The Problem of Lost Video Games Highlights the Importance of Preservation

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The first video game, Tennis for Two, appeared in 1958, and countless others have been created since then. While the exact number of video games developed over the years is unknown – estimates range from hundreds of thousands to as many as 5 million – it’s safe to say there are a vast amount. New games are constantly being released, especially by independent developers who are always coming up with fresh ideas. This offers players a huge variety of options, but it also means that games can become outdated as technology changes.

When older computers like the Apple II became obsolete, many of the games created for them were largely forgotten. This happened with MS-DOS games and even those developed on university computers in the 1970s, and it’s a recurring problem. Losing these games is a serious issue because the history of video games is part of our cultural history, just like books and movies, and we should strive to keep it alive. Fortunately, several groups are now dedicated to preserving these lost games, and their efforts are incredibly important.

We Many Never Know How Many Video Games Have Been Lost to Obsolescence

Games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong remain popular and are still played today, even though the original arcade boards are long forgotten. However, most older video games aren’t so lucky. The biggest reason games get lost is outdated hardware, as shown in the picture of Spacewar! running on a PSP-1. This image comes from the Video Game History Foundation, which is creating a list of important games to preserve – similar to how the National Film Registry protects classic films, but for video games. They call this list the ‘game canon’.

Video games disappear for many reasons, but becoming outdated is a major one. Take Silent Hill, a highly-regarded survival horror game from the late 1990s originally made for PlayStation. When Konami tried to create The Silent Hill HD Collection, they discovered they’d lost the original source code for the games. Even though the original games still exist on PS1, this loss made it very difficult to update them for newer systems. The resulting collection wasn’t very good, highlighting the importance of thoroughly preserving games – not just keeping a copy of the original.

One challenge in keeping video games playable over time is when the game’s online servers are shut down. This often happens when a game isn’t popular anymore, and it becomes too expensive to maintain those servers. For example, the 2011 game Darkspore is now impossible to play because its servers were turned off in 2016. Luckily, several nonprofit organizations work hard to preserve video game history, including the Video Game History Foundation and the Video Game Preservation Museum, among others. However, saving these games is a huge undertaking, considering how many have already been lost or forgotten.

No Matter What’s Done, Some Games Are Lost to Time

It’s vital work, but unfortunately, some older games will inevitably be lost over time, and some are already unrecoverable. While individual gamers can’t do much directly, supporting preservation efforts is a great way to help. You can contribute financially or by donating games to organizations like the Video Game Preservation Museum, the Video Game History Foundation, the National Videogame Museum, and the Videogame Heritage Society. These groups work hard to save gaming history, and any support is appreciated.

Do you remember any old, forgotten video games? Share your memories in the comments below and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-14 17:15