Delisted Games

[eightbit]

I was looking around online recently to see if someone was keeping a definitive list of digital games that have been "delisted" (no longer available for download or purchase digitally) and found this website:

 

https://delistedgames.com

 

Pretty interesting stuff. They are keeping tabs on delisted titles, upcoming delisted titles and upcoming server shutdowns. Sad to see so many titles that were offered digital only that have become "extinct" (cannot be found physically anywhere else):

https://delistedgames.com/extinct-list/

 

That's quite a long list but I suspect it is nowhere near complete. Just thought it was interesting to see someone cataloging games that you cannot get anymore. There are some games there that I really wanted to try but never got around to purchasing (Afterburner Climax was one) but I guess when its gone its gone.

 

 

[Tanooki]

Yeesh there are some good titles on those lists. A real shame, but it's something like you said that would likely grow as more is learned of losses, and then with more licensing shenanigans or network (like pre-Nintendo Network to current for Wii and DS) take downs by the owner the losses will only grow. Sure you have warez, people will jack stuff to keep it out there, but legally speaking the losses are real and illegally speaking not always still the easiest way to find let alone fire up anymore too. I still have that Afterburner Climax on my Android tablet and wow that's a good game and a terrible loss.

[eightbit]

I didn't think of Android. I just checked the Play store. Nope. AB Climax is gone from there as well.

 

And people wonder why I advocate for physical titles over digital. If it were released physically I would have been able to easily pick it up on ebay or the like. But people keep buying into this digital arena thinking it is all rainbows and sunshine. This is not how I want to see games end up...that is for sure.

 

Now I have my choice of digging up a pirated copy and modded a console to play it, or waiting in hopes that it will be released one day again.

Edited August 13, 2018 by eightbit

[Tanooki]

Yup on Android it's gone, but not really, you can pirate the hell out of that by side loading on a stock OS if you can find the APK file, not so much with the walled garden that is iOS unfortunately. I've got a few things I've kept around at times, one I still do because it got pulled which was the android conversion of the old PC game Dune 2.

[Flojomojo]

The only mobile games I really miss are Llamasoft's things on iOS, the "Minotaur Project." They made most of it available for free on Android:

http://www.minotaurproject.co.uk/Minotaur/donate.php

No Minotron though.

 

Many mobile games require internet now, they're dynamic and change all the time because they're massively multiplayer and depend on servers. This isn't necessarily bad, just a different approach from one-and-done designs from the past.

 

The purge of all 32-bit apps from ios11 was painful. I buy a lot of mobile games so I try to look it them as entertainment for now, not an investment to keep forever. They're cheap and plentiful so it's hard for me to get overly attached like with classic games.

[Rocket Man]

Thank you, eightbit for the cool post! It saddens me to see all these games go the way of the Dinosaur, but it's interesting none the less.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I was looking around online recently to see if someone was keeping a definitive list of digital games that have been "delisted" (no longer available for download or purchase digitally) and found this website:

 

https://delistedgames.com

 

Pretty interesting stuff. They are keeping tabs on delisted titles, upcoming delisted titles and upcoming server shutdowns. Sad to see so many titles that were offered digital only that have become "extinct" (cannot be found physically anywhere else):

 

https://delistedgames.com/extinct-list/

 

That's quite a long list but I suspect it is nowhere near complete. Just thought it was interesting to see someone cataloging games that you cannot get anymore. There are some games there that I really wanted to try but never got around to purchasing (Afterburner Climax was one) but I guess when its gone its gone.

 

I have Meme run downloaded (extinct Wii-U).

 

I still have all of the gba ambassador games, but I wouldn't consider them extint, being available in physical form on gba from secondhand shops.

[Eltigro]

I have all the achievements for the 1 vs 100 game on the 360. =)

[Andromeda Stardust]

Many mobile games require internet now, they're dynamic and change all the time because they're massively multiplayer and depend on servers. This isn't necessarily bad, just a different approach from one-and-done designs from the past.

