In the wake of Myrient, one of the largest video game preservation projects in existence, announcing its shutdown as of March 31st, hordes of gamers are flocking to the site in an attempt to archive an extensive collection of ROMs, betas, and BIOS files before the site goes dark. The files cover basically every known console, from the obscure Bandai Pippin to the iconic PlayStation 2 library.
Much of it is for personal use. However, a large number of players try to secure all possible files so that they can continue to be re-shared long after the site is shut down.
Their efforts have spawned a new sub on Reddit, r/SaveMyrient, where an entire spreadsheet has been organized where individual users have signed up to back up specific parts of Myrient's library. These backups are then shared on the Internet Archive.
A separate website, the Minerva Archive, has also been established. The ultimate goal is to have all of Myrient archived, and according to the website, hundreds of volunteers are actively at work.
“Myrient is shutting down. Minerva is a volunteer effort to archive its entire collection before it goes offline. Run a script, share your bandwidth, help preserve the archive,” reads the site's headline.
As it stands, just over 109,000 files have been archived, which equates to 216.82 GB of data. However, that only makes up 3.8 percent of what Myrient has to offer because there are millions of files to ultimately preserve.
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Of course, with thousands trying to find every file they can, download speeds on Myrient have been hit very hard. Elsewhere, users are trying to contact the site's owner to try to work out a financial plan to keep the site afloat, even if temporarily.
“I would be willing to donate more than $1 a month if it can keep the site alive. I would like to hear the owner's thoughts on this,” wrote one user in response to a thread trying to support the site financially.
Why is Myrient shut down in the first place?
In a massive blow to long-term game preservation efforts, Myrient's owners announced that the site would be shutting down on March 31. It was a surprising announcement, but one that didn't come lightly, according to a message shared on Discord.
In a sweeping letter, its owners revealed the extreme financial costs required to keep an effort like Myrient alive on a monthly basis, roughly $6,000 paid out of pocket due to a lack of donations. That, combined with an influx of download managers and software that have bypassed donation pages, download limits have put the owner at their mental and financial breaking point.
Finally, in another case where the AI boom affected things, the owner explained how necessary storage and caching infrastructure upgrades are simply impossible. Not only are they reportedly paying $6,000 out of pocket each month, but the necessary hardware has risen in price to the point where it can't afford it.
“In short, I can no longer afford to run the site,” they wrote.
With the countdown clock on, people are trying to pick up the pieces in the hope that their efforts can lead to something historic being preserved.
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