Game Preservation Efforts by Square Enix, Capcom, Taito, and Sega: Separating Fact from Fiction
Entry information
Published on: April 29, 2025
Description
Japanese video game preservation has become an issue of increasing visibility and urgency, especially as iconic companies such as Square Enix, Capcom, Taito, and Sega strive to safeguard the industry’s cultural legacy.
These pillars of gaming history were recently spotlighted after discussions stemming from a SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 panel, leading many to believe that a unified, proactive movement in game archiving was taking shape across Japan’s most renowned developers.
However, new insights from Joseph Redon, president of the Japanese Game Preservation Society (GPS), have clarified that earlier reports may have overstated the reality.
Redon, who attended the SIGGRAPH Asia event, stated in a recent feature that "the facts were somewhat different from what Western coverage suggested." According to Redon, “The companies discussed preservation during a 90-minute talk, divided among four speakers.
Despite displaying some historical documents and sharing their experiences, they collectively presented that preservation is not currently part of their core activities.” Redon further explained that while Capcom manages internal archives for marketing purposes, Sega’s representative disclosed that management restricts broader preservation efforts unless there is a clear financial benefit.
Ultimately, Redon emphasized that it is misleading to characterize the event as a collaborative, industry-wide preservation initiative.
This clarification is especially significant given the growing public interest, fueled by social media and gaming news outlets, following a Japanese-language article by Gamemakers.jp and were subsequently amplified by figures such as KevEdwardsRetro in the Western gaming community.
Publications like GamesIndustry.Biz picked up the story, highlighting supposed leaps in archival efforts at these companies.
Despite the misinterpretation of the level of industry collaboration, each company is indeed engaged in some form of historical archiving.
Square Enix, represented at the talk by lead AI researcher Youichiro Miyake, discussed the SAVE project—an initiative launched in Spring 2020 to preserve the company’s vast game archives.
Miyake detailed how elements from the archives have been exhibited at conferences aiming to encourage broader adoption of preservation practices in the industry.
Capcom, through producer Yasuyuki Makino, described its Illustrations Archive System.
The system actively preserves promotional assets, including key artwork, logos, and sprites, facilitated by a public-facing database that simplifies licensing and allows for commercial reuse, such as in Capcom Arcade Stadium and the Capcom Town 40th-anniversary project.
The company expressed intentions to expand its archive to include commercials, ROMs, and music in the future.
Taito’s approach, as outlined by producer Yuichi Toyama, is more decentralized.
The company maintains several collections, including game design documents, arcade boards, EP-ROMs, and microfilms, which have been utilized for projects like the Darius Cozmic Collection and Taito Milestones 3, as well as exhibitions such as the "70th anniversary Retro Arcade Cabinet and Amusement Machines Exhibition."
Sega, presented by Yosuke Okunari, admitted that comprehensive preservation remains a work in progress.
The company initiated formal efforts in 2023, focusing on „arcade housing, hardware, and software,“ as well as game data and original development materials.
Some of these assets have been repurposed for recent titles, notably the Like a Dragon series, which features classic Sega arcade games as in-game minigames.
While there is clear evidence that Square Enix, Capcom, Taito, and Sega are each adopting archival practices and making select elements of their histories public, there remains no formal, cooperative industry-wide preservation pledge as previously reported.
For now, the responsibility for protecting Japan’s video game legacy continues to rely on a patchwork of internal company initiatives and external advocates such as the Japanese Game Preservation Society.