The purge of all 32-bit apps from ios11 was painful. I buy a lot of mobile games so I try to look it them as entertainment for now, not an investment to keep forever. They're cheap and plentiful so it's hard for me to get overly attached like with classic games.

Simple solution to that. Get an old 32-bit iPad and redownload all your beloved 32-bit apps before they disappear. Eventually though, the 32-bit iPads either won't connect or the store will be completely empty after all 32-bit apps delisted. Times a wastin. Back it up while you still have the chance...

[Flojomojo]

Simple solution to that. Get an old 32-bit iPad and redownload all your beloved 32-bit apps before they disappear. Eventually though, the 32-bit iPads either won't connect or the store will be completely empty after all 32-bit apps delisted. Times a wastin. Back it up while you still have the chance...

It's a little late for this ...iTunes hasn't supported mobile apps for almost a year, so you'd need an older version of that, too. There's a USB workaround

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201593

but it's not as easy as it used to be.

 

It's okay, I've come to accept the ecosystem, and the fact that if developers choose not to maintain their apps, it's ok to abandon them in return. Insert comments about "disposable culture" and how ye olde floppy diskettes were better here.

 

I do have some of my faves (Llamasoft, Star Wars) saved in a folder, and my iPad 1 has zero resale value, but I doubt I'll be coming back to it much in the future, if ever. It's ok.

[Andromeda Stardust]

It's a little late for this ...iTunes hasn't supported mobile apps for almost a year, so you'd need an older version of that, too. There's a USB workaround

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201593

but it's not as easy as it used to be.

 

It's okay, I've come to accept the ecosystem, and the fact that if developers choose not to maintain their apps, it's ok to abandon them in return. Insert comments about "disposable culture" and how ye olde floppy diskettes were better here.

 

I do have some of my faves (Llamasoft, Star Wars) saved in a folder, and my iPad 1 has zero resale value, but I doubt I'll be coming back to it much in the future, if ever. It's ok.

You needed iTunes to download mobile apps to your device? I thought they connected to the internet through wifi...

[Flojomojo]

You needed iTunes to download mobile apps to your device? I thought they connected to the internet through wifi... ??:

In olden times, you'd sync with a wire, like an old iPod, until iCloud came along to make iThings less dependent on a "host" machine. Now, you don't even have the option to do that, everything is wireless/cloud based. Rumors have it that the iPhone X was originally planned without a wire port at all, everything, from charging to setup would be done wirelessly.

[Andromeda Stardust]

In olden times, you'd sync with a wire, like an old iPod, until iCloud came along to make iThings less dependent on a "host" machine. Now, you don't even have the option to do that, everything is wireless/cloud based. Rumors have it that the iPhone X was originally planned without a wire port at all, everything, from charging to setup would be done wirelessly.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7" with wifi (purchased last year) still utilizes a 1/8" analog headphone jack.

[dj_convoy]

I've a 360 full of indie games that I fear for whenever they finally stop allowing the 360 to log into servers. Most of those games look for some kind of MS server validation for whatever reason before you can launch them. I will probably have to have some kind of mod done to it that can trick it into thinking it's getting that server pingback before too long.

[Rocket Man]

I've a 360 full of indie games that I fear for whenever they finally stop allowing the 360 to log into servers. Most of those games look for some kind of MS server validation for whatever reason before you can launch them. I will probably have to have some kind of mod done to it that can trick it into thinking it's getting that server pingback before too long.

 

I hope you're wrong. I have a ton of DLed games (games that didn't have physical releases) on the PS3 & PS4, and a few on the Wii... and they all boot up without Internet. Most of the ones you have in your Collection, require you to be online, 'just' to run them? That's inane beyond all words, if so...

[Video]

I've got plenty of 360 do games, I don't recall any HAVING to have internet access. This is the reason I still play 360 far more than Xbox one, that thing is just to inconvenient to mess with.

[Flojomojo]

Telltale is going under, which likely means we can kiss updated mobile versions of their games goodbye. I wish Microsoft or someone like that would save them.

