Lost media are any media that are believed to no longer exist in any format, or for which no copies can be located. The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media such as films, television and radio broadcasts, music, [2] and video games. [3] [4]
Many television and radio broadcast masters, recorded onto magnetic tape, may be lost due to the industry practice of wiping. Motion picture studios also often destroyed their original nitrate film elements, as film and broadcast material was often considered ephemeral and of little historical worth after they had made their revenue. Some media considered lost may exist in studio or public archives, but may not be available due to copyright or donor restriction rules. [5] Due to the unstable nature of any format, films, tapes, phonograph records, optical discs like CDs and DVDs, and digital data stored on hard drives all naturally degrade over time, especially if not kept in correct storage conditions.
Preservation efforts attempt to avoid the loss of works; this is usually done by storing them in archives.
A large portion of silent films made in the United States are now considered lost. [6] A 2013 report made by the United States Library of Congress estimates that 70 percent of silent films made in the United States have been completely lost. [7]
Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives); this is usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. [8] [9]
The Library of Congress estimates that a large portion of the earliest musical recordings, from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, have been lost. For example, only two percent of the over 3000 wax cylinders produced by the North American Phonograph Company between 1889 and 1894 are part of the National Recording Preservation Board's sound recording library as of 2024 [update] . [10]
A concept related to lost music is "lostwave", a term coined on the Internet for extant recordings of music for which little to no information about its authors or origin exists. Some examples of lostwave, such as "Subways of Your Mind" and "Ulterior Motives", have been the subjects of online crowdsourced research since the late 2010s. [11] [12] [13]
Video games, including digital downloads, often fade from existence when digital game stores close, as demonstrated by the Wii Shop Channel, V Cast Network and the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The infamous P.T. , a teaser to the unreleased Silent Hills game, became unable to be redownloaded after its removal from the PlayStation Network within a year. [14] The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS digital download games Dodge Club Party and Dodge Club Pocket were removed from Nintendo eShop in 2019 and 2022 and became publicly unavailable due to reasons beyond Nintendo's control. [15]
According to the Video Game History Foundation, 87% of American video games released before 2010 are out of print and cannot be acquired outside of the grey market or piracy. Many of these titles are in danger of becoming lost, or already are. [16] Some video game enthusiasts argue that out of respect for both the original designers and the fans of the game, the video game publishers have a duty to make sure that the game remains accessible. [17] Some go on to claim that when the publishers don't, the consumers are justified in pirating the game, as they are left with no other alternative in the absence of proper methods of purchase which would benefit the publishers or creators of the game. In other words, they claim that piracy is okay in that context because it doesn't harm the publishers/creators of the game, i.e. if the publisher wants to benefit from the sale of the game, then they need to ensure it remains available for sale.
Video game preservationists, both organizations such as the Video Game History Foundation and hobbyists such as YouTuber The Completionist, [18] seek to preserve video game history that would have otherwise been lost to time, because of a variety of factors, such as degrading storage mediums, digital game stores closing, or the game becoming unavailable because of licensing or financial issues. Their motivations are that the games hold cultural and historical value, [19] can be educational material for the future (like learning to code by imitating a classic game from scratch, learning about past peoples' lives [19] ), or that they simply hold emotional value through nostalgia.
Data stored in electronic computers risks being lost if it is not frequently migrated into more recent file formats. This happens because as new computer systems are developed and new technologies are built, now obsolete systems may break down over time, leaving the data inside inaccessible. [20] Electronic data preservation is further complicated by the fact that unless an emulator for a given computer system which can decode the data is present at the time of the preservation, the original data may become inaccessible as the original hardware breaks down, as it may depend on the original hardware to be decoded, [21] although in some cases the original data may be recoverable through lengthy reverse engineering work with the objective of understanding the original computer system enough to decode the most original electronic data possible. [22]
To mitigate the loss of their data, the Arctic World Archive has been the chosen location for the preservation of the code on public repositories on GitHub. [23] The Arctic World Archive also stores a wide range of data of interest to multiple companies, institutions and governments; including the Constitutions of Brazil and Norway. [24]
Media released on the internet, such as livestreams and blog posts, are especially vulnerable to being lost due to a number of issues, such as a website being shut down, it being deleted by the creator without being saved, or never having been archived in the first place. Media released solely to streaming services in lieu of hard physical release are also vulnerable to being rendered legally inaccessible by the service's parent company, making it so consumers have no legal way to purchase or stream the media, rendering it lost media by legal means, the Electronic Frontier Foundation describing it as "a whole new kind of lost media [that's] only going to be preserved by those individuals who did the work to make and save copies of it, often risking draconian legal liability, regardless of how the studio feels about that work". [25] [26] [27] the concept becoming known wipespread following mass removals of numerous films and television series from HBO Max by Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, from Netflix in 2023, and from Disney+ and Hulu by The Walt Disney Company in 2023 and 2024. [28] [29] [30]
Wrecking Crew is an action game developed and published by Nintendo. Designed by Yoshio Sakamoto, it was first released as an arcade video game for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew with a simultaneous two-player mode. It was released as a single-player game for the Family Computer (Famicom) console in 1985, and as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later that year. A sequel, Wrecking Crew '98, was released in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom.
The Mysterious Murasame Castle is a 1986 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Human Entertainment and published by Nintendo. It was originally only released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan as the second original game for the platform. The Mysterious Murasame Castle was later released worldwide on the Virtual Console in 2014 and for the Nintendo Switch Online service in 2023.
