Galvez, D. (2021). Emulation as a preservation strategy for obsolete video games. Journal of Digital Media Management , 9(3), 234–248.
Newman, J. (2018). Best before: Videogames, supersession and obsolescence . Routledge. bloodbornepc discord
“The Hunt Beyond Hardware: Digital Preservation, Emulation, and Fan Activism in the Bloodborne PC Discord Community” Author: [Your Name / Institutional Affiliation – placeholder] Abstract This paper examines the Bloodborne PC Discord community as a locus of fan-driven preservation and emulation advocacy. Since its 2015 release exclusively for PlayStation 4, Bloodborne has remained unported to PC, leading to a sustained grassroots movement to “free” the game from hardware lock-in. Using netnography and discourse analysis of over 2,000 messages from the primary “Bloodborne PC” Discord server, this study identifies three core functions of the community: (1) technical collaboration on PS4 emulation (ShadPS4, RPCSX), (2) performative pressure campaigns aimed at Sony, and (3) ritualized nostalgia and collective identity formation. Findings suggest that the server operates as a hybrid technical/affective space where reverse engineering meets fandom. The paper concludes that such communities challenge traditional notions of platform exclusivity and intellectual property enforcement, embodying a new form of critical technical practice . Galvez, D