Good Old Games is dead

[frogbeastegg]

Hmm. They've posted a video on youtube. I won't link - the comment section is a swearbomb.

It's 18 seconds long, states the number of games and publishers they signed, and says goodbye. Except! There's a 1 second long flash of Baldur's Gate in the video near the end, and it looks like it's on a redesigned store page. Baldur's Gate! A game they never sold, a game which has been amongst the most requested since they opened 2 years ago, and a game which would be a massive coup for them to get. A game which would imply other Infinity Engines might be coming, including the legendary Planescape: Torment.

They're not dead. My guess is on takeover by another company followed by relaunch with DRM and maybe some titles which were not allowed before because the rights owners didn't like the no-DRM stance. All done with bad PR.

[Beskar]

I think they had to probably close shop temporarily for legal reasons, as in, they were not allowed to sell any games or anything. Though obviously, this was a major wake-up call to many.

[Krauser]

I think it's just a PR stunt. Supposedly they have a press conference tomorrow where they will announce a site relaunch. A big update perhaps similar to the big Steam update earlier this year (new site features, new look, new contracts with game publishers). I've also heard that there might be a client. The speculation seems to be that publishers didn't like DRM free games, so GoG was forced to come up with their own DRM system. Of course, by doing this they can get contracts with publishers that were hesitant before such as Wizards of the Coast (all Forgotten Realms-based games).

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/14937-...gate-incoming/

[Mailman653]

Sooo....it's kind of like a RIP kind of thing for the old GoG and then out comes the new GoG?

[Krusader]

It was all a big publicity stunt...bad one at that. I hope they come with a better apology and better, fire whoever had the bright idea.

Good that there won't be any DRM or that gog.com is going under.

[Monk]

Quoted from GOG.com

First of all we would like to apologize everyone who felt deceived or harmed in any way by us closing down GOG.com without any warning and without giving access to your games. We apologize for that from the bottom of our hearts!

Now it's time we put an end to all the speculations once and for all. It’s true that we decided that we couldn't keep GOG.com the way it was… so we won’t. As you probably know by now, GOG.com is entering its new era with an end of the two-years beta stage and we're launching a brand new GOG.com with new, huge releases.

The new GOG.com will launch at 8.00 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. CET). Later today we'll provide you here with 4 videos where you'll find all needed information about the current events, as well as news on the new GOG.com, the upcoming big releases and the summary of the last two years.

There is a countdown on their website until relaunch, as well as two videos posted. One looks like an ad trailer, what a cruel joke this has all been.

It was all a big publicity stunt...bad one at that. I hope they come with a better apology and better, fire whoever had the bright idea.

Good that there won't be any DRM or that gog.com is going under.

Contrary to my stance as a defender of steam, i love what GoG stands for and does. Honestly, who can argue with standing up for DRM free games? This though, Shameful.

[frogbeastegg]

Another GoG official statement, given to PCGamer.com has slightly different text.

“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.”

[Monk]

That was fast, RPS weighs in calling it "The most ill-advised hoax imaginable." They also have a full feature on the upcoming changes as well as a number of editorial comments in regards to the wisdom of this PR move.

Another GoG official statement, given to PCGamer.com has slightly different text.

Amazing contrast. The PC gamer comments equate to "Yay its back." RPS comments are largely based on how bad this idea was to start with.

[Martok]

Maybe it really is just an incredibly stupid PR stunt.

Gah.


That's all I have to say.

[Meneldil]

ZOMG Baldur's Gate!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is all this about GoG about anyway, this site is great

[drone]

At least they are keeping DRM-free. I bet their servers get hammered when they open up again, people re-downloading the installers for everything they own to burn to CD.

[hrvojej]

Man, what a stupid PR stunt. I'm glad that they're back, but I do not appreciate what they've done. Luckily, their ideas for their business model are (were?) better than their PR ideas.

[Xiahou]

ZOMG Baldur's Gate!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was pretty much all I got out of it too. Who cares about stupid PR stunts or not? This is the real news.

[naut]

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

what a crock of . I'm glad I've already got BG and BG II. Sure there maybe some other titles they have that I may want to get, but after this stunt I don't trust them, and I won't be using them.

[Meneldil]

I do have BGI and II as well, collector edition, but I'm glad to know I might be able to download them legally if my CD's are scratched or something.

That being said, a few comments on RPS catched my attention. Namely, a game developper said some games he worked on are available on GoG, but that he doesn't get a peny from it, since the former developping company closed a while ago. He was overall doubtful that any developper received a single dollar from the website, but was glad nonetheless that someone made his work downloadable legally on internet.

