"Study: Majority of Classic Video Games Lost and Unavailable"

A study conducted by the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network reveals that 9 out of 10 classic video games from the 1970s to 2009 are commercially unavailable, leaving them out of reach for players and historians. Only 13% of games released in the U.S. before the era of digital distribution are legally and commercially accessible, with the remaining 87% only playable through museums or piracy. The study highlights the lack of buy-in from the gaming industry for preservation compared to the film industry, and the challenges faced by video game archivists in preserving gaming history.