Stop Killing Games campaign fights planned obsolescence

A video game’s lifespan is often significantly shorter than other forms of entertainment media such as movies, music, and books. Studios often make games unavailable or obsolete when they are no longer supported by updated gaming systems. 

An online campaign called Stop Killing Games aims to prevent this form of planned obsolescence, and to bolster gaming culture preservation. The campaign has already achieved significant online support, recently gained traction internationally in the UK and EU parliaments. 

Associate Professor Brendan Keogh from The Queensland University of Technology’s School of Communication, and Chief Investigator of the Digital Media Research Centre, went On The Record with Fiona Bartholomaeus to discuss this issue. Keogh explains how video game studios make their games unplayable, the impact on consumer rights and video game preservation, and how campaigns like Stop Killing Games are trying to change this.