It is normal in digital services such as Game Pass, Netflix and others that catalogs are constantly changing. However, the disappearance of Quantum Break from Game Pass has given a lot to talk about, especially since it is a game owned by Microsoft.
And despite the benefits of digital, it is still no guarantee of anything. Whatever the reason, time makes many titles disappear from stores like Steam, PSN and others. Recently, Nintendo announced that as of March 27, 2023, users would no longer be able to access the Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The closure of the store has also led to other consequences, such as the end of demo downloads and other products.
Nobody denies it, the digital market has many good things: thanks to this method of distribution, we have video games that otherwise would never have been released. However, its inherent transience is still a bit worrying. Stores close, licenses are not renewed and video games are lost in no man’s land.
Video game preservation – does that eat?
This has happened for example with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth. The Wii digital store closed for good in 2019 and dragged with it hundreds of WiiWare exclusive titles. Among them was the ReBirth sub-series, Konami video games intended for WiiWare. Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth was a sort of “reboot” based on the game published on Game Boy.
And there are thousands like it. In fact, franchises as famous as Metal Gear Solid are not spared from this problem either. In this case, Konami announced in 2021 that it was withdrawing several videogames belonging to the saga from digital stores. The reason? Licensing problems. Those affected at the time were Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, cornerstones of the saga. In this case, Konami promised to put them back on sale as soon as possible (something that has not yet happened to this day).
One of the big players in the digital world are online games. The maintenance of games as a service involves many problems both at a technological and monetary level. One of the worst cases was Destiny 2, since Bungie eliminated the original campaign and the first mini-expansions at the end of 2020. Having a physical copy of Destiny 2 won’t save you from this either, as you will have to connect to their servers in order to play.
The video game as cultural heritage
Although the video game has already been validated as an artistic and cultural representation that must be preserved, there is still much to be done in this regard. However, little by little we are taking steps in the right direction.
In 2022, the Culture Commission of the Congress of Deputies approved a reform that considered video games as cultural heritage. This means that video games produced in our country will have a copy registered and guarded by the National Library of Spain. A very good news that falls on deaf ears if the companies themselves are not concerned about preserving their products.