The Wii system software is a discontinued set of updatable firmware versions and a software frontend on the Wii, a home video game console. Updates, which could be downloaded over the Internet or read from a game disc, allowed Nintendo to add additional features and software, as well as to patch security vulnerabilities used by users to load homebrew software. When a new update became available, Nintendo sent a message to the Wii Message Board of Internet-connected systems notifying them of the available update.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a 2009 survival horror game developed by Climax Studios and published by Konami Digital Entertainment. It was released in December for the Wii and ported to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable platforms in January 2010. In April 2014, it appeared on the PlayStation Network in Europe.
The 2010s was the fifth decade in the industry's history. The decade was notable for producing the first truly "3D" games and consoles, introducing cloud gaming and virtual reality to consumers, and the rising influence of tablet-based and mobile casual games, including a boom in freemium titles. The industry remained heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The eighth generation of video game consoles was released, including the Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. Notable games released in the decade included Minecraft, Fortnite, PUBG: Battlegrounds,Grand Theft Auto V, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Red Dead Redemption, Marvel's Spider-Man, Dark Souls, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Batman: Arkham City, BioShock Infinite, Dishonored, Halo: Reach,Mass Effect 2, Disco Elysium, Undertale, Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, L.A. Noire,Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Far Cry 3, Destiny, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, The Walking Dead, Persona 5,Dragon Age: Inquisition, Portal 2, Diablo III, Horizon Zero Dawn, Journey, Shovel Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Death Stranding, Titanfall 2, Xenoblade Chronicles,Cuphead, Terraria, Alien: Isolation, Fallout 4,God of War, and Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning.
Mario Kart 7 is a 2011 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD in cooperation with Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. As with the previous games in the Mario Kart series, players participate in racing on various Mario-themed tracks, playing as one of seventeen different Mario characters. While racing, the players make use of power-up items that either assist their character or hinder opposing characters. New additions to the game include hang-gliding attachments for karts, the ability to drive underwater, the ability to drive in first person, and the ability to fully customize the vehicles' builds. The game supports both local and online multiplayer for up to eight players. The game was a critical and commercial success, becoming the best-selling game on the Nintendo 3DS with over 18.98 million copies sold worldwide.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Disney Interactive Studios. Released in May 2011, to coincide with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the game is based on the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and its storyline covers the first four films. The game is available on the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360.
The Nintendo Network was an online service formerly ran by Nintendo that provided free online functionalities for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems and their compatible games. Launched in 2012, it was Nintendo's second online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection; the Nintendo Network was not a component of the Nintendo Switch, which uses only the subscription-based Nintendo Switch Online, although Nintendo Network IDs were able to be linked to the Switch via Nintendo Accounts.
Art Academy is a series of edutainment video games beginning in 2009 with Art Academy. Its most recent release was Disney Art Academy. One of Nintendo's franchises, the series has been released on Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
The Wii U operating system, also known internally as Cafe OS, is the official firmware version and system software for the Nintendo's Wii U home video game console. Nintendo maintains the Wii U's systemwide features and applications by offering system software updates via the Internet. Updates are optional to each console owner, but may be required in order to retain interoperability with Nintendo's online services. Each update is cumulative, including all changes from previous updates.
Majesco Entertainment Company is an American video game publisher and distributor based in Hazlet, New Jersey. The company was founded as Majesco Sales in Edison, New Jersey in 1986, and was a privately held company until acquiring operation-less company ConnectivCorp in a reverse merger takeover, becoming its subsidiary and thus a public company on December 5, 2003. ConnectivCorp later changed its name to Majesco Holdings Inc. on April 13, 2004.
Disney Infinity is a 2013 toys-to-life action-adventure game published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was announced on January 15, 2013. The game used collectible figurines that were then synchronized with the game, unlocking characters from Disney and Pixar properties that interact and go on adventures. The game was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS in August 2013. A PC version of Toy Box was also released on November 14, 2013. The game had a budget approaching $100 million. A sequel, Disney Infinity 2.0, was released on September 23, 2014. The third edition, Disney Infinity 3.0, was released on August 30, 2015, and introduced support for the Apple TV. This game was also later released on Microsoft Windows in 2013.
Super Mario Maker is a 2015 platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, released worldwide in September 2015. Players could create, play, and share courses online, free of charge, based on the styles of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with additional content. It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series and a part of the larger Mario franchise. The game stars Captain Toad and Toadette as they complete levels, defeat enemies and save each other from the antagonist Wingo. Each level is contained within a miniature diorama-like environment that requires puzzle-solving and platforming challenges to complete. The player also uses the Wii U GamePad to rotate the camera and reveal new information and interact with the environment.
Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure is a 2012 video game released for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and PC. The game was published by Disney Interactive Studios as a part of the Disney Princess franchise.
Video game preservation is a form of preservation applied to the video game industry that includes, but is not limited to, digital preservation. Such preservation efforts include archiving development source code and art assets, digital copies of video games, emulation of video game hardware, maintenance and preservation of specialized video game hardware such as arcade games and video game consoles, and digitization of print video game magazines and books prior to the Digital Revolution.
The Nintendo data leak, also known as the Nintendo Gigaleak, is a series of leaks of data from the Japanese video game company Nintendo on the anonymous imageboard website 4chan. The leak started in March 2018, but became most prominent in 2020. Ten main sets of data leaked on 4chan, ranging from game and console source code to internal documentation and development tools. The name "Gigaleak" mainly refers to the second leak on July 24, 2020, which was 3 gigabytes in size. The leaks are believed to have come from companies contracted by Nintendo in the design of these consoles, and/or from individuals previously convicted of intrusion into Nintendo systems. An earlier, much smaller leak had also occurred in 2018 which contained the Nintendo Space World 1997 demos for Pokémon Gold and Silver.
It's a whole new kind of lost media, and like lost media of the past, it's only going to be preserved by those individuals who did the work to make and save copies of it, often risking draconian legal liability, regardless of how the studio feels about that work.
The removals mean that many titles are no longer viewable by any (legal) means.