We recently reported on the news that Sega used the British Police to recover a selection of dev kits and consoles it had "negligently disposed of" from a business owner who has a legitimate claim to those items.
Since we published that story, we've seen a huge reaction online from the retro gaming and game preservation communities.
The Video Game Preservation Museum – which was attempting to raise money to purchase some of the undumped GBA, DS, DSi, and 3DS games involved in the raid – took to social media to point out how dire the situation was for those interested in preserving and documenting game history.
"What we’re looking at is nothing less than a preservation disaster and a dangerous precedent for collectors, archivists, and the gaming community," says the VGPM. "We urgently need the support of the wider community to keep this story alive and visible. Share it, talk about it, question it. When private companies can call in the police to raid homes over discarded hardware, the stakes are bigger than any one publisher."
The VGPM hints that "this is only the beginning," and that "more information is coming, and the full extent of this scandal will soon be clear to everyone." It seems that some kind of funding drive to raise the cash for legal representation is also on the horizon.
Time Extension has remained in contact with the individual whose property was raided and can confirm that Sega is still refusing to speak to him regarding the whereabouts of the systems he paid for.
Furthermore, in correspondence with the City of London Police seen by Time Extension, the seller is, at one point, asked to sign away property rights. However, a second message contradicts that by denying he ever owned the items.
"If everything is as seen,” the seller tells us, "then every safeguard designed to stop the police from abusing their powers has failed. From SEGA to the police to the courts, every institution has closed ranks."
He adds that judicial review proceedings are ongoing, but the case is already being described as a "test of whether the rule of law still applies when a global corporation is involved."
At the time of writing, we still haven't heard back from Sega's UK office.