Best way to find older pc games for free?

November 13, 2008 5:17 PM

Is there a site or two out there that aggregates some of the commercial pc software titles that can now be downloaded for free? For example, you can go to rockstar games and download Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 these days. For those a not on the cutting edge of gaming (like me), but how would still love to find some of these gems, where do we go to find them? Thanks!
posted by Jackie_Treehorn to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Abandonware
posted by fire&wings at 5:25 PM on November 13, 2008 [2 favorites]

*cough* the underdogs *cough*

However, if the staff does find that one of their games is for sale, they will replace the download link to a place where you can buy it.

also:

http://www.fileplanet.com/
posted by fizzix at 5:33 PM on November 13, 2008

just to clarify, abandonware and what jackie__treehorn are talking about not the same exact thing.

Abandonware is when the publishing company, distributor of the game go out of business, or decide to no longer produce any more companies of the game. Thus, it's 'abandoned.' It is still technically illegal to download the game, because you don't have the company's permission to play it without paying for it, but the company isn't offering a legit way for you to pay for it. Thus, most abandonware sites can survive on the net without the copyright lawyers (representing the companies themselves, and/or the BSA) knocking at the door.

In the case of GTA1/2, Rockstar (and the company owning the copyrights to the game) actually released the game to the public, it's legal for you to download the game.

(at second look, fileplanet's format changed, ignore that link)

also try http://liberatedgames.org/


(I can't believe my teenage years spent on HOTU has come to use)
posted by fizzix at 5:42 PM on November 13, 2008

Good old Games
posted by Class Goat at 5:44 PM on November 13, 2008

(GOG isn't free, but it is really cheap. I haven't used it so I can't say how it is.)
posted by Class Goat at 5:52 PM on November 13, 2008

Abandonia
posted by deezil at 6:01 PM on November 13, 2008

Gametap has a number of free older games.
posted by phoenixy at 8:10 PM on November 13, 2008

I'd say GOG is very worth it. Dirt cheap, and all the games listed have been updated to work flawlessly on XP and Vista.
posted by jhighmore at 1:37 AM on November 14, 2008

Please be aware that Home of the Underdogs, listed above, offers games through a very grey area. Game licenses tend to go into limbo when publishers go out of business and such, but some would say that unless the license owner has specifically stated that the game may be downloaded for free, doing so would be unethical and possibly illegal.
posted by Nixie Pixel at 2:31 AM on November 14, 2008

If you're looking for older games I would just download a ROM emulator. You can play games from every system from NES to 64 to sega. My roommates have recently been addicted to goldeneye and perfect dark.
posted by no bueno at 6:29 AM on November 14, 2008