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[oldskoolgamer]

I know the DOS version of MK3 is now available from GoG, but wonder how that applies to the Windows version which has no relation to it and is not on sale anywhere? Perhaps a mod can clarify?

[Japo]

So many generations of mods passed by... like tears in the rain )
Barring finding Tom and asking him, I assume GOG could get mad at us if we provided illegally the Windows port of the game they got licensed, no matter how different it actually is on the back end.

[oldskoolgamer]

Originally Posted by Japo

I assume GOG could get mad at us if we provided illegally the Windows port of the game they got licensed, no matter how different it actually is on the back end.

Pardon me, but what a big load of crap. GoG will get mad at Abandonia for providing the not sold, long abandoned, completely different gameplay-wise Windows version of a DOS game they now sell (MK3)?

But apparently they will not get mad at Abandonia for still providing floppy versions of MK 1 and 2 for download right besides their Buy It! links? How different are those from the versions GoG sells? I bet 99.9% of the people don't care about the CD soundtracks for these fighting games, and the actual floppy binaries are likely 100% the same as what GoG's selling.

They will not get mad at Abandonia for boldly inviting people right below the Buy It! links for MK 1 and 2 (and at the bottom of the MK 3 and Trilogy reviews) to download full CD images from the ISO Cellar?

What sort of blatant hypocrisy is this?

[Japo]

There's no hypocrisy and it's not half as bad as your rude tone.

We withdraw downloads one at a time when we realize or someone requests or reports them. I can take care to remove these downloads you mention, but today it's time for me to sleep.

[oldskoolgamer]

Originally Posted by Japo

There's no hypocrisy and it's not half as bad as your rude tone.

We withdraw downloads one at a time when we realize or someone requests or reports them. I can take care to remove these downloads you mention, but today it's time for me to sleep.

Just to be clear, I was being brutally frank but despite my use of the word 'hypocrisy' it was not my intention to be rude. What I am is puzzled and that was what I was trying to convey, because there seems to be a large discrepancy in dealing with one thing versus another, and those download links (and ISO mentions) are right next to the buy links and I couldn't understand how they might have been possibly overlooked.

Let me also point out that GoG has no right to be mad at Abandonia, because even if they have temporarily obtained publishing rights for the games from Midway/NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Entertainment, they are not the copyright holders (NRS/WB is). Speaking of copyright, has Midway/NRS/WB so far in all these years ever contacted Abandonia to take the MK games down? Obviously not. Not to mention the games are available all over the net and it would be futile to suddenly wake up and try to take every copy down, and they know this. Also the costs would be a lot more than what they will ever make selling these old games.

Forget these ancient versions, WB even cancelled the proposed HD remake because they knew it would hardly sell in large numbers considering all enthusiasts of the franchise have bought and played the games to death already on multiple platforms.

So finally what it boils down to is that you guys are voluntarily taking the old versions down despite the copyright holder not giving a damn. This makes absolutely no sense to me, because if one wants to be a stickler for the law then so-called 'abandonware' is still under copyright and the copies of non-free games on the site are all illegal and pirated. Anyway, the choice is entirely yours of course, but personally given everything else on this site I see no problem with also making the MK games available unless WB ever happens to send you guys a DMCA takedown notice. At the very least I see no reason why the Windows version of MK3 should not be allowed given that no-one is selling it or has sold it for years now.