Collectively buy games to open source?

perrabyte

The idea is to catalyze the number of games availible on the Linux platform. To do this I wonder if you cant just collectively fund some company or organisation by donations. They would then use the money to buy the right to open source whole or parts of once popular games for them to be adjusted to various Linux distributions.

itbcn8

Brilliant Idea!

perrabyte

Thanks.

I hope someone investigates this possibility.

HyperInferno

What would be better is to find a way to make it self-funding.

My thought is this, I can't remember which group did it, but one band offered one of their albums to be downloaded for free off their website. But rather then simply make it free, they made it so you could buy it for whatever price you entered in, even 0. So while you could indeed get it for free, a vast majority of people still tossed in 10-15 bucks.

Similar thing, source code is freely available. Game can be freely distributed. But the binary download section, you put in a little section where there is a little radio button. one option, is just to freely download. The other option, is to download, and donate a little while you are at it.

End result, its free as in freedom, but you manage to keep the project financially afloat via guilt tripping.

RSims

I really think it would be more beneficial to simply make more new native Linux games.

saqman2060

I agree with Sims. It will be more difficult to opensource all popular games if the original game developer does not agree to allow their code to be open sourced. It would be better to just make games designed to run on linux and more stable.

mfillpot

Honestly, I do not expect all software that I use to be opensource. If the commercial game manufacturers would just release Linux based versions of their games I would highly consider purchasing them (as long as they are my kind of games) both to play the games and to support their efforts to support our community.

RSims

That would be great too, nothing feels faster or smoother then a high graphics game running native on 64 bit Linux. Honestly that's probably the best option for game manufacturers. If I was selling games I don't think I would want to cut out 90% of desktop users by making it Linux only, but making sure to actively support a Linux version would be an awesome way to get a dedicated fan base in my opinion.

RSims

Ubuntu is doing a great job with their software center of promoting independent Linux native games and applications.

saqman2060

Yeah, if opensource can make games similar to the popular ones, that would be big. It may be tough to get game developers to opensource their games but there is no law for making replicants. At I think.