[game_preservation] Deactivated Multiplayer or Authentication Servers for Games

[Andrew Perti]

Hello,

A bit late to the thread.  Other than the obvious pirated releases from 
the usual suspects, here is a small list of things off the top of my 
head which may be of interest.

Perhaps the best resource for Dreamcast and Phantasy Star Online server 
info is here: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ -- Though there are many like it, this is a 
tunneling application for literally everything.

http://wiki.superfamicom.org/snes/show/XBAND and if you search for 
"xband 2", "xband 3", or "xband revived" on a search engine you'll get 
plenty of pages.

Ubisoft "whoops", etc.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/new-ubisoft-drm-cracked-on-day-one
http://torrentfreak.com/ubisofts-no-cd-answer-to-drm-080718/

Super Famicom (SNES) emulator with BS-X Satellaview support
http://byuu.org/higan/

Enjoy!

-Andrew



On 7/30/2014 6:34 AM, Benj Edwards wrote:
> Kendra,
>
>     Not sure if this is completely relevant to what you're looking for 
> (since support hasn't been discontinued by the game developer), but 
> for history's sake, I'll add it to the conversation.  I believe the 
> earliest online game server simulator was UOX (Ultima Offline 
> Experiment), which launched during Ultima Online's beta around 1996 or 
> 1997.  (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UOX).
>
> Since then, UO server/shard simulators have been very popular with 
> older UO players who sought to preserve older rules of the game that 
> have since been changed in the modern, officially sanctioned servers.  
> (See: http://www.uosecondage.com)
>
> So circumventing 1201 for reverse-engineering and running server 
> simulators has a use beyond preserving games whose online support has 
> been discontinued.  As seen in this UO example, It has also allowed 
> gamers to "remix" and play MMOs in the ways they see fit. It may be a 
> stretch, but that possibly preserves fair use reinterpretations of MMO 
> games, whereas otherwise they would have been locked out.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Benj
> -- 
> Freelance Journalist / Editor, Vintage Computing and Gaming
> http://www.benjedwards.com
> http://www.vintagecomputing.com
>
>
> On 7/28/2014 7:26 PM, Kendra Albert wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> I'm writing on behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. We're in 
>> the process of determining whether to pursue a DMCA 1201 exemption 
>> request for circumventing video game authentication servers for games 
>> where support has been discontinued by the game developer. Basically, 
>> the objective of the exemption would be to prevent gamers who crack 
>> copies, reverse engineer authentication or run their own multiplayer 
>> servers for unsupported games from getting sued.
>>
>> Currently, we're in the information gathering stage, and we're 
>> looking for examples of games where the authentication or multiplayer 
>> servers were shut off, and players created alternative solutions to 
>> continue to be able to play. We have a number of MMO-related 
>> examples, so now we're slightly more interested in either single 
>> player games or games where servers played a matchmaking function.
>>
>> Some stuff that's already on our radar: Allegiance 
>> <http://www.freeallegiance.org/forums/index.php?act=home>, XBConnect 
>> <http://www.xbconnect.com>; the DWC network server emulator for DS 
>> <https://github.com/polaris-/dwc_network_server_emulator>; the 
>> Wiimmfi project for Mario Kart Wii 
>> <http://forum.wii-homebrew.com/board42-kreativitaet/mkw-server-project-english/51748-wiimmfi-patcher-for-mario-kart-wii/>; 
>> Online Consoles support for Dreamcast, Gamecube and PS2 
>> <http://onlineconsoles.com/%20>; and the various Gamespy-related 
>> shutdowns.
>>
>> Still, we would love more examples. I'm hoping that folks in this 
>> community might have some suggestions on where to look. Feel free to 
>> respond to me off-list if you prefer.
>>
>> Thanks for reading, and any leads are much appreciated,
>> Kendra
>> -- 
>> Kendra Albert
>> Legal Intern
>> Electronic Frontier Foundation
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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