Ah, but do you think that the free distribution of the antique 2d version would, in any conceivable fashion, limit sales of the newer 3d version? The only way I can see it influencing sales one way or another is by exposing people to the original, classic games-- possibly making them curious about the new version.
And yet there is the D&D tribute game, Hackmaster, available from Kenzerco, a subsidiary of WOTC. Free distribution of 1Ed or 2Ed product is a threat to that product's viability. The SIZE of the threat is open to debate since Hackmaster isn't merely AD&D renamed, but free TSR product is a close enough substitute that it is an economic competitor.
In fact, its one reason I haven't bought the game. I see no reason to purchase Hackmaster when I have a nearly complete 1Ed/2Ed library (all legally purchased, BTW).
How many of them are released by the company that released the original version, however?
Immaterial. Some are, but others, like Traveller, Space 1889 and Battletech, are released by people who bought the copyright holders rights, have a license, or are working with the original game designer. In any case, they are released by people who legally have the copyrights to the games they are publishing.
You can download Quake 1, Quake 2 and the source code for Quake 3 from Id Softwares own webpage.
That is a perfect example of the original IP holder CHOOSING to release their own old IP free of charge.
They have set the price at $0.00. That is
far different from OTHERS saying "Aw, they aren't using it anymore...I'll take it."
An electronic game is dead property the second its sequel is released, or with a few limited exceptions, after five or six years of its original release. Even if re-released, it is highly unlikely there are going to be any significant sales for free distribution to damage.
Personally, I don't stop playing a game just because a new version is out. New ≠ Better. I'll be playing Playmaker Football until my machine won't run it. I'm still playing my old Quake and Unreal games. Hell, I have games from the 1980s I still run.
Furthermore, the lower the expected sales of the product, the MORE harm illegal distribution does. See my earlier post about how a Russian pirate site completely devalued the an album by a local Dallas band.
You don't "bring back" really old outdated computer games, you create new versions.
And yet there are people who buy & modify X-Boxes and other machines, take the time to find & download thousands of old console games from Atari 2600's, Nintendos, etc., and play them. This involves an expenditure of time and money that is not large, but also isn't insignificant. In economic terms, these old games are still normal goods, despite their miniscule value.
Those original IP holders (or their rightful subsequent rights-holders) could, if they so chose, sell them online for ¢1 each. That they don't choose to do so does NOT mean that they are giving you permission to download them freely. If they wanted to give you permission for that, they could follow the example of ID or Rockstar.
You could argue that the lack of IP holders trying to sue people for downloading "Yar's Revenge" is evidence that they don't care about it. However, it may just not be good business to enforce that right.
To illustrate: nuisance suits are pretty commonplace in the US, painful though it is for me to say it. In the most common form of nuisance suit, you sue someone for just enough money to be worth YOUR time, but for little enough money to be worth the defendant doing anything else but settling out of court.
Could Atari go after people downloading their old IP? Sure...but it would probably be cost prohibitive to do so. Even so, they (and Nintendo and others) DID go after some of the sites that had been warehousing those games. Successfully, I might add.
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