Rip gog :( - Page 3

jbunniii · 09-22-2010, 08:35 AM

GOG relaunches, admits closure was a hoax

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/...e-was-a-hoax/1

The recent closure of Good Old Games has been revealed as a PR event meant to mark the move of the site from beta to final version.

Good Old Games suddenly seemed to have closed down on the 19th September, leaving users unable to download their purchased titles - though a post on the closed site said that the functionality would be restored. Now it has. [Actually, it hasn't yet, as of 9:34am PDT -jbunniii]

The Good Old Games team has launched a new website complete with new game deals from publishers such as Hasbro. The launch of the new site also sees Bioware's classic RPG Baldur's Gate added to the online catalogue. Other than that, the site seems to have been fundamentally unchanged - it will still feature no DRM and will not involve a download client.

Fien · 09-22-2010, 08:51 AM

GOG owners, Polish developer CD Projekt, apologised for scaring fans with the sudden apparent closure of GOG.com, but said it could not turn down a chance to gather publicity.

Yuck. Apology not accepted, I refuse to be used like that. I won't be buying any more games from them.

dekaneas297 · 09-22-2010, 09:10 AM

Same here. I don't tolerate such attitude. I won't buy anything from them. Bye bye GOG

Joran · 09-22-2010, 09:57 AM

Oh stop taking it so personally. Let's restore some sanity here, to quote John Stewart.

So the site went down a few days to get the new site in place, no big deal. I for one will still buy games there.

Edit: And it did get attension, all publicity is good publicity. We can only hope it will get more people to rediscover these great games.

jbunniii · 09-22-2010, 10:08 AM

Check out their web site now - there's a video of two of the founders dressed as monks apologizing for their sins.

I will certainly continue buying from GOG. It sounds like they have some big titles coming up, including Baldur's Gate!!, and contrary to many of the rumors that have been circulating the last few days, they're NOT adding DRM or a GOG client.

If anything, this incident will induce me to buy a bunch of titles from my wishlist, "just in case" they ever do have to shut their doors or change their business model. And I'm going to make a backup of my backups of the installers for all the games I've bought from them.

misslilo · 09-22-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbunniii

If anything, this incident will induce me to buy a bunch of titles from my wishlist, "just in case" they ever do have to shut their doors or change their business model. And I'm going to make a backup of my backups of the installers for all the games I've bought from them.

Amen

I kinda liked the stunt - made the world aware of them, lol.
Feels like something, that could have happen in the good ol' days

Harald B · 09-22-2010, 10:23 AM

This may not stop me from buying stuff from them, but it sure does affect my opinion of them. This is not the kind of business where you just pull the plug on your customers for fun without warning. It's thoroughly unprofessional, not to mention annoying.

Erwin_Br · 09-22-2010, 11:18 AM

They need to fire their PR department.

But I'm glad they still exist and that there's a market for classic games.

Sughly · 09-22-2010, 03:01 PM

Yeah I appreciate people saying don't take it seriously, and I can understand the approach to gaining publicity, but I dunno... this was just reaaaally dodgy I reckon. I think it's just a slap in the face to people who are trying to support the idea of digital distribution, and suddenly people begin raising questions about it when someone like GOG says they will shut down.

Well I for one started to think about some things associated with digital distribution that I hadn't considered until GOG stated they would shut down. It almost felt like my nice little boxes sitting on the virtual GOG shelf were being taken away from me, and all I was left with was a precious executable that had to be protected else I lose the game for good. Sounds corny but that was just my reaction. So me, no, not happy with them. Will buy from them still but if any of the titles are offered elsewhere then GOG will be the last choice.

EDIT: I think to clarify my ramble, digital distribution works because we put our faith in always having that option to go and redownload it. That's a big part of digital distribution in my opinion, and when they threaten to take that away just for publicity I think it's dodgy.

D.C. · 09-22-2010, 03:46 PM

The whole situation feels like one of those dodgy April Fools jokes fan sites tend to pull once a year. Not professional in the slightest. I'll still consider buying games from them, but they've lost my respect.

Crunchy in milk · 09-22-2010, 04:29 PM

For a site that has lived or died entirely based on word of mouth from satisfied customers this was a dick move no matter how you spin it.

orient · 09-22-2010, 04:55 PM

Can't say it bothered me in the slightest. I've bought loads of games from many different digital download stores and GOG is easily the best, easily, followed by Steam.

