Gaming Preservation and the Snyder Cut

It’s been nearly a week since the release of the Snyder Cut for Justice League, a version of the film which many fans of the director had been wishing for since the release of the original movie back in 2017, and the reception has been overwhelming to say the least. But the most exciting prospect of this is what it could be mean for the future of cinema. I’ve seen rumours of a “Black and White” version of the Snyder Cut, and my answer that is… Why not?

 I actually think the more versions of a movie, the better. Afterall, what could work for one Person may not work for another. After watching the cinematic disaster that was “The Rise of Skywalker”, the first takeaway was that there were probably a dozen better cuts locked in a Vault somewhere. It may never be the conclusion to the saga that I’m personally looking for, the problems with that film are within the base story and no amount of editing could possibly salvage the answers we were given in it. However, what if there was a version that was paced better? What if there was a version that felt more coherent and tidier? By all means, release that cut to theatres, but Disney have a streaming service, they could easily throw any other cut and put it out there.

On the topic of Star Wars, imagine how fans of this beloved series would react to the Original Theatrical releases of the Original Trilogy getting a blu-ray release. They could price it at £50, heck, double the price and put in the entire saga for all I care, but to be able to enjoy the original version of Star Wars as it was viewed in 1977 in hi-definition? Sign me up for that. George Lucas said that he didn’t want to release those older versions because they didn’t align with his ultimate vision of the series, and while that it noble, I think the integrity of your franchise doesn’t just rely on how the director views the film. That movie People fell in love with essentially no longer exists (unless you have the 1995 VHS or the 2006 DVDs, which feature that original version) and instead what we get is a replacement which a lot of People feel is inferior.

 

Obviously with multiple versions of a singular film existing, you’re going to rewatch the same version, the one that you liked, but the option is there for other People, what may work for one person, may not work for another. It could also help studios with how their audiences engage with the movie. Joss Whedon’s Studio Approved Justice League may not have garnered the response that Warner was probably looking for, but Zack Snyder’s Impossible Justice League has at least fared a better reception, to the point where the Snyder Cut could be seen as the definitive version of the film.

So how does this topic align with Gaming Preservation? Well, the very fact that the Snyder Cut isn’t a piece of lost media and is now an actual thing you could watch tells me that the Movie Industry is a whole lot better at preserving its art than the gaming industry.

The big topic of discussion among gamers this week is the rumour that Sony is shutting down the online stores for PlayStation 3, PSP and the PSVita. Obviously, this was inevitable, we knew this was going to happen and to give Sony some credit, they at least waited until the launch of the PlayStation 5 until they decided to shut down those servers. However, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take that credit away as really the idea of there being lost pieces of art that should be easily available to the audience who wants it is honestly rather criminal and it says a lot about the hostile reaction to People wanting to preserve their old media.

It’s similar to my worry about TV streaming services, will audiences in 100 years find it nearly impossible to watch Wandavision if that never gets a home release? Meaning that People born after the rise and fall of the MCU are at a disadvantage and have less media for this Universe than those who were around when these films were coming out?

The lifespan of a game is a lot less than those of any other artform. Movies released 50 years ago are still celebrated today, and you can easily pick up a copy of 2001: A Space Odyssey on DVD for next to nothing.

However, a game like Metal Gear Solid, a game which was released over 20 years ago and is still celebrated today, will soon be harder to find if you ever want to play it on Console. Very soon, if I want to play Metal Gear Solid, I’ll need to find a copy for the PlayStation 1 which can set me back £15-£20, and those copies are finite. There is the option of buying it on PC, but for those who prefer the console version, it will soon be harder to find. And you can bet that as soon as that online store goes offline, the prices for that game will go up.

Howabout if I want to play the Gamecube remake? That version is even harder to find and will set you back more at £50 for a game that’s almost 20 years old. That version didn’t even get a digital release on the Wii or Switch stores.

 Of course, companies want to sell you the game again, and if the remaster is different enough, People will go out and buy that remaster. You can bet I plan to buy the remastered version of Nier of PS4, it’s one of my all-time favourite games, so to see the improvements in gameplay and graphics feels like a win for me. However, that does not mean the original PS3 release is obsolete. That version has every right to exist in my collection and be played well after I’ve finished the PS4 remaster. It comes down to the multiple versions of the game, that choice allowed to me over a piece of art I either want to purchase or have purchased helps keep that preservation alive.

 I don’t know what the costs are for keeping the PlayStation 3 store alive but I’ll say it’s pennies compared to what Sony brings in for their gaming division. It also puts on question the longevity of post release patches. In 100 years, People will be playing a worse version of Cyberpunk 2077 on the PS4 than someone who is playing it now with the patched content.

 The game industry wants to be taken seriously, it wants to be seen as a higher artform sat with Movies and Literature, and it can be. However, the industry also wants to treat every game that’s released today as disposable content, something to be thrown away as soon as the mention of a future instalment is heard. Games need to be more like Movies in how they approach the distribution of their art.