Here’s a breakdown of availability percentages by system from the VGHF / SPN “Game Availability Study”, released April–July 2023:
🎮 Overall Availability (All Platforms)
- Out of ~4,000 games released in the U.S. before 2010, only about 13 % remain commercially available (± 2.5 %)
- That means a staggering 87 % of classic games are now considered critically endangered gamehistory.org.
📊 Availability by Platform Ecosystem
The study grouped platforms into three representative ecosystems, then measured availability within each:
| Ecosystem Type | Representative Platform | Availability Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned ecosystem | Commodore 64 | ~4.5 % |
| Neglected ecosystem | Game Boy family | ~5.9 % (after 3DS/Wii U closures) |
| Active ecosystem | PlayStation 2 (PS2) | ~12 % |
- Commodore 64: only ~4.5 % of ~1,800 total games are still available www.bcg.comen.wikipedia.orggamehistory.org
- Game Boy (original through Advance): about 5.87 % remain in print as of April 2023. Previously an additional ~6.5 % were available via the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops—but those were wiped when the stores closed gamehistory.org
- PS2: Despite being the most actively re‑issued platform, only around 12 % of PS2 titles remain commercially available—including remasters and retro collections. Remakes (like "Yakuza Kiwami") are excluded unless they are faithful to the original www.geekwire.com. Importantly, no five-year period in the study reached even 20 % availability—regardless of the platform or era gamehistory.org.
⚠️ Older Games Are Especially Vulnerable
- Games released before 1985 fared the worst: fewer than 3 % are still in print today—comparable to survival rates of American silent films or pre‑WWII audio recordings gamehistory.org.
🧠 Key Takeaways
- Across the board, videogames released before 2010 suffer from dismal commercial availability.
- Legacy ecosystems like Commodore 64 and Game Boy are nearly extinct in official markets, while even the heavily supported PS2 achieves only modest preservation rates.
- The vast majority of game history—including non‑blockbuster titles, indie releases, and historically meaningful but niche games—is inaccessible through legal, commercial channels.