>I don't know. Winning people's hearts? For the fun of it?
That's true, but as long as they can still make money from their IP they won't (i.e. repackaging old source + game(s) into a VM for sale on Steam or next-gen consoles)
Some of the source code/etc may be licensed from a third party, which means that releasing it is treading through a legal minefield.
In cases like these I'm thankful for pirates. When an interesting project is about to die because all the stakeholders lost interest and there's too much legal mess to deal with to give it away, it's good if there's someone that steps in, ignores that legal mess altogether and simply dumps the product on-line.
What's strange is that a lot of the Sega games from this era are just missing completely. Try hunting down Skies of Arcadia (even the GC port) or anything Panzer Dragoon. They were never released in virtual consoles despite significant cult followings.
That's true, but as long as they can still make money from their IP they won't (i.e. repackaging old source + game(s) into a VM for sale on Steam or next-gen consoles)
Some of the source code/etc may be licensed from a third party, which means that releasing it is treading through a legal minefield.