Topic: GoG.com (Good Old Games)

[idolminds]

UPDATE:

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.

I wonder whats happening.

-------------------------

ULTIMATE SADNESS

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

Very, very sad news.

[iPPi]

One of their last tweets:

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

I never used the service myself since I barely do PC gaming nowadays, but it sucks that a service like this is shutting down.

[Quemaqua]

Damn, that really fucking sucks.  I really loved the service and enjoyed using it since it opened.  This is sad news for sure.  They really did a great job doing what they did.

[idolminds]

I think something fishy is going on. This is just way to sudden. They *just* put Age of Wonders up. And then they shut down with zero warning on a Sunday? Either something really big happened, or maybe they got hacked?

Some people speculate that a major publisher decided to pull all support and their games from the service, which would be crippling. I vote Activision.

And based on that tweet, it amazes me that publishers would be so concerned with DRM on 10+ year old games that they don't normally even sell anymore. So its either GoG or abandonware/torrents for people to get them.

[ren]

That's sad. I wonder if I'll be able to redownload some stuff I've bought from them that I don't have backed up.

[idolminds]

Well, the announcement says "On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games." So you should be good there. Hopefully.

[idolminds]

More fishyness.

Apparently posted on a Polish financial site (translation):

Date of conference is about 22th of September, early evening. Information shortly on GOG.com, but please do not panic after seeing information presented there. Please remember, that it's an online conference organized in that way the first time.

CDProjekt's shares apparently doubled over the last few weeks. Rumor has it they have been bought out. I'm sure all the GoG contracts have to be revisited because of it. Guess we'll find out more in a couple days.

[Xessive]

Sucky news.

[MysterD]

Good thing that every game I bought, I backed-up Installer EXE-file ASAP on disc.
I should check to see if my old GOG games work still, hehe...

EDIT:
Fallout 1 and Lionheart - running just fine.

[idolminds]

From the Shacknews article update:

[Update: 1:27 p.m.] When contacted for a comment regarding the current GOG.com situation, a Good Old Games representative told Shacknews, "As the message on the site says, this doesn't mean GOG is gone We'll have more to share in the coming days." Conspiracy theories online point to the "shut down" as a marketing ploy from GOG.com to exit its longstanding beta status.

It better be a HUGE change, because if this is some PR stunt then no one is impressed.

And Twitter:

The official statement from GOG's management about the situation will be announced soon. We'll have more details about this tomorrow.

[MysterD]

Idol - did Atari or someone buy them out or something? 

[idolminds]

UPDATE:

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.

[idolminds]

Another update! This time it comes with....a video?

We confirm that the official statement from GOG.com's management concerning the ongoing events will take place on Wednesday at 12 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CET)

Thanks for being with us.

The video is like...a teaser for closing? Near the end a bunch of stuff flashes by in the background. If you pause it and look at these, there are features and games that were not available before. So it looks like they are setting up for a relaunch.

[Cobra951]

So, it's like faking your own death, then springing forth like Lazarus, hoping for lots of attention?  You'd get attention alright, just not the positive kind.  Ask the woman who threw acid on her own face.

[MysterD]

I still have this really bad feeling someone bought them out; it'll have a Steam-like/Impulse-like program; and all their new games will have DRM...
I truly do...

[K-man]

Well the hoopla is over.  Relaunched site with new features.

Talk about a PR stunt backfiring...

[idolminds]

Yeah, linky

First of all we’d like to apologize to everyone who felt deceived or harmed in any way by the closedown of GOG.com. As a small company we don’t have a huge marketing budget and this why we could not miss a chance to generate some buzz around an event as big as launching a brand new version of our website and even more important, bringing back Baldur’s Gate to life!

We believe this title was extremely expected by all our users and PC gamers in general. It would have made no sense to announce it in a typical plain corporate way. Our aim at GOG is to promote the greatest DRM-free PC classics ever in a creative way and allow people to escape from the usual boring mainstream marketing. We are also gamers and this is why we played a bit with this announcement.

Once again, we apologize for any harm we might have caused and we do hope people will keep the essence of our message in mind: GOG is doing things differently than elsewhere and yes, Baldur’s Gate is finally back (with more great releases to come)! We are working hard to provide users with much fun, so do expect some great surprises until Christmas.

I understand they had to take the servers down to switch over to some new ones for the relaunch, so they decided to have a bit of fun with it. But they really misjudged how people would react. They could have done some "We've been haxored!" type thing, or some hidden text on the page to make it clear that this wasn't real. They would have gotten just as much speculation.

But yeah, they will be showing this to future PR people as an example of what not to do.

[Xessive]

Well, at least gog.com now has a countdown.

[MysterD]

WTH @ the new vid of them dressed-up as monks...
Funny as hell, but still...

[MysterD]

There's THREE new "Chapter" vids up on GOG.com about what's going on w/ GOG Revival...

Videos:
Chapter 1 - GOG Beta
2 million games DL'ed from GOG.

Chapter 2 - GOG Revival
Improved-look and lay-out; GOG-Mix Feature;
5:57 -> 6:39 - GOG Monks praying to keep DRM away from games.

Chapter 3 - New GOG Games Coming
Atari and Hasbro games join GOG.
First title from them - Baldur's Gate + Tales of the Sword Coast Expansion Coming.
2:04 -> 2:34 - GOG Monks praying for forgiveness.

