Opinion - The Lost Video Games

Analyzing a future part of gaming history

We have a major problem coming to video games that gamers are ignoring. I’m talking about the inevitable future of lost video games joining the ranks of lost media. To a certain extent, we are already there with some arcade cabinets that have become rare items, sought after by people who are hunting them down. However, most of those games have received re-releases or are part of the numerous arcade classic compilations released over the years. What I’m referring to are games that have been stuck on specific consoles and don’t seem to ever have re-releases planned for modern hardware.

1917’s Cleopatra is considered one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters, and yet it’s a lost film

I first started to think about this when I realized how young the video game industry is. I even wrote an article about the video game preservation problem before (Click here if you’re interested); in my opinion, it's the most significant issue facing the industry. Lately, I started watching a lot of YouTube mini documentaries and video essays about lost films. See, when Hollywood began making movies during the Silent Era, preservation was never on people’s minds. There was a fear that this was all a fad, and there was a brief moment when the scandals of the 1920s became so numerous that the movie industry began to face a major image problem due to murders, loose morals among celebrities, and a Mob-like mentality within studios. Eventually, some in the industry began to realize that preservation was a problem for the industry as the first talking films emerged, or “talkies” as they were initially called.

As movies began to incorporate sound and the industry slowly entered its Golden Age period, studios would either record over old film libraries or store them in vast warehouses. The problem with these warehouses, however, is that it got really hot in Los Angeles, and the films were on nitrate reels, which could easily catch fire and degrade. This came to a head when Fox lost almost its entire Silent Film library when its vault of films caught fire in 1937. At the time, executives said it was okay because “only old films were destroyed”. Today, we know the unimaginable amount of history and art that was lost in the fire.

Among those lost in the Fox Vault fire was Cleopatra. Before Elizabeth Taylor’s 1963 over-budget adaptation, we had the 1917 version. William Fox, the founder of Fox Film Corporation, produced this movie. It featured one of the first sex symbols of Hollywood, Theda Bara. Bara was seen as a beautiful young woman (even though she was lying about her age) who rocketed to superstardom after starring in the film A Fool There Was, forming the archetype of a femme fatale. The movie was a success, but has gone on to become one of the “holy grails” of silent movie hunters. There’s about a minute or more left of the film and production stills, but that’s it. On an even sadder note for its lead actress, Bara’s legacy has been lost to time, as almost her entire catalog of work is lost. In fact, Bara had a sad moment while talking to a young actress about playing her in an autobiography before she passed away; she found that her personal storage had degraded so badly that the films were unwatchable. Today, despite being a mega star in her day, Bara’s work has gone forgotten.

Snowboard Kids is a cult classic with people who grew up with N64

That brings me to the problem of eventually lost video games. We have a lot going on here. First, we have the hardware problem. Due to the “console wars”, we have games that are stuck on old platforms and ecosystems. Luckily, a good number of these have been re-released on modern consoles in some form or fashion. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean we don’t have what I like to refer to as “stuck games”. These are games that are in danger of being lost because they’re tied to a single release on a console that is aging more and more. Examples include Bomberman 64, Star Fox Adventures, The Legend of Zelda BS, Snowboard Kid, Chameleon Twist, Mickey Mania, and Diddy Kong Racing. Could these games get re-releases? Yes. Do I expect some of these to be re-released in the future? Yes. Do I think they will all get re-releases? No.

Some of these games, which are in danger of becoming lost, pain me. The one that stands out is the Bomberman 64 trilogy from the N64. These are games I grew up with and still have memories from. I enjoy listening to the soundtrack, which is underrated. However, Konami does not appear to be interested in releasing this on modern consoles. They did receive Virtual Console releases, but as we know, the Virtual Console is no longer active and doesn’t seem like Nintendo plans to bring it back, given the success of the NSO service. There are also games I’m hoping we'll get releases for soon, such as Diddy Kong Racing and Star Fox Adventures.

Now, I know you’re pointing out emulators. I have used emulators, and they are a good technology for accessing old games, but let’s be real, these have their own problems, including recent legal action from major companies. I also don’t think emulators are easy to explain to some of the more “normie” video game consumers. There are also leaked source codes that help with preventing lost games. While Nintendo has re-released them to death, there was a part of me that was happy to see the source code for Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time leaked. Even though they were acquired in less savory ways, it ensured that two of the most consequential games of all time were even easier to preserve.

Fritz Lang’s 1927 original runtime of Metropolis was considered a lost version until footage was found in Argentina in 2006

However, I would like to offer hope before I conclude. Lost films are a thing, and unfortunately, there are still “holy grails” for film historians to look for, such as London After Midnight, Cleopatra, Titanic (the first adaptation), Pink Morning Cartoons, and more. That being said, we do have a long stretch of time where previously thought to be lost films have resurfaced. Fritz Lang’s Metropolis had been cut down so much that we felt the original copy had been lost. Then, a significant portion was discovered in Argentina in 2006, marking the closest we’ve come to seeing the original cut again. The ending to Freaks (1932) was found and added for the modern release. Wings, considered the first Academy Award-winning Picture of the Year, was thought to be lost before it was discovered in the Cinematheque Francaise film archive and restored. Video games are going to get lost, but I also think there will be ways they are “found” again.

In the case of games, it's going to be about code, files, and re-releases since we’re not dealing with film reels. Again, leaked source codes are likely to become increasingly common as the industry matures and we encounter full-blown lost games. There’s also a chance we get surprise releases that delay the danger of a game going lost. For example, I thought Goldeneye 007, the N64 icon, was going to be a lost game for sure outside of emulators. The rights and approval needed for a re-release were too much. However, everyone finally got together and made it happen, and in 2023, we FINALLY got the game’s re-release on Xbox and Nintendo Switch. We saw the same with Super Mario Sunshine, a game stuck on GameCube, although its re-release was part of a controversial limited release. Glover, a childhood favorite, got a port to modern consoles recently! It seems that as my generation gains more influence in studios and boardrooms, the games we grew up with are getting a new chance at life.

As we move forward with new hardware, cultural changes, and industry shifts, we will have lost video games, just as we have lost films. Our goal is to minimize the list as much as possible. I didn’t even get a chance to talk about the 1970s and 1980s computer games, which have a long list of forgotten titles. It is estimated that 75% of the silent film era has been lost. We need to make sure video games don’t reach that number. As I’ve said before, preservation is the number one issue in the industry, and we must find ways to inform companies that we need to preserve our games and prevent the loss of video games. Luckily, we have a few organizations already working to combat this, such as the Video Game History Foundation. Let’s do our best to ensure we don’t lose this history.

Correction: Previous version of article had listed Wings as being found in a Paramount Pictures Vault, when it was actually the Cinematheque Francaise film archive.

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