15 replies to this topic

[Herbarius]

Look... GOG.com

Quote

Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.

We're very grateful for all support we've received from all of you in the past two years. Working on GOG.com was a great adventure for all of us and an unforgettable journey to the past, through the long and wonderful history of PC gaming.

This doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.

On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games. Stay tuned to this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

All the best,
GOG.com Team

For those who don't know what this is/was: GOG.com ("Good old Gaming") was an online game distribution platform focussed on (but not limited to) older/classic PC games. The way it stood out in comparison with similar platforms (like Steam) was that they did not use any form of copy protection or DRM on the games. If you bought a game there, you could download it, and in theory copy it for all your friends as much as you wanted, all GOG.com said about it was "Please don't do that."

OK, what's your opinions on this? I haven't ever bought a game there, but if I did, I would be pissed, especially if I didn't download it yet or had deleted it believing I could re-download it there anytime.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

I bought secveral games there. DRM free, cheap and usable on modern OS with extras added to many titles from downloadable manuals to soundtracks, artwork etc.
Yeah I hope it is not true but FYI IT MIGHT JUST BE a really bad P.R. STUNT:
GOG really closed or bad PR stunt? CLICK HERE

[Christophero Sly]

It will be an especially bad stunt if they return with DRM.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Christophero Sly, on Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:21 PM, said:

It will be an especially bad stunt if they return with DRM.

seems the whole point of their business was to have a non DRM alternative so let's hope not. They have been in BETA status for some time, let's just hope they are preparing a full service release instead.

[kroogur]

Never heard of them. Were they similar to this site?: http://www.abandonia.com/

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

kroogur, on Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:06 PM, said:

Never heard of them. Were they similar to this site?: http://www.abandonia.com/

Not REALLY, they were older PC titles but you did buy them, they were official retail products but the advantage was they were DRM free, very low prices and modified to install and run on modern OS (XP/VISTA/Win7 etc) without any hassle or endless configurations. They often included bonus items like sound tracks , artworks, etc. I bought several titles and never had an issue, really good for those wanting to play classics without the usual associated headaches.

[Christophero Sly]

OldSchoolRetroGamer, on Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:28 PM, said:

Christophero Sly, on Sun Sep 19, 2010 6:21 PM, said:

It will be an especially bad stunt if they return with DRM.

seems the whole point of their business was to have a non DRM alternative so let's hope not. They have been in BETA status for some time, let's just hope they are preparing a full service release instead.

Let's hope so, but judging from their recent tweets, it sounds like DRM is the issue that is either closing them down or forcing them to change.

GOGcom said:

Sometimes it's really hard being DRM-free... hard to keep things the way they are and keep management and publishers happy...

[kroogur]

Oh i get it! So I could have got a copy of Redneck Rampage from them and it would have run fine on Vista with little hassle instead of me having to search the internet for hours and then go through 17 different kinds of hell to get it to run on Vista.

[tjb]

Man that sucks. I liked GOG quite a bit and purchased a number of great games there for next to nothing.

tjb

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

kroogur, on Sun Sep 19, 2010 7:40 PM, said:

Oh i get it! So I could have got a copy of Redneck Rampage from them and it would have run fine on Vista with little hassle instead of me having to search the internet for hours and then go through 17 different kinds of hell to get it to run on Vista.

Pretty much.

[mckafka99]

Update - http://www.gog.com/

"UPDATE 20.09.2010
First of all, we apologize everyone for the whole situation and closing GOG.com. We do understand the timing for taking down the site caused confusion and many users didn't manage to download all their games. Unfortunately we had to close the service due to business and technical reasons.

At the same time we guarantee that every user who bought any game on GOG.com will be able to download all their games with bonus materials, DRM-free and as many times as they need starting this Thursday.

The official statement from GOG.com's management concerning the ongoing events is planned on Wednesday. If you want to receive further information about GOG.com, please send an email to update_media@gog.com if you're a media representative or to update_users@gog.com if you're a user without a GOG account."

[tjb]

Looks like it was just a gimmick. It be interesting to see if they still retain the no DRM policy.

tjb

[MitchSchaft]

Well, it worked, because I've never heard of 'em until now!

[tjb]

They're back up but It doesn't look any different to me...

tjb

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

tjb, on Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:11 PM, said:

They're back up but It doesn't look any different to me...

tjb

apparently the have partnerships with more game companies, they are out of BETA status and have upgraded servers, will see in the long run if any of that translates to a better customer experience.

[Christophero Sly]

I'm glad to see that they are still DRM-free.

let cynicism=cynicism-1