This is what I have to say about this:

I do NOT promote software piracy in anyway or form. But it is not like you are going to download a full version and get arrested by the police and end up having to pay a fine or lose 10 years of your lifetime. I mean, seriously. The only way you would get something like that if you copied the game and gave it to other people without permission of the company. (Otherwise: "distributing the game") You aren't gonna get arrested if you just download it and nothing else, and not copy or distribute it. However, if you DO copy and distribute it, then your going get arrested. Companies tend to sue sites more than people. It's just too difficult because there are so many people out there.

Again, I do NOT endorse software piracy, But it is still illegal to distribute full version games. Even if it is considered "abandonware", you can still get arrested for distributing it. You will not get arrested if you only download the game and do nothing else at ALL. But you WILL if you distribute the game online.

END OF TRANSMISSION

I pirate games all the time. torrents, rapidshare, megaupload, etc. It's way better than buying those junk off a store. i even dled jj2 and jj1 from pirate sites too. Don't care.

Originally Posted by Bboy Type7

I pirate games all the time. torrents, rapidshare, megaupload, etc. It's way better than buying those junk off a store. i even dled jj2 and jj1 from pirate sites too. Don't care.

Whatever. I don't mind if you download that stuff. I'm just saying this little message to all of those who are worried about getting arrested for downloading these kind of things.

Originally Posted by Bboy Type7

rapidshare, megaupload, etc. It's way better than buying those junk off a store..

Really. Having to pay 25 bucks a month in order to reasonably download things from a website, or not pay and take the span of about 2 days to download a movie (or even a week with the latest PC game releases) is much better than taking a ten minute drive to an in real life store, pick up a game, pay for it, and then take a ten minute drive back. Or the 3-4 minutes it takes to buy something online off of Amazon.com or a download service like Steam or iTunes.

The only thing thats above buying something from a store (online or not) is torrenting, everything else is just not worth the extra effort.

Thats why I say YES to pirating, and NO to pirating through lousy file upload sites.

N00b's got a point there. Besides, there are guidelines and rules on those sites that say that you CANNOT under ANY circumstances, upload copyrighted material that must be purchased on to those sites.

Originally Posted by n00b

Really. Having to pay 25 bucks a month in order to reasonably download things from a website, or not pay and take the span of about 2 days to download a movie (or even a week with the latest PC game releases) is much better than taking a ten minute drive to an in real life store, pick up a game, pay for it, and then take a ten minute drive back. Or the 3-4 minutes it takes to buy something online off of Amazon.com or a download service like Steam or iTunes.

The only thing thats above buying something from a store (online or not) is torrenting, everything else is just not worth the extra effort.

Thats why I say YES to pirating, and NO to pirating through lousy file upload sites.

Not everyone own a car/can drive a car, It's can be half to a two hours drive at times, and you forgat about money. The "latest PC game releases" are quite exepensive, and seeing that I have no job downloading them might be easier.

Originally Posted by LOLZ84

Besides, there are guidelines and rules on those sites that say that you CANNOT under ANY circumstances, upload copyrighted material that must be purchased on to those sites.

That's just what makes it so ileagel

Originally Posted by IconGuy

The "latest PC game releases" are quite exepensive, and seeing that I have no job downloading them might be easier.

This all depends on where you live of course (I know in Brazil in particular that purchasing extremely cheap pirated goods is a way of life because at retail games go for about the equivalent 250$ US dollars or around that price) but considering Bboy's location (it is confirmed he lives in California) I still say that using Gametap, Steam, or Amazon.com would be easier than waiting a week or more downloading 70 rar files off of rapidshare.

I use a bypass. It's called a premium link generator.

The problem with those is that they're down most of the time unless you're hosting it yourself.

I found something quite interesting. Isn't posted by the Jazz Community. It's posted by some warez uploaders. Can somebody who knows the procedure to reporting this please PM me? I'm gonna be the douchebag who removes the files...

Where does "OpenJazz" stand in all of this?

OpenJazz is in the clear since it doesn't use any of the resources from the registered version, if I understand correctly. You have to provide those yourself .

Can i point out this thread is almost useless due to virtually all valid new supplies for jazz 1 are gone(hazes hideout and epic classics), and jazz 2 new supplies are virutally gone...well least the ones your legitimate buying guide.(outside of overpriced used copies and i would suggest updating that. and a single 60+ copy on amazon). The plush supplier is also dead.

Originally Posted by linuxfan66

Can i point out this thread is almost useless due to virtually all valid new supplies for jazz 1 are gone(hazes hideout and epic classics), and jazz 2 new supplies are virutally gone...well least the ones your legitimate buying guide.(outside of overpriced used copies and i would suggest updating that. and a single 60+ copy on amazon). The plush supplier is also dead.

