Just because games were released doesn't mean they were preserved. When a company is interested in re-releasing its older titles, what kind of work does it take to make sure those games aren't lost to the ages?

It turns out, former Gamasutra editor Brandon Sheffield is on the case. In this 2020 GDC session, Sheffield discusses his team's work trying to unearth, preserve, and properly highlight Japanese game history through retro compilations like Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, and Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection.

It's a great talk about a challenging task in the game industry, one that you can view for free on the GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page.