Square Enix reveals plans to preserve their entire library

When it comes to longevity, few game companies have stuck around like Square Enix. The original two companies, Enix Corporation and Squaresoft, have been publishing games since the early to mid 1980s - and making computer software in general since earlier than that. Needless to say, their combined catalog (the companies merged in 2003) is quite expansive.

Which is why it was heartening to hear that the company is already in the process of restoring and preserving their entire back catalog - and intend to release it, too. (h/t) Gamasutra)

One would think that, unlike film preservation which requires the repairing and scanning of an actual physical object (you know... film), that preserving an old game would be a since. Well... one would be wrong. According to a Game Informer interview with Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda, in many cases, preserving a game can be a bit of a challenge.

"Sometimes customers ask, 'Why haven't you {re-released] that [game] yet?'," Matsuda told the publication, "And the truth of the matter is it's because we don't know where it [is]." He added that "back in the day you just made [the games] and put them out there," Matsuda said, "you didn't think of how you were going to sell them down the road"

It turns out that back in the day, game developers didn't really consider that these games would be in demand ten to twenty years later. So, they would release the game and not bother preserving the code to them. In which case, finding a lost game becomes kind of a treasure hunt.

As for where players can find these games once the games are preserved? Turns out, Square has a plan for that, too.

"Certainly down the road, we would like to see that on a subscription or streaming service," Matsua said "so we're exploring the possibility of creating a dedicated channel for ourselves."