Mobile Games Have a Preservation Problem

Mobile Games Have a Preservation Problem

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Mobile games, and video games in general, have a preservation issue, with so many experiences being lost to time once their service ends.

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Mobile Games Have a Preservation Problem

Preservation is an ongoing issue in video games, especially as more and more titles shift to being digital-only. As technology advances in games the question must be asked; what happens to these games as they grow older? How does the industry make sure they’re kept in history, and that there’s a record.

This is especially true with mobile games on iOS and Android, as countless games out there require a server to connect to. When these games end service, what happens to that experience?

Mobile games aren’t always the most engaging or complex experiences out there, but the fact is that the industry is still losing unique games to obscurity.

Mobile Games Need A Way to Be Preserved

Mobile Games Have a Preservation Problem

The mobile scene has been flooded with countless games over the years, from shameless clones of popular titles to entirely original ideas. The problem is that so many of these games are connected to the internet in order to function, and when that stops it’s gone. For example, Square Enix announced in January 2020 that Mobius Final Fantasy would stop service in June worldwide.

This means the game will be offline and inaccessible from then on. Mobius may not be as hefty as a console game, but it still tells an original story with both new and familiar characters. Now, after June, that story can only be experienced via YouTube videos. Video games are an interactive medium, and every one is designed with that player interaction in mind. It’s truly a shame that any game can’t be experienced the way its developers wanted. Mobius is just a small drop in the bucket of the countless mobile games that can never be played again.

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Video games are still a young medium, comparatively, and there’s no easy way to archive them, like you might be able to with a film or book. On top of this, the hardware necessary to play games decays. Just look at the original Pokemon Gold and Silver, which used a battery inside the cartridge to keep track of time. Once that battery dies the game can’t be saved anymore unless someone opens up the cartridge and replaces the battery.

The Industry as a Whole Needs to Look at Preservation More

Video game preservation isn’t something pursued by many, mostly falling to small groups of historians or enthusiasts. In 2018, the Library of Congress ruled that video game preservation is legal, with a few restrictions. It was a step forward for preservationists, but the big catch is that anyone trying to archive games would need to obtain a given game’s code legally, which oftentimes doesn’t happen as publishers are developers aren’t willing to part with it.

Mobile games certainly aren’t the only area that suffers from a preservation problem, as plenty of console and PC games meet the same fate. Massive games like Star Wars Galaxies or City of Heroes can’t be accessed in any way. Obviously, it’s a bit tricky as these kinds of games are completely reliant on multiplayer experiences. From the perspective of keeping a player-base, there’s no point in keeping games going, but for the sake of preserving the industry’s history, it’s vitally important. Down the road, if video game fans and those that make them want to be able to look back at the past, it’s important that the industry as a whole starts thinking of how to preserve things.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mobile-games-preservation-problem/

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