Are Video Games Worth Preservation?

This article debates whether video games should be preserved. Video games are mainly neglected by archives and historians as they are difficult to preserve, and a number of other factors makes them unpopular items to preserve. Video games are important as they are objects that signify the culture of our society, mainly in how we entertain, work, and learn. As tools in their own right, I think that video games are worth preserving, even though they pose many challenges.

Some historians are interested in the preservation of video games, but are wary, as data storage deteriorates rapidly over the years. Floppy disks are particularly challenging as they have a lifespan of only ten to thirty years. More modern video games that use cartridges, such

Additionally, academic institutions use video games for their programs of study, which demonstrate the use of previous technology in the school curriculum. These types of video games document the preceding works of society, and signifies the culture aspects of video use in education.

One big challenge is the copyright laws. Preservationists have to wait until the copyright has expired, where by that time, there may be no more suitable copies available, and the data may become corrupt overtime is another possibility. Digital Rights Management (DRM) also makes it difficult to copy video software or migrate new formats as this practice presents a potential issue with illegal piracy of the software.

Proper storage can preserve video games for so long, so other options have been investigated. More recently, emulator programs have been created so that video games are able to be used with modern-day hardware. However, the cost of migrating the data is phenomenal and there are risks for potential data loss. Additionally, emulators not produced by the game companies are considered illegal as they are most often used for piracy. Emulated games are also not suitable for preservation as they do not last very

The games should be put on display for the public as they were once part, and continue to have diverse roles in our modern-day culture. I think a combination approach for displaying them may be best. For example, video games in their packaging can be displayed, along with a label stating the history and the popularity of the games. The display could be placed on the outside of the three sided small booth, and in the inside of the booth, perhaps a short video clip could demonstrate how the game was played. The clip, could have the original sound in the game, but intermittently the volume could be lowered, to include voices of the players, which would simulate the gaming