How do you legally get out-of-print games?

[Timbydude]

Please note the word "legally" in the title.

It's tough to find a lot of old games nowadays. I've had to buy a lot of obscure games (Shin Megami Tensei games outside of the Persona subseries, most recently) from random Amazon vendors, but I prefer to buy at local game stores if I can. Unfortunately, I tried to buy three old games today (Skies of Arcadia Legends, Tales of the Abyss, and System Shock 2) and neither GameStop nor Play N Trade had any of them.

Do you generally buy locally or online for older games? Do you even buy them or do you just borrow them from a friend (not discussing option 3 here)?

 

[insectoid]

There aren't many choices apart from hoping you get lucky with a second hand or bargain bin, unless you can find it (and be willing to pay) on eBay or through a private sale.

 

[Radeonx]

Legally? I know a guy who runs a store that sells and resells games from all generations.
Otherwise? I might pirate a game or two. Or seven.

 

[SpireOfFire]

gamestop or amazon or ebay or something like that.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Ebay or some 'sold out' websites, there's a few I've heard of that stock some very old games... or 'perfectly legitimate' downloads >.> <.< But only as a very last resort.

 

[Kinwolf]

I just recently had to replace my Okami for ps2... and that was such a hassle, no game store I know of carried it, and I'm not a big e-bay user. I found Amazon is pretty good for finding you games though it can be pricey, sometimes it's worth it.

 

[Marter]

I go around from store to store. Some pawn shops end up being quite good for games like that. Also, check out flea markets and stuff like that. You might get lucky.

 

[Irridium]

I usually buy them off of Good ol' Games, who are absolutely amazing and you should all buy from them.

If I can't find the game I want from them, I usually just go without.

 

[Infinatex]

eBay works fine. I mean if you really want the game then it's worth spending the money to get it, right?

 

[TundraWolf]

Please note the word "legally" in the title.

It's tough to find a lot of old games nowadays. I've had to buy a lot of obscure games (Shin Megami Tensei games outside of the Persona subseries, most recently) from random Amazon vendors, but I prefer to buy at local game stores if I can. Unfortunately, I tried to buy three old games today (Skies of Arcadia Legends, Tales of the Abyss, and System Shock 2) and neither GameStop nor Play N Trade had any of them.

Do you generally buy locally or online for older games? Do you even buy them or do you just borrow them from a friend (not discussing option 3 here)?

Unfortunately, the only true legal way of acquiring such titles is to receive them from someone who already owns it, whether this is by means of borrowing them from friends or purchasing them used on eBay or from local stores. Sorry, my friend.

However, I'd suggest checking out the site Home of the Underdogs. It has a lot of abandonware titles listed, including System Shock 2. I'm not necessarily suggesting you use this database to acquire the titles you want because, unfortunately, downloading abandonware isn't strictly legal. Though, admittedly, there has been much debate on that topic.

Abandonware, in case you don't know, are titles that belong to their copyright holders but are no longer in publication. As such, it is impossible for the copyright holders to receive revenue from the sale of said titles. Many people believe that downloading abandonware titles is a perfectly legitimate way of acquiring titles in such a way that does not harm the market or the individuals who created them. Of course, as I mentioned, this is a topic up for debate.

Just some food for thought, I suppose. But as for strictly legal options, you're stuck with eBay or local stores, unfortunately.

 

[ShadowHand25]

My town has quite a few pawn shops that buys and sells for all the major "olde-tyme" consoles (NES, SNES, N64, PS1), although the selection is very limited.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

The Good Ole Games service is probably worth looking into. They don't seem to have any of the games the OP is seeking but they have plenty that's worth playing that would be all but impossible to find otherwise.

 

[Billion Backs]

You don't. Unless you want to spend forever finding someone, and have that someone charge you 200 bucks for an old beat-up disk or whatever the fuck the game came on.

In short, not worth it. Don't be a slave to technicalities.

 

[SimuLord]

I am firmly against piracy when it's actually costing developers money, but for ancient, out-of-print games that are never coming back? I can live with the moral and legal gray areas regarding abandonware downloads.

That's not to say I don't try to acquire the game legally first, and of course if it does come back from the dead thanks to Steam (or retro-game collections in the case of my Mega Man NES ROMs when the Anniversary Collection came to the PS2), I delete my abandonware copy and buy it for real as an ironclad personal rule.

 

[Aesir23]

PSN (as is the case with Soul Reaver and FFVII for my PSP). But my friend bought me a couple of games off of ebay as a grad gift recently.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Well, if I had my heart set on getting it I'd either visit eBay or Amazon. Though admitedly you'll probably either end up paying high prices or getting a bootlegged copy (which, of course, kind of ruins the whole getting it legally part).