Internet Archive Brings Classic Windows 3.1 Apps To Your Browser (google.com)

The Internet Archive has made it possible for you to make a virtual visit to the wide, wide world of Windows 3.1 games (and other apps, too), via a collection of virtualized images. Jason Scott is the game collector and digital archivist behind the online museum of malware mentioned here a few days ago. "Now," Ars Technica reports, "Scott and his crew have done it again with the Windows 3.X Showcase, made up of a whopping 1,523 downloads (and counting), all running in a surprisingly robust, browser-based JavaScript emulation of Windows 3.1. You'll recognize offerings like WinRisk and SkiFree, but the vast majority of the collection sticks to a particularly wild world of Windows shareware history, one in which burgeoning developers seemed to throw everything imaginable against 3.1's GUI wall to see what stuck." Says the article: A volunteer "really did the hard work" of getting the Windows files required for each DOSBOX instance down to 1.8 MB, and in the process came up with a more centralized version of those files on his server's side, as opposed to kinds that would require optimizations for every single emulated app.

Comments

Apps

[Calydor]

Strange.

I don't recall those programs being called apps. Applications maybe, more commonly programs ... but not apps.

Re:On the topic of old software being emulated

[omnichad]

Copyright doesn't have to expire for this to be possible. Companies can choose to officially offer free licenses to abandonware, while still selling emulated/ported versions commercially - and preventing other companies from profiting commercially on their IP. But instead, they want to re-monetize for every generation. Just look at Virtual Console on Wii and Wii U. Re-buy if you want it on 3DS too.

I just wish I could buy a used legal copy of The Neverhood for less than $30. I never played it when it was new (I was in high school and broke). The creator of the game even wants to release it, but EA isn't even willing to put in the effort to release it for the 6,000 people that posted on Gog.com that they want it too. Just think - I would pay $10-15 easily and so would most of the 6,000. How much could it possibly cost to put a release together?

Game companies are just shortsighted for not looking at long tail sales. Yes, The Neverhood would only sell maybe 10,000 more copies in 5 years. But they own the rights to dozens or hundreds of abandoned games. All they have to do is dedicate one staff person part-time with a little authority.