"Disc rot, as far as my research has shown, is due to bad disc pressing during the manufacturing process.  Apparently microscopic air bubbles or other contaminants may get trapped in with the information layer between the outer polymer layers.  Sometimes the pressing may be slightly uneven.  Or the thin lacquer protective layer is compromised.  In any case, over time the information layer is oxidized in these tiny pockets and 'rust' or 'rot' pieces of the information layer."

That is a quote from the website that the GAF member referenced.  According to the whole article no matter what you do if the company sends out discs with these flaws you are screwed.  I don't know how you could convince any of the companies responsible to replace a disc.

http://www.rfgeneration.com/news/Disc-Rot/An-important-note-to-Video-Game-Sellers-and-Buyers-1337.php

Even in the EU it's a ten year limit on manufacturing defects.

I learned about disc rot very early on when I started collecting. I am a realist, and I know that I (at least for now) I lack the ability to properly protect my rather large and growing collection. It is likely that there are methods available to better preserve my collection that exist right now, but they are out of my price range (and too costly for the average collector).

Worst case scenario, we will all at least have the boxes and original discs/cartridges. Even if 100% of my collection suffers disc rot / bit rot or whatever I can still (with some degree of effort of course) replace each and every game by burning the games files (from the Internet) to a new disc/cart. I'll always have the originals (which will have value as antiques if nothing else even though they are no longer playable), and I can always play the games on freshly burned copies or through emulators ect.

I am yet to encouter disc rot on even my oldest CD's, but even if I do I am not going to just throw my collection into the trash. Antiques (which many games are becoming as time progresses) have value whether or not they still function ... ideally you want them to work, but if even sealed games are not safe from disc rot then what can any of us hope to do to preserve them? You wouldn't just throw out an ancient Roman sword just because it can no longer be used for battle would you? I would say as long as you have the original game/packaging or whatever you still own a valuable piece of video game history.

Who knows ... maybe they will come up with a way to repair minor disc rot by filling in the missing data and repressing the disc or something. If the ancient Egyptians could build pyramids with virtually no technology that have lasted for thousands of years ... surely we can find a way to preserve video games.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure my instruction manuels say limited liability for the maker of said discs.  I wish they would give us a free pass to legitimately download digital copies of games we own with this problem.

That is a very level-headed view of the situation.  You made excellent points.  I've lived under the assumption for too long that CD media was a safe bet for owning games.  As I said to Soleron I just wish the companies involved could make it right for us in a way where I don't get sued for replacing my property (on the chance they track the ROM sites).

Thanks, and I also think it would be great if companies would not treat us like criminals just because we want to preserve the games that we purchased legally. Hopefully, these companies will start to make the distinction between real pirates that want to steal games, and collectors/enthusiasts that are attempting to preserve video game history.

At least some games are being released as freeware though. Many of the Command and Conquer games (one of my all time favorite series) can be downloaded as many times as you want completely for free and it is 100% legal.

Also, this will not be an issue for many games in about 50-70 years or so from now (I believe that is how long it takes for a copyright to expire if it is not renewed or upheld in some fashion). So in the long run we (and future generations) can preserve these games without fear of any legal action.

I thought disks took 30-40 years before the Earths Megnetic Field cleared their data...

I haven't played my only Sega CD game (Sonic CD), but all my PS1 games work perfectly fine, and all my NES/SNES/GB cartirdges are fine too.

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Maybe your console is broken? It's too early for disk rot.

http://www.play-asia.com/GC_Controller_Adapter_for_PC_USB/paOS-13-71-g4-49-en-70-4sqd.html

Something cool to look into if you love your Gamecube controller.

I also have ROM backups of all my SNES/N64 games, and it just doesn't feel right unless I play it using a proper controller. However I still play Mario Party 2 and Kart on the 64, I have over 40,000 coins in the bank, and I hope to hit the 99,999 limit one day.

OHHH I was mistaking Disk rot for something else. Yea, unlucky you.

BTW after 30-40 years, the Earths Magnetic Field will clear information on optical disks. old school cartidges are supperior since all they need is a battery replacement now and then. New cartridges (like those on DS/3DS/PSV) are Flash Memory, which will also fade via magnetic field.

Yup, your or games, like it or not, will eventually become expensive peices of usless plastic, but you can always copy ROMs and keep playing your favorites.

I wish you were right.  If you hold your game discs up to a bright light a small pinhole will show that a flaw caused in the manufacturing process years ago finally took it's toll.  If it's in the right spot your game is ruined no matter how well you take care of it.  Read the article that I linked at the top of page 2.  It seems the Dreamcast is the worst offender and PSX games are harder to see flaws due to the dark color on the discs.

Even games sealed in the original plastic could be ruined and you would never know it unless you check them.  Imagine all the ebay and Amazon buyers and sellers losing business over this.

Nothing lasts forever. Even a perfectly pressed CD has a lifespan of a little over a century.

The only thing we have to combat RL decay is the internet and it's preservation through vast redundancy.