Aside from the homebrew games, is there any software for MSX1 officially declared as "Abandonware" by their developers, that you can freely share on the net ?

Thanks

No, there isn't simply because there is no such thing as abandonware. People can decide to declare software freeware (as happened with several homebrew games and a small selection of commercial games, which we are soon to add to our downloads corner), but that's about it

I think that abandonware means that the product is not longer available. So if for a decade (for example) the game is not obviously distributed it is considered more or less "abandoned" but that doesn't mean that the owners loose the copyright of their product. I'm afraid it is not much legal, but we'd need to be lawyers to be sure of that.

At least in Brazil, according to the Software and Copyright Laws, the software has a period of life of 70 years. After that, it is freeware or abandonware.

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At least in Brazil, according to the Software and Copyright Laws, the software has a period of life of 70 years. After that, it is freeware or abandonware.

Yes, it's more or less the same thing in Italy (70 years)

I was hoping to hear that some software companies said something like: "OK, we are not making money with this game anymore, so we are going to let you do whatever you want with it."

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No, there isn't simply because there is no such thing as abandonware.

Thanks

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Quote: At least in Brazil, according to the Software and Copyright Laws, the software has a period of life of 70 years. After that, it is freeware or abandonware. I was hoping to hear that some software companies said something like: "OK, we are not making money with this game anymore, so we are going to let you do whatever you want with it."

perhaps for those specific bytes.. like, "ok we don't give an inch about this MSX version anymore".. but what about the idea? If anyone would take on the MSX version of HERO, create a game based on it, or simply a remake, for the commercial market? The orinial creators of HERO would at least want to own the 'concept' of HERO, to prevent someone else running away with it..

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but what about the idea? If anyone would take on the MSX version of HERO, create a game based on it, or simply a remake, for the commercial market? The orinial creators of HERO would at least want to own the 'concept' of HERO, to prevent someone else running away with it..

Then David Crane, author of "LITTLE COMPUTER PEOPLE", should be the richiest programmer around since "THE SIMS", that is a million-seller videogame is based on this same concept.

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Then David Crane, author of "LITTLE COMPUTER PEOPLE", should be the richiest programmer around since "THE SIMS", that is a million-seller videogame is based on this same concept.

And Steve Russel would be really filthy rich, since he kind of invented the concept of using a computer for leasure

Many games could be apparently "obsoletes" but, new platforms brings them alive again... and this is valid for the same version as original old one (e.g. emulators, mobile phones, PDAs...)

Believe me, here it comes again Lemmings (1991) or further more, games >25 years old originally designed for hardware currently obsolete (RPG games ASCII-based as Ultima I, Zork etc...) runs perfectly in new mobile platforms, and there are so funny as 25 years ago. All MSX RC Konami's roms and almost all MSX software works perfectly in a PDA with emulators, and you can enjoy them anywhere. As wolf_ said, the idea and the entertainment aiming are still valid (try to play original space invaders in your mobile phone!)

So, at least for software, "abandonware" doesn't seems to be applicable today, because the same software is still (or again) amazing in new platforms.

Aren't the various MSX BIOSes abandonware, are they? I mean does the owners still look after them?

they're technically illegal, but no one seems to give a shit.

The only emulator which legally has them is MSX PLAYer, because that's the official MSX Association emulator, and I think they hold the copyrights to the bios.

MSXA so far never made a move to stop other emulators from using a Bios. I hope they never will, either.

Some other emulators use the legal C-Bios (IIRC it's open-source) by default.

AFAIK dumping the Bios from your own MSX to use in an emulator is also legal.

My own real MSX is a modified one, to support 2+... I have no idea where that falls into, legally

I have a Sony HB75P (MSX1), bought in july 1986, and I guess I could use a dump of this BIOS. The same if I own RC Konami's, if I use .ROMs for particular use (not lucrative purposes)...

I suppose we should read the original contracts when we bought the originals... if there's no reference about this stuff at the original documentation, we can guess it's legal to use it dumped or whatever.

I was wondering if there is any arm in posting disassembled msx software on the net.

btw, I believe more people should make sources available for msx. I lot of knowlegde is leaking away. I'm constantly disassembling msx stuff (bioses, games, ...) recently just to reverse engineer information and can't find.

A lot of games and system roms are on nic.*****.fi (see MSX faq).
And you can download gigabytes of games in archives on P2P networks (I have a 3 GB folder with disks and roms, some double)

It's all out there, you just have to know where to look