Game Jackal is a PC application developed by Australian based company Jacal Consulting that allows users to play PC game titles without the need for the game's media to be in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. The program functions similar to a virtual drive, however instead of making use of large disc images, Game Jackal uses a proprietary format which takes up considerable less storage space by working to only capture data the game requires to run.
Game Jackal is advertised to work with around 90% of games on the market, including some of today's newest titles such as Sid Meier's Railroads!, Neverwinter Nights 2 and Need For Speed Carbon. A full list of compatible games tested (to date) can be found on their Successfully Played list, compiled by Game Jackal users. While the authors admit not every title is bound to work with Game Jackal, support is gradually improving and regular updates which combat various bugs and blacklisting, as well as expanded functionality in the building of its profiles.
Game Jackal works by establishing a game profile which is used to store all of the game's relevant data. At first, you are required to have an original copy of the game in order to perform an initial boot so Game Jackal can successfully 'capture' the game for use later. If a first attempt at capturing a profile does not succeed, it may be performed any time after and anything else Game Jackal picks up will simply be added to the profile.
Game Jackal is no longer an officially supported program, with their website stating only a single line on their front page: "We regretfully announce that due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue selling Game Jackal."
Legality
The legality of the usage of Game Jackal is still constantly being discussed. Its authors claim that the program is completely within legal boundaries due to the fact that:
* The profiles are designed to be created from original copies of game CDs.
* The profiles can not be publicly distributed.
* The program does not modify any of the game's contents or data.
As of 20th January 2007 Game Jackal has ceased to be developed. The GameJackal website has been taken down and now the following message is displayed along with the Game Jackal logo, We regretfully announce that due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to continue selling Game Jackal. This seems to be because of changing Australian copyright laws which came into effect as of 1st January 2007.
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