Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Abandoned Video Games Get New Life Thanks To DRM Circumvention
The Library of Congress has issued exemptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Consequently, it will be slightly easier to legally circumvent aspects of DRM for lawful fair use such as the preservation of old video games.
The exemption lets players remove server authentication if the game's original server is shut down. An important caveat to this, however, is that this exemption only applies to games that cannot be played in any way after the server shut down – i.e., multiplayer-only games without an offline single-player component.
The exemption also states that libraries, museums, and archives can jailbreak consoles to play games with inactive servers.
Here's the Library of Congress document if you want to wade through it.
[Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation]
Our Take
As the EFF notes, the exemption process is arduous, the DMCA needs an overhaul, and other aspects of DRM are still a larger problem, but it's at least a step forward to help preserve some aspects of video game history.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
