Re: Asimov performs a valuable service ...

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Robert H writes ...

> >> Rubywand  <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
> >
> >>>
> >
> >     Certainly, there have been law enforcement raids upon pirate
> >producers of video tapes and CD's. One important distinction between
> >such situations and Asimov is that Asimov is not selling anything. The
> >reason this is important is that selling something for a profit
> >demonstrates that is has real market value. Practically everyone agrees
> >that the wares maintained on Asimov have so little market value that the
> >copyright holders do not try to sell them.
> >
> 
> Not true.  Microsoft released Return of the Arcade for Windows.  It is
> emulated (or close) versions of many arcade classics.  I'm assuming
> Microsoft paid money for the rights to remake these games, and in
> turn, is trying to make a profit by reselling them in a 90's Windows95
> fashion.


     Return of the Arcade (Could this be an attemp to hook players of
old-- you know, Apple II-- games?) .... for Windows .... emulated
versions (Not the versions on Asimov) .... paid money for rights (It
looks like the copyright holders cleaned up, doesn't it?) .... make
profit (Guess what?! Microsoft plans to rake in the dough, too!)   Get
it? 

_____________




> 
> This is not a reply to any one person, but just the topic in general.
> 
> I support the Asimov archive because it allowed me to download many
> Apple ][ games I used to own as a kid, and play them on an emulator.
> Yes, I use emulators.  My old Apple IIc has been sitting in dust for
> years.  The prospect of having to do the serial link conversion wasn't
> enough to justify the time.  Downloading already made images makes the
> time worthwhile.
> 
> However, let me play devil's advocate for once.

....

> 
> Let's say Lord British created a game before Ultima and even before
> Akalabeth.  Let's say this game is so rare, only 100 copies were EVER
> made.  If I told you I had an original, and you've never played the
> game before, that curiosity makes the value go up.  If you want to
> play it at all, you will have to buy it from me or someone else who
> has a copy.

     Lord British is a fine fellow. Even his excuse for the Ultima bug
which resets character attributes to 00 gave us a good chuckle. Still,
the prospect of playing any of his games _before_ Akalabeth is not
especially attractive. Putting this another way: if we were friends, I
might do it for free as a favor.


> 
> If that game, however rare it used to be, is suddenly found on Asimov,
> it becomes as common as Aztec or Rescue Raiders.

      A copy would be worth what playing the game is worth. If, however,
you can document beyond any doubt that your copy of the game is the
original-- for example, the label is old and the writing on it is LB's
and you have a folder of notes, etc. relating to the game-- then, you
have something which would be of interest to collectors.

      Your best shot at maximizing the value of the original would be to
spread copies of the game all over the place. It is precisely because
there are copies of the Mona Lisa in countless books, post cards, TV
ads, ... that the original-- the only _one_ original-- is so valuable.


 ....

> Suppose this fictional Lord British game was a piece of
> crap (though was still distinguished as being his first), people could
> download it, play it, and realize it ain't worth buying this
> particular collectible.  That could hurt me.

     If the game were developmentally out of sequence-- i.e. an Ultima
III class adventure-- no one would believe your "1st game" claim no
matter what the label and notes looked like. No; it would of necessity
have to be a rather weak game. That would help establish its value as a
collector's item.



> Just because retailers
> aren't making any money off old Apple II software doesn't mean it
> lacks value.  After all, if all this Apple II software lacked value,
> there wouldn't be such a debate about it, and none of us would care is
> Asimov even existed in Cyberspace at all.
>

 ....

     Naturally.

     The talk about "value" refers to the price one could expect to get
were the same game offered for sale today. No one, for example, could
re-release Apple II Dragon Wars because the costs of production and
marketing would exceed the price at which you could sell it in any
volume.

     So, practically speaking, Apple II Dragon Wars has "no value" to
the copyright holder as an Apple II release. This would be true whether
the game were nowhere on the net or diskettes were free for the taking
at every computer store counter.  However, its continued exposure to
players helps create a market for Interplay products and for similar
games and, possibly, for a "Vintage Adventuring Greats" adaptation on
another platform.


Rubywand