No DRM trumps any stupid prank they could ever pull. When the new site goes live, it's going to be the same awesome service (even better, actually) and not using it anymore seems kind of silly to me.

I've regretted buying everything that wasn't from GOG or Steam, to be totally honest, because it's either limited re-downloads or limited activations. Sometimes it's not the service providers fault but the publishers. Whoever's fault, it's the same pain in the neck and it means that I can't just install/uninstall Still Life whenever I want it because I can only activate it 3 times. Screw that. GOG all the way.

Sughly · 09-23-2010, 02:33 AM

I agree with you Orient, but you have to admit - all those titles you bought from GOG, you must have felt pretty disheartened about losing your easy access to them when they declared their foreclosure. They might be back now, but in that period when they said they were going I was a sad panda, and seriously questioned the idea of digital distribution and really being able to always have that access...

I mean, you have a physical copy of a game, the company can close down but they won't come knocking on your door to take the game back at least. I dunno, just my little gripe with the promotion.

Owskie · 09-23-2010, 04:41 AM

sounds like they needed to close down anyways, it never hurts to get publicity to do something you need to do anyways. Cheers for them.

DustyShinigami · 09-23-2010, 04:48 AM

Well, as stupid as the stunt was, I'm glad they're back.

The new site is up, but I have to say, so far it seems a bit slower than usual and some pages don't even load up properly or at all.

Crunchy in milk · 09-23-2010, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gazzoid

Well, as stupid as the stunt was, I'm glad they're back.

The new site is up, but I have to say, so far it seems a bit slower than usual and some pages don't even load up properly or at all.

Every time I try to download my games I get the 'back soon' message. Is it maintenance or are they being humorously hit with a denial of service attack?

Fien · 09-23-2010, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by misslilo

Feels like something, that could have happen in the good ol' days

Could you give an example? In the good old days as I remember them, game companies like Sierra, Infocom, etcetera went out of their way to bond with customers. IMO, it's the kind of prank that's unthinkable with tangible products in the normal, everyday world. It was made possible by the Internet environment with blogs and tweets and forums where news and rumors spread incredibly fast.

And of course GOG wouldn't dream of pulling their childish stunt if they had serious competitors in their DRM-free DD niche. They provide a valuable service and they know people will be back. It's easy for me to say I won't support them anymore, because I don't really need their service. I already have all the adventures I want and the old computers to play them on.

SamandMax · 09-23-2010, 07:16 AM

Pulling a stunt like this is the only way GOG will get coverage from mainstream press and not just niche sites that dabble more in nostalgia than cutting edge video game news. IGN isn't going to write a news story about Phantamasgoria being made available for download but they might do a story if something somewhat big and noteworthy happens to the site that hosts it, and a somewhat controversial end/rebirth like this might be enough to get bigger sites talking about them.

Fien · 09-23-2010, 07:51 AM

IGN did a news story about GOG two years ago, when they started, but if they really did another one about the stunt, as you claim, I must have missed it.

It's word of mouth that makes the difference, the "niche sites that dabble in nostalgia" because GOG is all about nostalgia and does serve a niche.

cbman · 09-23-2010, 08:44 AM

I'm vindictive when it comes to businesses screwing with customers so I hope this stunt kills them.

I didn't use it much but certainly won't ever again. You can't act like a bunch of high school students, you have to act like a proffesional business.

These jokers seem to have something of an ego problem, which is rich given that they are glorified scrap merchants. This is a group of guys who have spied a chance to make money by taking obsolete product that is generally available for nothing and using the usual middle-class, consumer guilt trip to convince people to pay for it. I've never understood the beknighted praise heaped upon this vendor; they're small-time opportunists, nothing more.

Guys, these are games that no longer have any market, except with collectors. All they are doing is exploiting those collectors. Nothing noble, nothing other than business.

09-22-2010, 09:57 AM	#44
Joran Junior Member Last Online: 09-22-2010 10:17 AM Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 24	Oh stop taking it so personally. Let's restore some sanity here, to quote John Stewart. So the site went down a few days to get the new site in place, no big deal. I for one will still buy games there. Edit: And it did get attension, all publicity is good publicity. We can only hope it will get more people to rediscover these great games. Last edited by Joran; 09-22-2010 at 10:04 AM..

