|
#REDIRECT [[Abandonware#Early abandonware websites]]
{{Infobox Website
| name = Abandonia
{{Rcat shell|
| logo =
{{R to related topic}}
| screenshot = [[Image:Abandonia.jpg|200px]]
{{R to section}}
| caption =
| url = http://www.abandonia.com/
| commercial = No
| type = [[Abandonware]] video games
| registration = not required
| owner = Kosta Krauth
| author = Kosta Krauth
| launch date = [[1999-05-21]]
| current status = online
| revenue =
}}
'''Abandonia''' is an [[abandonware]] website, focusing mainly on showcasing [[computer games]] and distributing games made for the the [[MS-DOS]] system.
Every game showcased on Abandonia is accompanied by a set of screenshots, and a review written by a member. As the reviews are written by ordinary people of all ages and nationalities, the quality of their text varies greatly, resulting in the presence of a so-called "Grammar Squad" - a group of individuals responsible for proof-reading and spell-checking submitted reviews to ensure a basic quality level among them.
Abandonia also features a music section and an Abandonware List<ref name="Abandonia">{{cite web | last = Krauth | first = Kosta | coauthors = Martin Transø, Tom Henrik Aaberg, Ruben Steins, Maikel J. Kersbergen and Stephan Wissing | title = Abandonia's Abandonware List | publisher = Abandonia | url = http://www.abandonia.com/main.php?nav=awlist | accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}</ref>, a database of nearly 4600 games, which lists games released for personal computers and whether according to the staff's knowledge the software is sold, protected or abandoned. This list is a sum total of research and enquiries made by the site crew (with sources including but not limited to MobyGames, Wikipedia and the company registry at Home of the Underdogs) and as such may not always be correct.
The site is maintained by people from all over the world, including [[Belgium]], [[Holland]], [[Germany]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], [[Poland]] and [[Croatia]].
==History==
The site was created by Croatian Kosta Krauth on [[June 21|June 21]], [[1999]]. At that time Abandonia was a typical [[warez oldwarez]] site, with popular games like [[Monkey Island series|Monkey Island]] and [[Doom]] available for download, even though these games were still being sold in stores. In the first few years of its existence, Abandonia only received a few daily visitors. It was only in 2003, when the discussion forum was created, that Abandonia started to become a success. Things still happened slowly, though. Then in 2004 Abandonia started to have daily updates for a long period, and a new feature was implemented: Mega-Updates (Often 20-30 updates in a single day). Along with site-translations into (at that time) [[Croatian language|Croatian]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and more translations on the way, this significantly increased Abandonia's popularity as the member count rose daily, from just under 100 to several thousands in just one year.
At the present time Abandonia has been translated into [[German language|German]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Romanian language|Romanian]], in addition to the main [[English language|English]]. Other translations currently being worked on include, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Russian language|Russian]].
=== Abandonia Reloaded ===
In May 2005, Abandonia launched its sister-site: [[Abandonia Reloaded]], a site dedicated to the development and distribution of [[freeware]] games. It is a site which has quickly gained popularity among prospective gamers looking for free games.
==Abandonware hosted on Abandonia==
Abandonia has some of the strictest criteria of abandonware in the abandonware scene. In order for a game to be hosted on Abandonia, it had to be pass three very specific criteria:
:*First, the game had to have been formally taken off the retail market. In other words, it must be no longer distributed by its publishers nor by legitimate retailers.
:*Second, official support for the game must have been dropped by its publisher.
:*Third, the game must not be under protection of any anti-piracy agency, such as [[ESA]], nor directly by the copyright holders themselves. The third criterion prevents Abandonia from hosting games that are under the protection of the [[Entertainment Software Association]]. It also means that if anyone holding the rights to any game asks for its removal, then any downloads of that game will be immediately removed (although the review would still remain).
The site also maintains a constantly updated list of ESA member and subsidiary companies which can be found incorporated in the ruleset of the site's Requests forum <ref name="AbandoniaRequests">{{cite web | last = the_fifth_horseman| first = | title = IMPORTANT: RULES! Read this before posting here!, Ignorance does not imply innocence | work = Abandonia Requests Forum | publisher = Abandonia | date = [[2006-11-14]] | url = http://www.abandonia.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13107 | accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}</ref>, conveniently for easy reference when determining the status of games not yet present on the Abandonware List.
On several occasions games were placed on the site that were later discovered to not be valid abandonware in the light of the above criteria (it came to light that the game was still sold in some compilation pack or the staff were unaware that the copyright holder was an ESA subsidiary). In these instances, the games have been removed without any intervention from the copyright holders (one example may be Bard's Tale series, downloads of which were removed barely fourteen hours since their initial addition <ref name="AbandoniaBardsTale">{{cite web | last = ReamusLQ | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Bards Tale, The - Tales of the Unknown | work = Abandonia Forums | publisher = Abandonia | date = [[2006-11-09]] | url = http://www.abandonia.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=13049 | accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}</ref>).
==Reception==
The site has been referred to in articles on abandonware gaming by several gaming sites.<ref name="blogjoint">{{cite web | last = Marcus | first = | title = abandonia: classic computer games from yesteryear | publisher = theblogjoint.com: tech news/reviews/how to's | date = [[2006-09-10]] | url = http://theblogjoint.com/2006/09/10/abandonia-classic-computer-games-from-yesteryear/ | accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}</ref> In addition, the site has a significant underground presence among blogs and discussion groups.<ref name="ChefElf">{{cite web | last = Walexei | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Abandonia | work = FullyRamblomatic Forums | publisher = ChefElf.com Night Life | date = [[2006-09-10]] | url = http://www.chefelf.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5648 | accessdate = 2007-01-26 }}</ref><ref name="TransformOnline">{{cite web | last = Joe | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Abandonia | work = | publisher = TransformOnline.com | date = [[2005-07-11]] | url = http://www.transformonline.com/culture/daily/002505.php | accessdate = 2007-01-27 }}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
* [http://www.abandonia.com Abandonia] Official site
* [http://www.reloaded.org Abandonia Reloaded] - Abandonia's Sister Project
[[Category:Abandonware websites]]
[[de:Abandonia]]
[[nl:Abandonia]]
| 