[game_preservation] Deactivated Multiplayer or Authentication Servers for Games

[Benj Edwards]

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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