Yes, but some rare games like the EcoQuest series and any of the Quest collection series can cost one up to $100 plus. One can buy a single King’s Quest 1 on ebay but on today’s computers, you would need the collection series since they don’t support the huge floppy disks and whatnot. Also, some fans may not have the money to build their own computer just for old games. I’ve seen many Sierra games (mostly rare) reach to expensive costs to which some cannot afford.
Yes, it’s illegal to copy games, but it is also unfair that these great games can’t be enjoyed as much as they can be. As to whether or not copying games is ethical, it can go two ways. One being, to what the laws and official rules are, and two being, what simply in one’s mind thinks what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong.’
As I think of it, as this world goes on, rules are constantly made since the beginning days. Would the cavemen think copying games would be wrong? Would the spectators of the Salem witch trials think that a mobile phone is evil and thus sentence you to death just because it wasn’t the ‘norm’ and therefore ‘illegal?’ We may go to jail or pay a fine for disobeying todays laws, but it basically is decided by ourselves, what we think is right or wrong, whether our actions are illegal or not.
But, to make us all happy, hopefully Vivendi will realize the goldmine that they have and finally release these compilations to the public. 🙂