{"id":3772,"date":"2013-12-28T09:07:10","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T16:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=3772"},"modified":"2014-09-12T11:46:33","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T17:46:33","slug":"bbc-news-internet-archive-puts-classic-70s-and-80s-games-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2013\/12\/28\/bbc-news-internet-archive-puts-classic-70s-and-80s-games-online\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC News – Internet Archive puts classic 70s and 80s games online"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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BBC News – Internet Archive puts classic 70s and 80s games <\/a><\/p>\n

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Classic video games from the 1970s and 1980s have been put online by the Internet Archive and can be played within a web browser for nothing.<\/p>\n

The collection<\/a> has launched with games from five early home consoles, including the Atari 2600 and Colecovision.<\/p>\n

The games do not have sound, but will soon, the Internet Archive said.<\/p>\n

“In coming months, the playable software collection will expand greatly,” archivist Jason Scott wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Making these vintage games available to the world, instantly, allows for commentary, education, enjoyment and memory for the history they are a part of.”<\/p>\n

The other machines included are the Atari 7800, the Magnavox Odyssey (known as the Philips Videopac G7000 in Europe) and the Astrocade.<\/p>\n

Well-recognised titles such as Pacman, Space Invaders and Frogger are all in the archive – with more consoles and games expected soon.<\/p>\n

Nostalgic urges<\/span>Unlike today’s titles, which are stored on disks or even simply downloaded directly to a console, many older machines would use bespoke cartridges to store games.<\/p>\n

As the consoles fell into disrepair and became ever more scarce, playing these games has become difficult.<\/p>\n

For many years, communities of gamers have created ROMs – read-only memory – images of games. These files can be played on a normal PC by using an emulator.<\/p>\n

However, in many cases, gaming in this way can be illegal – particularly when the games involved are made by the likes of Nintendo and Sega, which clamp down on such activity, deeming it a form of counterfeiting.<\/p>\n

But older games such as the ones found on the Internet Archive fall into something of a legal grey area.<\/p>\n

Publishers and developers often turn a blind eye as, with the games no longer available to buy, the ROMs mean the titles are still able to be played by many.<\/p>\n

Yet with smartphone gaming on the rise, publishers are now in a position where these old titles can be revived, cashing in on the timeless quality of the games, as well as fans’ nostalgic urges.<\/p>\n

online<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n