Internet Archive Launches Arcade of Classic Games In the Browser

SternisheFan tips news that the Internet Archive has launched the "Internet Arcade," a collection of over 900 arcade games from the '70s, '80s, and '90s that are free to play in an emulated, browser-based environment. The Arcade makes use of JavaScript Mess, which the crew at the Archive has been working on for several years. Obviously, a lot of people are going to migrate to games they recognize and ones that they may not have played in years. They’ll do a few rounds, probably get their @$%^& kicked, smile, and go back to their news sites. A few more, I hope, will go towards games they've never heard of, with rules they have to suss out, and maybe more people will play some of these arcades in the coming months than the games ever saw in their "real" lifetimes. And my hope is that a handful, a probably tiny percentage, will begin plotting out ways to use this stuff in research, in writing, and remixing these old games into understanding their contexts.

Comments

Sweet!!

[rodrigoandrade]

Goodbye productivity!!

Re:Sweet!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Goodbye productivity!!

You can really say this with a straight face while surfing slashdot?

Re:Sweet!!

[zAPPzAPP]

But he produced a first post!

Re:Sweet!!

[Jason Levine]

I felt the same way when I re-watched some episodes of Voltron on Netflix. I remembered an exciting, top notch animated show. I saw cheesy dialogue and plot holes that you could pilot a giant space robot through. There are somethings that you can relive the glory of - that stand the test of time - and other things that just are better left in your memory.

How long will it last...

[MindPrison]

...before the copyright holders come to collect?

Roms are being deleted all the time on the internet, I know...because I've constantly tried to find the original Arcade Pac Man roms, but the copyrights are still in effect as various companies sell retrogames themselves, which they hold the license to.