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Originally posted by TheSmyth@Mar 15 2005, 06:02 PM
I have nothing personal against cdaccess or any of the other comapnies offering older titles. Credit to them (although the prices do seem extortionate!!!* )
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Yep, the prices can be anything from a dollar to 50. There's a list of online stores stickied at the Favourite Oldies and Newbies, and going through them can sometimes help finding better offers.
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But like people have already commented, does one retailer selling the software mean that it is not abandonware?
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Well, yes and no. The usual definition of abandonware is that the game is no longer sold or supported by the copyright holder. By this definition the software in your example would not be abandonware. However, for example HOTU and Abandonia wish to support the retailers and not offer downloads for games that are available for purchase on the net. Other sites may have different policies.
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If that same store was still running, and selling any game on this site, would it mean that it wasn't abandonware?
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It'd mean that instead of a download link there would be a buy link to the site selling the game.
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Or how about if i buy every copy from cdaccess, and offer them for sale as "new" on ebay?
Or perhaps a specialist games shop (expensive types of places that sell snes consoles for ?100 and that type of thing) is selling used copies for ?40? We'd be putting them out of business.
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Well, yeah, here's the thing. Generally only established merchants selling new copies of software are accepted. For example eBay and the second-hand sales at Amazon aren't taken into account.
It is true that for example the specialist stores you mentioned can be harmed by abandonware sites, but the line has to be drawn somewhere, and I personally believe that currently it is at the right place.
And what comes to CDAccess selling OEM versions, that is a bit disturbing. But then again, it is not uncommon to find OEM versions from bargain bins, either. However, I've dropped a line to CDA asking them about it, and hopefully soon they will explain their point of view (or alternatively either ignore my e-mail or send a bunch of corporate bulls manure).