09-22-2010, 10:23 AM	#47
Harald B Red Bicycle Brake Unit Last Online: 02-21-2014 03:00 PM Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 177	This may not stop me from buying stuff from them, but it sure does affect my opinion of them. This is not the kind of business where you just pull the plug on your customers for fun without warning. It's thoroughly unprofessional, not to mention annoying. __________________ "The golden age of mathematics - that was not the age of Euclid, it is ours." -Cassius Jackson Keyser

09-22-2010, 11:18 AM	#48
Erwin_Br Under pressure. Last Online: 05-20-2012 02:02 AM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands Posts: 3,773	They need to fire their PR department. But I'm glad they still exist and that there's a market for classic games. __________________ > Learn more about my forthcoming point & click adventure: Bad Timing! > Or... Visit Adventure Developers: Everything about developing adventure games.

09-22-2010, 03:01 PM	#49
Sughly Senior Member Last Online: 04-23-2014 05:28 PM Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 607	Yeah I appreciate people saying don't take it seriously, and I can understand the approach to gaining publicity, but I dunno... this was just reaaaally dodgy I reckon. I think it's just a slap in the face to people who are trying to support the idea of digital distribution, and suddenly people begin raising questions about it when someone like GOG says they will shut down. Well I for one started to think about some things associated with digital distribution that I hadn't considered until GOG stated they would shut down. It almost felt like my nice little boxes sitting on the virtual GOG shelf were being taken away from me, and all I was left with was a precious executable that had to be protected else I lose the game for good. Sounds corny but that was just my reaction. So me, no, not happy with them. Will buy from them still but if any of the titles are offered elsewhere then GOG will be the last choice. EDIT: I think to clarify my ramble, digital distribution works because we put our faith in always having that option to go and redownload it. That's a big part of digital distribution in my opinion, and when they threaten to take that away just for publicity I think it's dodgy. __________________ KRAMS DESIGN - Indie Game Design & Development Now playing: The Longest Journey, Gray Matter, Lost Horizon Recently finished: Sanitarium Looking Forward To: Deponia, Resonance

09-22-2010, 03:46 PM	#50
D.C. Senior Member Last Online: 01-04-2013 12:27 AM Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,773	The whole situation feels like one of those dodgy April Fools jokes fan sites tend to pull once a year. Not professional in the slightest. I'll still consider buying games from them, but they've lost my respect. Last edited by D.C.; 09-22-2010 at 06:25 PM..

09-22-2010, 08:35 AM	#41
jbunniii Junior Member Last Online: 10-12-2010 12:32 PM Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 25	GOG relaunches, admits closure was a hoax http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/...e-was-a-hoax/1 The recent closure of Good Old Games has been revealed as a PR event meant to mark the move of the site from beta to final version. Good Old Games suddenly seemed to have closed down on the 19th September, leaving users unable to download their purchased titles - though a post on the closed site said that the functionality would be restored. Now it has. [Actually, it hasn't yet, as of 9:34am PDT -jbunniii] The Good Old Games team has launched a new website complete with new game deals from publishers such as Hasbro. The launch of the new site also sees Bioware's classic RPG Baldur's Gate added to the online catalogue. Other than that, the site seems to have been fundamentally unchanged - *it will still feature no DRM and will not involve a download client*.

09-22-2010, 08:51 AM	#42
Fien Senior female member Last Online: 06-24-2018 08:53 AM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Holland Posts: 3,706	GOG owners, Polish developer CD Projekt, apologised for scaring fans with the sudden apparent closure of GOG.com, but said it could not turn down a chance to gather publicity. Yuck. Apology not accepted, I refuse to be used like that. I won't be buying any more games from them.

09-22-2010, 09:10 AM	#43
dekaneas297 Senior Member Last Online: 05-10-2012 12:10 PM Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Greece Posts: 297	Same here. I don't tolerate such attitude. I won't buy anything from them. Bye bye GOG

09-22-2010, 10:08 AM	#45
jbunniii Junior Member Last Online: 10-12-2010 12:32 PM Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 25	Check out their web site now - there's a video of two of the founders dressed as monks apologizing for their sins. I will certainly continue buying from GOG. It sounds like they have some big titles coming up, including Baldur's Gate!!, and contrary to many of the rumors that have been circulating the last few days, they're NOT adding DRM or a GOG client. If anything, this incident will induce me to buy a bunch of titles from my wishlist, "just in case" they ever do have to shut their doors or change their business model. And I'm going to make a backup of my backups of the installers for all the games I've bought from them.

