I agree that getting the box is worth $5-$15, but I would be hard pressed to call a nine year old game for "warez". Actually I don't feel at all bad about downloading it after it has been out of the stores for the past eight years.
What is Home of the Underdogs?
Home of the Underdogs (HOTU) is a museum of PC game underdogs-- games that were underrated and/or undersold when they were released. We believe that only by paying tribute to them (and distributing them if they were discontinued by their publishers) can the memories of these overlooked titles be preserved in the gaming community. Our aim is akin to Project Gutenburg, a vast archive that aims to make books and information available in electronic format to the public at no charge. As we consider HOTU a museum, so do we consider ourselves historians. (For copyright issues, we cover that later in this FAQ).
What is Abandonware?
The term abandonware was coined sometime in 1997 by classic game enthusiasts to refer to any game, regardless of age, that has been discontinued by its publishers. Due to the natural lack of organization in such fringe area of the law, the concept has, over time, been unfortunately misused to refer to any game that is 5 years or older (or 3, in some cases) regardless of whether or not it has in fact been discontinued. We believe that the definition of abandonware as it was first conceived is the only viable definition that draws a clear and only line between abandonware and "warez": abandonware has been discontinued by the developers, while warez have not. While both are illegal, the motives and principles behind each are miles apart.