My friend and I were discussing this over the weekend. Games are inherently different than movies, books, and music. They’re tied to specific hardware and operating systems that may not be available anymore.
I argue that if a game is no longer legally purchasable from the publishers or developer, it should be legally permitted to pirate it. Even EA agrees! They do not pursue copyright claims against LOTR games, as they lost the publishing license from New Line Cinemas years ago.
Its very easy to play the older AC games. Download a rom/iso and emulator
This is exactly why emulation is a needed thing.
Shortly before launch, I set up AC4A on a PS3 emulator and it literally could not have been easier.
Well, except for the fact that all four PS3 AC games are listed as “Ingame” on the RPCS3 compatability list.
Those ratings are user-reported and most are several years out of date. I played 4A from beginning to end without any issues.