if the ROMs are freely available online, the rightsholders can just download them and avoid all of this red tape entirely.
In Akka Arrh's case, the ROMs were leaked to a ROM site (supposedly by a vigilante repair tech) against the will of a number of collectors. While this pissed off the collectors who no longer had exclusive access to the game, it also meant that the game could now become a legitimately licensed part of several Atari compilations (such as the excellent Atari 50).
- fomine3 4y agoInteresting https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/after-a-lost-atari-rom-leaks-retro-fans-ask-was-it-stolen/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/04/after-a-lost-atari-ro...
- yladiz 4y agoI wonder if there is a strange discrepancy between the perceived and actual value that is being derived for the cartridge from. In my mind I can think of two main sources for the value: its rarity in ability to play (the rarity of the playable game itself) or rarity in ownership of the physical cartridge. While I think the collectors perceive the value is derived from the former, I’m skeptical that it’s where the actual value is derived because of the value of special editions of Super Mario Bros carts (which can obviously be played easily) and, in a different way, the value of art that appears in museums.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- JKCalhoun 4y ago> the ROMs were leaked to a ROM site (supposedly by a vigilante repair tech) Ha ha, a variation on the Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe story.
- PhasmaFelis 4y agoThis kind of collector is so disappointing. They're very visible in games right now, but I've seen them in toys, and I'm sure you get them in everything from stamps onwards. They don't play the games, they don't play with the toys; they don't really care about the subject except insofar as it lets them feel superior to others with smaller collections or less thorough knowledge.
- anigbrowl 4y agoPay attention to figure 3 in particular https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600451 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600451
- crtasm 4y agoWhen someone won't even help digitally preserve their rare physical game for some reasonable fee for time/disruption I can't bring myself to call them a collector, they're either speculating or as you say just want to feel superior.