09-22-2010, 04:29 PM	#51
Crunchy in milk delusions of adequacy Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,403	For a site that has lived or died entirely based on word of mouth from satisfied customers this was a dick move no matter how you spin it.

09-22-2010, 04:55 PM	#52
orient Senior Member Last Online: 05-10-2012 06:20 AM Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 468	Can't say it bothered me in the slightest. I've bought loads of games from many different digital download stores and GOG is easily the best, easily, followed by Steam. No DRM trumps any stupid prank they could ever pull. When the new site goes live, it's going to be the same awesome service (even better, actually) and not using it anymore seems kind of silly to me. I've regretted buying everything that wasn't from GOG or Steam, to be totally honest, because it's either limited re-downloads or limited activations. Sometimes it's not the service providers fault but the publishers. Whoever's fault, it's the same pain in the neck and it means that I can't just install/uninstall Still Life whenever I want it because I can only activate it 3 times. Screw that. GOG all the way. __________________ Mindtank Studios

09-23-2010, 02:33 AM	#53
Sughly Senior Member Last Online: 04-23-2014 05:28 PM Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 607	I agree with you Orient, but you have to admit - all those titles you bought from GOG, you must have felt pretty disheartened about losing your easy access to them when they declared their foreclosure. They might be back now, but in that period when they said they were going I was a sad panda, and seriously questioned the idea of digital distribution and really being able to always have that access... I mean, you have a physical copy of a game, the company can close down but they won't come knocking on your door to take the game back at least. I dunno, just my little gripe with the promotion. __________________ KRAMS DESIGN - Indie Game Design & Development Now playing: The Longest Journey, Gray Matter, Lost Horizon Recently finished: Sanitarium Looking Forward To: Deponia, Resonance

09-23-2010, 04:41 AM	#54
Owskie Senior Member Last Online: 05-17-2012 12:24 PM Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 305	sounds like they needed to close down anyways, it never hurts to get publicity to do something you need to do anyways. Cheers for them.

09-23-2010, 04:48 AM	#55
DustyShinigami The Quiet One Last Online: 05-17-2012 08:01 AM Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Staffordshire, UK Posts: 1,986	Well, as stupid as the stunt was, I'm glad they're back. The new site is up, but I have to say, so far it seems a bit slower than usual and some pages don't even load up properly or at all. __________________ Now Playing: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director's Cut (DS and iPhone), DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil, Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All, Silent Hill - HD Collection Recently Completed: Max Payne, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Next: Bayonetta, Devil May Cry - HD Collection, Max Payne 3, Metal Gear Solid - HD Collection, Silent Hill: Downpour

09-23-2010, 07:16 AM	#58
SamandMax A Slice of Fried Gold Last Online: 04-27-2012 10:29 PM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 1,024	Pulling a stunt like this is the only way GOG will get coverage from mainstream press and not just niche sites that dabble more in nostalgia than cutting edge video game news. IGN isn't going to write a news story about Phantamasgoria being made available for download but they might do a story if something somewhat big and noteworthy happens to the site that hosts it, and a somewhat controversial end/rebirth like this might be enough to get bigger sites talking about them. __________________ SamandMax's Recommended Songs Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball They Might Be Giants - Dog Walker The Kinks - Money Talks Gorillaz - DoYaThing

09-23-2010, 07:51 AM	#59
Fien Senior female member Last Online: 06-24-2018 08:53 AM Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Holland Posts: 3,706	IGN did a news story about GOG two years ago, when they started, but if they really did another one about the stunt, as you claim, I must have missed it. It's word of mouth that makes the difference, the "niche sites that dabble in nostalgia" because GOG is all about nostalgia and does serve a niche.

09-23-2010, 08:44 AM	#60
cbman Senior Member Last Online: 05-12-2012 02:42 PM Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 278	The truth about GOG I'm vindictive when it comes to businesses screwing with customers so I hope this stunt kills them. I didn't use it much but certainly won't ever again. You can't act like a bunch of high school students, you have to act like a proffesional business. These jokers seem to have something of an ego problem, which is rich given that they are glorified scrap merchants. This is a group of guys who have spied a chance to make money by taking obsolete product that is generally available for nothing and using the usual middle-class, consumer guilt trip to convince people to pay for it. I've never understood the beknighted praise heaped upon this vendor; they're small-time opportunists, nothing more. Guys, these are games that no longer have any market, except with collectors. All they are doing is exploiting those collectors. Nothing noble, nothing other than business. __________________ These are my opinions. Please don't get het up.