Study finds it impossible to buy 87% of games released in the US before 2010

One new study carried out by the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) suggests that 87% of games released in the United States before 2010 are no longer available for purchase in stores, either in physical or digital format.

In part this is because the game’s original distributor went bankrupt or the title has licensed music or other elements of this nature, but in most cases this is simply because the games were not released digitally or did not receive backwards compatibility support.

The study was based on more than 4,000 games released before 2010, of which only 520 are still easy to find today.

Another reason preventing the preservation of these old games is that libraries and collections are prohibited by current US law from retaining classic games.

“Anyone should be able to explore, search and play classic video games with ease, the same way they can read classic novels, listen to classic albums and watch classic movies. But outdated copyright laws are preventing institutions like ours from doing our work,” reads a statement from the VGHF.

Via Subway