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<blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 1542191" data-attributes="member: 151">Another well thought out, as usual.&nbsp; I pretty much agree with most of what you're saying.&nbsp; One thing that should be pointed out though is a question of future use of material.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;To wit: when MAME came out, people quickly began creating ROM files of classic arcade games so that they could play them.&nbsp; Naturally, most folks no longer had legitimate copies of some of these games, and many had NEVER had legitimate copies of them. (I mean, how many people owned a Zaxxon Arcade machine?)&nbsp; One often quoted reason for ripping and distributing the ROMs was that it was 'abandonware' and that they were actually preserving the games for history.&nbsp;&nbsp;Except that many if not most of these games had legal rights holders who didn't like that the games were being distributed that way.&nbsp; In some cases, because they had already begun work on updates to these intellectual properties, such as Frogger, Defender and so on.&nbsp; In other cases, they actually were intending on rereleasing the games with an emulator to work on modern systems.&nbsp; In either case, the fact that the publishers had not yet released the games didn't mean they didn't intend to, or that they didn't have worth.&nbsp; It's even possible that some were waiting to generate more demand for their product.&nbsp; How much money did they loose to MAME?&nbsp; We have no way of knowing if they lost a dime...but I'd wager that some folks got their nostalgia fill prior to their releasal, and that may have lost them some sales.&nbsp; Now one could also argue that MAME itself generated that demand...and they might be right.&nbsp; &nbsp; Hairy, as you said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, I'd love if Disney would realease Gargoyles on DVD.&nbsp; They haven't, and haven't even mentioned thinking about it.&nbsp; Coincidentally, they just started rerunning the show in syndication on ABC Family Channel.&nbsp; Did the widespread presence of these episodes as mpegs on certain DC hubs lower the value of the sale to syndication, or prevent their releasal on DVD?&nbsp; Highly unlikely.&nbsp; I would guess that the success or failure of the Batman Animated Series DVDs later this year will have a much bigger determinant in the releasal of Gargoyles to DVD than an act of piracy ever would.&nbsp; (and, of course, there's the issue of 'fair use'.&nbsp; Gargoyles was broadcast over the open airwaves...if folks are sharing it for free on the 'net, is it a bad thing?)&nbsp;&nbsp;It's a slippery slope, to be sure, and IANAL. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin&nbsp; &nbsp; :D"&nbsp; data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, and Lazybones and Dr. Harry?&nbsp; That's a damn shame. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown&nbsp; &nbsp; :("&nbsp; data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="WizarDru, post: 1542191, member: 151"] Another well thought out, as usual. I pretty much agree with most of what you're saying. One thing that should be pointed out though is a question of future use of material. To wit: when MAME came out, people quickly began creating ROM files of classic arcade games so that they could play them. Naturally, most folks no longer had legitimate copies of some of these games, and many had NEVER had legitimate copies of them. (I mean, how many people owned a Zaxxon Arcade machine?) One often quoted reason for ripping and distributing the ROMs was that it was 'abandonware' and that they were actually preserving the games for history. Except that many if not most of these games had legal rights holders who didn't like that the games were being distributed that way. In some cases, because they had already begun work on updates to these intellectual properties, such as Frogger, Defender and so on. In other cases, they actually were intending on rereleasing the games with an emulator to work on modern systems. In either case, the fact that the publishers had not yet released the games didn't mean they didn't intend to, or that they didn't have worth. It's even possible that some were waiting to generate more demand for their product. How much money did they loose to MAME? We have no way of knowing if they lost a dime...but I'd wager that some folks got their nostalgia fill prior to their releasal, and that [i]may[/i] have lost them some sales. Now one could also argue that MAME itself generated that demand...and they might be right. Hairy, as you said. Now, I'd love if Disney would realease Gargoyles on DVD. They haven't, and haven't even mentioned thinking about it. Coincidentally, they just started rerunning the show in syndication on ABC Family Channel. Did the widespread presence of these episodes as mpegs on certain DC hubs lower the value of the sale to syndication, or prevent their releasal on DVD? Highly unlikely. I would guess that the success or failure of the Batman Animated Series DVDs later this year will have a much bigger determinant in the releasal of Gargoyles to DVD than an act of piracy ever would. (and, of course, there's the issue of 'fair use'. Gargoyles was broadcast over the open airwaves...if folks are sharing it for free on the 'net, is it a bad thing?) It's a slippery slope, to be sure, and IANAL. :D Oh, and Lazybones and Dr. Harry? That's a damn shame. :( [/QUOTE]

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