[Pugnate]

I wonder what reaction they expected?

OMG IT IS SHUTTING DOWN?

OH NO!

OH IT WAS ALL A JOKE?

HA HA! I LIKE A GOOD JOKE. OOOH LOOK BALDUR'S GATE!

[MysterD]

PC Gamer -> Interview w/ GOG's Marcin Iwinski and Guillaume Rambourg.

[Cobra951]

. . . I’m really annoyed when I see examples of companies who release single player games and they ask you to be online. I think it’s just bollocks, pretty much. Frankly speaking, I have my notebook and I’m going, I don’t have internet access. Though people wouldn’t like to think so, there’s no internet access in many places in the world where you go, or it costs a lot of money, so I’m not able to play the game.

Normally what a lot of gamers will do is say “This is not a good offer, this is not a good value, I’ll go download this game from torrent, or I’ll copy it from my friend. It’s cracked, and the annoyance of being online is removed.” and I’m totally separating it from cases when the game has online elements and it makes perfect sense.

That made the whole read worthwhile.

[MysterD]

Agreed 100% Cobra.

[PyroMenace]

That made the whole read worthwhile.

Here's my take on this: If the world comes to a point where the internet ceases to exist... I think we have more pressing matters than video games.

[Quemaqua]

Haha, well said.

[Xessive]

Haha I can always entertain myself with a ball of yarn

If the net goes down we'd be at the start of the cataclysmic collapse of the world order! Basically we'd be living a common videogame theme. With a little imagination it can be "fun."

[Cobra951]

It's not a question of whether aliens EMP the internet and our electric lives out of existence.  It's a question of whether I have internet access at any given time, which is what he is saying too.  If you want to give in and let them force you to be online to play every game you buy, be my guest.  I won't be joining you.

It's more than that, and you know it.  But that alone is enough.

[Xessive]

I'm in the same boat. I game on my laptop and I'm always on the move, internet is not always readily available and having to log in every time I wanna play singleplayer sucks donkey balls. Many thanks to the cracking scene for making it possible for me to game-on-the-go.

[PyroMenace]

I completely understand the argument you guys are taking and for the most part I'm with you. Actually Cobra, there's really not much of a difference between you and I, of which I will buy Ubisoft games and you won't. For me the only two such Ubisoft games I took interest in over the last year is Assassin's Creed 2 and Dawn of Discovery. Other than that and Starcraft 2, which ever position you take on that one, are the only examples I can think of you can justify yourself with. Steam has offline mode and your pretty free and clear with handhelds, even games on app stores are great on the go. Ubisoft's method really isn't so much that it's bad, it's just too early and a poorly thought out. I think once the Internet becomes even more common and accessible I see more games having an online element that requires a connection. But I agree with you, games that have no online benefit has no business needing a constant connection.

[Cobra951]

No worries.  This is just something I like to bitch about.  I agree with what you said in general anyway.   

[idolminds]

I find it a little scary that "offline modes" are seen as a special feature we are lucky to get rather than a default.

(Was reading the Civ 5 forum on CivFanatics. There seems to be a lot of Steam resistance in that community, with an equal number of pro-Steam pushers trying to convert the heathens. I just see a lot of "But it has an offline mode!" as if thats some amazing new thing that every other Civ game didn't have.)

[MysterD]

But I agree with you, games that have no online benefit has no business needing a constant connection.

Bingo. That's what disc-checking DRM is for. SP portion of games should NEVER require anything more than a disc check, honestly.

I prefer NO DRM, though - then again, who doesn't?

[Xessive]

I'm trying to empathize with the devs and publishers and thinking from the business side of things I can understand why they push for the constant-online DRM schemes; I have to point out that the business mind is not always the reasonable mind.

The publishers' logic suggests that all logged players are legitimate customers, therefore all software with online-only DRM will only be purchased legitimately. In a perfect world where internet is free, global, and unrestricted, perhaps (they're also not accounting for good old-fashioned physical theft). In the mean time, it doesn't make much sense because it restricts the customers and, from a business sense, it limits the sales projection. The potential (and likely) outcome is for publishers to consider bigger budget games, in the hopes of raising the sales projections, which will result in a higher price point for the product. We all saw this happen when the price point of new PC games went from $49.99 to $59.99. This would also point out how neglectful the marketeers are of their primary demographic: the average PC gamer.

The current cost of new PC games is being criticized but how much the scrutiny will sway the publishers will only be told in time. I just hope that

[MysterD]

RPGWatch -> Co-Founders of CD Projekt/GOG, Marcin Iwinski and Michal Kicinski, have "left" the company.

[Xessive]

Hint at what's coming to GOG.com

I got excited because I suspect that...

(click to show/hide)

Police Quest is coming to GOG!!

[scottws]

Sweet.  I played all the Space Quest games and was interested in Police Quest, but never had the opportunity to play them.

[idolminds]

I don't think its Police Quest. I think its Zork.

[MysterD]

I don't think its Police Quest. I think its Zork.

Imagine if GOG was getting both...

[Xessive]

I don't think its Police Quest. I think its Zork.

You may be right, the text format is certainly evocative of classic Zork..  I'm just really excited about Police Quest! hehe