[game_preservation] Deactivated Multiplayer or Authentication Servers for Games

[REDON Joseph (gamepres)]

Hi Kendra,

I have no example regarding Japan.

But as Henry pointed out, Battlenet servers is one of the earliest attempt
to emulate a game server in order to escape from maker's limitation (for
example to be able to play with an older version of the game).
Mostly used to play Starcraft but also Diablo and Diablo II.
I know such servers are still running around the world even now (and that
Blizzard used to fight against them).

I can think of Worms Armageddon too.
The Wormnet server stopped early and there were many attempts to emulate it.
The funny thing is that although Worms armageddon is almost 15 years old,
it was officialy updated by Team17 last year to support modern OS :
http://www.team17.com/news/2013-03-19/worms-armageddon-3-7-2-1-released
And the game is officaly patched so it can be used with alternate private
servers (Team17 even explain where to find them).
A great example that others like Blizzard should follow.

I heard also that some people were still emulating servers used in
France for the Minitel (in the 80's), but I have no specific source.

Joseph




2014-07-29 8:26 GMT+09:00 Kendra Albert <kalbert at jd16.law.harvard.edu>:

>  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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