As long if Epic says nothing or doesn't give us the permission for it. We cannot do anything.. except wait for 60 more years. Then the copyright expires.

Jazz 2 is actually very easy to find on places like eBay, which -- although you won't get a new copy -- is better than nothing. Jazz 1 doesn't appear as often, but you can still get it if you keep an eye out.
Both tend to be reasonably priced if you know where/how to look.
As for Haze's Hideout, parts of it still remain.

Originally Posted by Robo4900

Jazz 2 is actually very easy to find on places like eBay, which -- although you won't get a new copy -- is better than nothing. Jazz 1 doesn't appear as often, but you can still get it if you keep an eye out.
Both tend to be reasonably priced if you know where/how to look.
As for Haze's Hideout, parts of it still remain.

i've asked haze to revive his site.. :P

They're not getting money from second hand copies. They took quick action against some unofficial Jazz game, yet haven't bothered with the abandonware sites, and others have asked about if they mind...it shows I don't think they care. But would I buy if TSF was redistributed though? Yes.

"B-but it's the law!" The whole "point" against piracy is that the company loses money. But with a game being out of print, they won't be gaining money either way. It's Epic's responsibility to redistribute it and game distribution is easier than ever nowadays.

TL;DR: People will pirate the less available a product is, and I hope this shakes the attention that Epic should either just make it freeware, or put it on GOG.

I'm sure they'll release it eventually. Especially with retro games being more and more in as time goes on.

Although, that is what I thought before the 20th anniversary of the first game last year, so it might still be a while off. :L

Originally Posted by ShadowGPW

As long if Epic says nothing or doesn't give us the permission for it. We cannot do anything.. except wait for 60 more years. Then the copyright expires.

I'm pretty sure it expires after more than 60 years after author's death. That's heck a lot of time, maybe our grandchildren will take the copyright and make a Jazz Jackrabbit game.

Originally Posted by Treylina

"B-but it's the law!" The whole "point" against piracy is that the company loses money. But with a game being out of print, they won't be gaining money either way. It's Epic's responsibility to redistribute it and game distribution is easier than ever nowadays.

Originally Posted by Robo4900

I'm sure they'll release it eventually. Especially with retro games being more and more in as time goes on.

Although, that is what I thought before the 20th anniversary of the first game last year, so it might still be a while off. :L

I have doubts about Epic not releasing JJ and JJ2 for free already. If they know that it can't make money anymore, what's the point of not releasing it? Same thing to the source. But yeah, all we can do is to wait and see what happens :l

Wished it was easy to get. I would be interested on getting Christmas chronicles and the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 purple box that includes Jazz 1..

Waiting for 70+ years is just too much and unrealistic. Many people will forget and pass away by then. Jazz is nowhere near that level of a legacy, as it's only held on by a close-knit dedicated community. And I bet it'll get extended even more so Disney can hold onto Mickey (that exactly why free domain has been extended so much).

I would like epic to release JJ2 HD which supports dynamic lighting and high resolution sprites etc etc and release it on steam, keeping the gameplay intact.

But they'd have to invest quite a bit and spend time prior beforehand, which I don't see happening (they would think it won't sell, thus not worth the effort). Not to mention the source code may be missing. Redisributing jj2 as it is requires minimal, if not any investment.

Originally Posted by SAMI

I would like epic to release JJ2 HD which supports dynamic lighting and high resolution sprites etc etc and release it on steam, keeping the gameplay intact.

Originally Posted by Treylina

But they'd have to invest quite a bit and spend time prior beforehand, which I don't see happening (they would think it won't sell, thus not worth the effort). Not to mention the source code may be missing. Redisributing jj2 as it is requires minimal, if not any investment.

Treylina is right. Of course, it's a great idea indeed, but looks like Epic is not interested in Jazz Jackrabbit anymore and that would require investment. Why would they spend time remaking an old game instead of making a new game?

Trey, missing source code? Why do you think so?

A shame then. But who knows if anyone would like JJ2 now a days except Fanboy/girls of JJ2. Maybe its actually not worth investing for 200 copies.

But worst case will be if they ruin the game. For example: House of Dead Overkill just ruined the whole series. Better not to have a rotten game.

Originally Posted by SAMI

Maybe its actually not worth investing for 200 copies.

I'd say safely 5000.

Honestly, I think that's at least half of what the actual sales would be if they re-released it.

Perhaps I'm too optimistic, but given how many people who played the game at some point back in the '90s or early 2000s, and how many people would hear about it if Epic started releasing their older games starting with Jazz, I think it would sell really well. Especially when you think about all the game journalists who played it way back when, who would report on it.

aren't there 2 jazz3 demos?

publisher test and public test?

