Steve Englund, a lawyer for the Electronic Software Association, was asked about a theoretical possibility in which public libraries would be allowed to preserve online video games after official support ends.
In response, Englund said that currently its ESA members (virtually all major publishers, including Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Take-Two) do not support variations that provide remote access. And currently, developers and publishers have no legal obligation to maintain access to online services beyond their official support.
On the other hand, it is not legal for users to resurrect unsupported online games, although this was not an obstacle for several older titles. That’s why anyway dozens of games became unusable and this number is only increasing due to the proliferation of titles that require an online connection and servers.
Englund suggested that Ivy League schools (a collection of eight American universities) could help with preservation, but he said having a physical venue to host these games and allow easy access isn’t the answer.
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