[Husar]

Haha, this is hilarious, it should be back but now it says there is a scheduled server maintenance.

[LeftEyeNine]

w00t WooT !

[Meneldil]

Those screenshots bring back so many good memory. Imoen and her leather armor and short bow. Legendary.

[TinCow]

PST is now on GOG!

[Krusader]

PST is now on GOG!

Just bought it, to play later one day =)

[frogbeastegg]

Hurrah! Now it will be easier to indoctrinate introduce people to this king of the RPG genre. My joint favourite RPG of all time, head and shoulders above the rest of the Infinity Engine games.

Anyone who likes RPGs is strongly recommended to go grab a copy right away. Go! It's mature - and not in the awful wannabe Dragon Age sense - well written, thoughtful, weird, atmospheric, filled with choices, filled with awesome characters and locations, and just overall incredible. It's a game where all but a handful of fights can be avoided by various means if you wish. Even the end boss can be defeated by means other than combat.

[frogbeastegg]

Hurrah! Now it will be easier to indoctrinate introduce people to this king of the RPG genre. My joint favourite RPG of all time, head and shoulders above the rest of the Infinity Engine games.

Anyone who likes RPGs is strongly recommended to go grab a copy right away. Go! It's mature - and not in the awful wannabe Dragon Age sense - well written, thoughtful, weird, atmospheric, filled with choices, filled with awesome characters and locations, and just overall incredible. It's a game where all but a handful of fights can be avoided by various means if you wish. Even the end boss can be defeated by means other than combat.

[LeftEyeNine]

Hello,

You have just got over your "bleugh what a cheesy PR stunt".

GOG wins.

[frogbeastegg]

Hello,

You have just got over your "bleugh what a cheesy PR stunt".

GOG wins.

Nope. Before I'd have brought second copies of BG and Planescape Torment to support the site. Not this time; I'll stick to my discs. I won't get my second copy of AoW2 or AoW: Shadow Magic when they arrive either. I've deleted a lot of titles out of my wishlist; now it only contains stuff like I-War 2. That's a lot of games I intended to try removed. From now on I'll only buy what I don't have and really want, treating them like any other shop.

GOG loses. Trust and goodwill are damaged.

[Gregoshi]

I never used GOG and saw but hadn't read the this thread until now, so I missed out on the drama of the lame PR stunt. Therefore I find it hard to harbour ill feelings towards GOG. To that end, I'm rather excited about the prospects of playing Planescape - the legendary game I've heard so much about from the good folks here and elsewhere. Yay!

[Monk]

It's amazing how the reaction shifted for so many once they found out they'd be able to buy BG and PS, and gamers wonder why they're often treated as doormats by publishers.

[LeftEyeNine]

That's what I've told earlier, monami. Holding grudge about entertainment is something that just does not happen.

[Monk]

That's what I've told earlier, monami. Holding grudge about entertainment is something that just does not happen.

Entertainment is one thing, retailers are another. As i have stated before, don't mistake my sour grapes as me not liking GoG. I appreciate and love what they do, i think they are great for the industry as a whole. But this is the kinda thing you just don't forget. Even if I'm the only one I still refuse to do business with them

[frogbeastegg]

I'm rather excited about the prospects of playing Planescape - the legendary game I've heard so much about from the good folks here and elsewhere. Yay!

Be sure to post your impressions in the dedicated thread.

But this is the kinda thing you just don't forget. Even if I'm the only one I still refuse to do business with them

For the first, entirely. Bad experiences tend to linger more strongly than good ones. Probably a survival trait to make sure we don't see what poking your finger into a fire feels like more than once.

For the second, they're the only place doing what they do. That helps them a lot; either you go back to them or you lose out as surely as if they'd gone out of business. If they had true competitors we might be seeing slightly different behaviour now.

Now they are down to "any other shop" status in my mind they are only as good as my last experience with them. I'm sitting back for a few months, watching to see how they perform under the new flag. From there I will decide if I intend to pick up something from that much reduced (23 items down to 6) wishlist. If they resume their formerly good service and maintain it for an appreciable period then ok, second chance.

[caravel]

Speaking personally, there is no way I'd buy 11 year old PST or BG (I still own the originals) again just because it was tweaked to run on newer PC hardware. I would rather support developers that release their source code or open source ports of game engines such as GemRB (many of which are works in progress and need more players/contributors/donations to keep them going).