No, only publisher test. It didn't go past that. The publisher test was leaked though. I've played it though and it is a HUGE departure from JJ1/JJ2 and not very fun. It's more akin to Zelda than JJ.

I think JJ needs to get Sonic Utopia treatment, though I don't know of any modelers and animators that would be up for the task (my modeling skills are limited and so in my "real" game I am using flatshaded polygons, the only things I'd be able to contribute is coding and level design).

Of course if anyone is willing, they can contact me via PM (the project won't use any art or code of JJ3 demo so it won't be more legally hazardous than any fangame is).

He is right that there are two Jazz 3 demos, though.

IIRC, the easiest way to tell them apart is that one of them doesn't say "Welcome to Jazz Jackrabbit 3-D!" on the opening title screen.

I still have my oem version, albeit a rotted disc.

I just re-read with the opening post and realized it contains some misinformation in the first two sections.

Originally Posted by JelZe GoldRabbit

To put it bluntly, everything you create is protected by law to prevent others from copying your creations.

Most things are, however certain creations are not subject to copyright protection, e.g. ideas, names and titles, factual or false information, game mechanics, game show formats, and, with some caveats, fashion and food. That soup you cooked yesterday? Not copyright-protected, even if you made it from scratch according to your own recipe.

Originally Posted by JelZe GoldRabbit

That goes for anything, down to the little pencil you draw with.

Not sure what this is meant to imply, but obviously copyright doesn't protect tools you create something with or I would now be a copyright holder of MS Paint. If somebody uses your pencil without your knowledge, they aren't breaking copyright laws.

Originally Posted by JelZe GoldRabbit

If another company wants to use your creations commercially, they'd have to pay licensing fees or "royalties".

If anybody wants to use your copyright-protected creations, period, they need your permission to do so. It doesn't matter whether the use is commercial or not, or whether it's a company or a single person. The only exception to this is provided by fair use laws and protects material such as commentary, research, criticism, and parody. Among other things, unlicensed fan art is illegal. Including all pictures of Jazz in our art forum that don't follow fan content policy of Epic Games by accompanying the work with the following disclaimer: "Portions of the materials used are trademarks and/or copyrighted works of Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved by Epic. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Epic."

Originally Posted by JelZe GoldRabbit

However, a special kind of software is "freeware": free to use software, no obligations, free to spread around. The original company still holds the rights to the designs, but not the content.

No. The only requirement to call something freeware is that it doesn't cost money to acquire and use. Just because it's free doesn't grant you the right to "spread it around", i.e. you're still not allowed to copy or redistribute the software without permission from the author (which, however, is in this case often granted, in the form of a license, but may limit how you do it, e.g. you always have to include all files and give credit when redistributing the work). The original author still holds all rights guaranteed by copyright law, both to designs and content. For example, just because a game is freeware does not allow you to reverse-engineer it. In fact the only way to lose copyright protection is to let it expire, or in legal systems that support it, donate the work to public domain. Typically what creators do instead is distribute their work under a very liberal license, which is an action that doesn't actually rid them of any rights... just grants everyone else the right to circumvent them.

Originally Posted by LOLZ84

I do NOT promote software piracy in anyway or form. But it is not like you are going to download a full version and get arrested by the police and end up having to pay a fine or lose 10 years of your lifetime.

Well companies like Nintendo might just remove as pc fangame remake of old IP video games so it's copyrights violation. As I know if author lawsuits someone three copyrights strikes causes money penalty.When buying licence is legal publisher have to deal with copyright agencies and have budget to buy/sell licence to negotiate with manufacturers. I was reading about it in some ebook about copyrights.

Yeah, but Nintendo is an exception, not the norm. Usually, it doesn't make sense to fight devs of fangames unless they try to sell these.

Fangames distribution are illegal, right? It's not only related to another metroid 2 remake, but also about abandonware pc games like jazz jackrabbit.

Technically, they are. However the costs of legal pursuit vastly overshadows any potential profits such endeavor would bring to the company suing. Especially for such dead IP like JJ is (and I'll consider it dead until Epic starts actually doing something meaningful with it again outside Fortnite easter eggs and vague tweets).

Nintendo, as I've said, is an exception, not the norm. They can afford the loses legal actions against youtubers and fan creators it would bring them (well, financial ones, at least) so they're doing for some inane reason. And before someone brings up Japanese copyright law, well, Capcom and Sega are Japanese companies as well and they're not involved in such BS.

I don't think Nintendo will be able to do it forever though. Eventually the PR loss of such moves will start driving people away from their products and towards those of their competitors who aren't doing that copywrong idiocy.