 

Meanwhile, the shambling corpse wearing the skin of Atari still walks the earth, dropping annual Centipedes and Asteroids as it goes

[Hydro Thunder]

I've got plenty of 360 do games, I don't recall any HAVING to have internet access. This is the reason I still play 360 far more than Xbox one, that thing is just to inconvenient to mess with.

My understanding is that Xbox Live Arcade games for the 360 don't need internet access once they're downloaded.

However Xbox Live Indie Games do; I don't think they're playable without connection to the server for some idiotic reason.

And man, are there some gems. I miss the old XBLA and XBIG.

[Rick Dangerous]

So bummed I will never get to play Afterburner Climax for the XB360. By the time I got one the game was long gone... Not a fan of digital only. It's disposable gaming content. Works well for some, its not for me.

[roadrunner]

Pac-Man Bounce, no longer in the Google Play Store


https://www.mobygames.com/game/pac-man-bounce
 

[roadrunner]

Pac-Man Dash!




Pac-Man Dash! was a side-scrolling endless runner-style game released for iOS and Android devices, by Namco Bandai Games as part of the Pac-Man series of games. The game's setting and design was primarily based on the CGI animated series Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures and contained many characters, references, and music tracks from it. The game was later removed from the App Store in March 2017.

 

[TheGameCollector]

My wife used to play Looney Tunes Dash! on her iPad but it required a constant internet connection, so once they pulled the servers in 2018 it became unplayable. I don't know if anyone successfully ripped the levels to emulate it or not. I see it listed on a Bluestacks emulation site but I have no idea if the game would be functional there or still useless.

Edited March 5, 2022 by TheGameCollector

[TheGameCollector]

On 9/22/2018 at 11:11 PM, Hydro Thunder said:

My understanding is that Xbox Live Arcade games for the 360 don't need internet access once they're downloaded.

However Xbox Live Indie Games do; I don't think they're playable without connection to the server for some idiotic reason.

And man, are there some gems. I miss the old XBLA and XBIG.

If you have a modded Xbox 360 like an RGH, all the digital titles will work as it is essentially jailbroken. The challenge is actually finding the backed up files. It is basically the only way to even get some of the delisted stuff anymore. That or finding out if an Xbox 360 emulator can run the file if you find it.

 

Delisted games should just be considered abandonware IMO. If nobody is selling it then make it free.

Edited March 5, 2022 by TheGameCollector

[vrocko]

Just came to this forum. This forum is the whole reason I try to buy physical copies instead of digital. Now I'll agree there are some digital copies I see that I can't beat the price (WRC 5 for $5.99 was cheap and good) and free is always good, well depending on the game, but all digital, online only games is where I have issues. Once the server is shut down you're done. No game, no nothing. I've played a couple PC games like that but I spent no money on them so if they shut down well I was upset it's gone but nothing I could do about it. Consoles for me are different. Maybe I can mod it so I can play either online or just on my console but will the big 3 or the game owners come down on me and say "No game's gone, you can't do that. We own it still, even though it's not available to play anymore." You know you pay for it you should still be able to play it but that's really the point of digital only games. Income for the game company and the big 3 but if no one is playing anymore we shut it down. I'm out money and a game, they free up servers for more of the same. I saw a lot of games on that Delisted game site that I'd like to get my hands but it's not possible. Now they're just shuffled off to the bit bucket never to be heard from again. Playstation Home for instance. I liked exploring on there. Seeing the sites and meeting people but it's gone and all I have are some pictures telling me it existed. The OUYA was like that but they were able to alter code to allow access to a new server, kept up by OUYA users I think, to allow you to play the games you have. Not being able to play any of these delisted games, not even having a physical copy of these games makes me upset thinking of all the code written and time taken to create them and all the people that put hours into playing them to not even have proof that they ever existed except possibly pictures on a hard drive. It doesn't even exist as abandonware. All that gaming history gone with one press of the DELETE key.    

Edited April 20, 2022 by vrocko

[NeonSpaceBeagle]

It is kind of depressing, but I have faith in the preservation community. I could be really naive tho.