GOG Offering Customers Chance to "Reclaim" Physical Games

[StewShearerOld]

GOG Offering Customers Chance to "Reclaim" Physical Games

GOG customers can now get free digital copies of select games by redeeming physical CD keys at the retailer's website.

I feel safe in saying that, for the most part, physical PC games are kind of on the way out. With digital distribution giving gamers an easy and, often enough, almost insanely affordable way to buy games, it just doesn't make as much sense to have a stack of boxes next to your desktop. This is especially true when you consider how changes in hardware and what-not can often render older titles obsolete. It can be easy to find yourself with a collection of games that your modern machine literally can't play. Being well-versed in this sad truth, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/gog>GOG has launched a new service today that it hopes will help PC gamers continue to make good use of their physical games.

How you ask? By letting them use their real-world copies to claim free digital ones from the site's online library. To do this, GOG customers merely need to produce the original game key from the box version of their desired <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/pc>PC title. They'll then be able to enter it into an online form <a href=http://www.gog.com/reclaim>at the GOG website, after which they'll be given a voucher for a DRM-free digital copy complete "with all [the] bonus goodies" that come with the GOG version. The catch, unfortunately, is that the selection of titles included in the "Reclaim" program is currently somewhat limited. The games include Eador: Genesis, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky, Mount & Blade: Warband and Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword. Oleg Klapovsky, GOG.com's VP of Business Development and Operations, has said however, that more games are on the way. "It's not a simple job, but we plan to bring in even more games in the future."

Setting aside the fact that the program's launch library is a bit on the sparse side, I think this is actually a real cool idea. I don't personally have a wide selection of older PC titles, but those that I do are all ones that GOG has in its catalog. Granted, I've already re-purchased most of those in a digital form, but I'm willing to bet that there's more than a few people out there with games they'd love to reclaim.

Source: <a href=http://www.gog.com/reclaim>GOG


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[SupahEwok]

"Setting aside the fact that the program's launch library is a bit on the sparse side..."

Well, of course it is. It can't be an easy job to track down distributors for games that are no longer (physically) sold and ask them to fork over their list of valid CD keys for probably little or nothing in return. To say nothing of where they might've stored said list. God knows that if source code can be lost so can these. I'm amazed that they're even trying.

 

[Callate]

Considering that they're under no obligation at all to do this, that they're performing a significant service by making many older games playable on modern systems for the first time in ages, and that pursuing this policy to any substantial degree actually cuts into their regular custom...

...That's pretty damn awesome of them.

 

[StewShearerOld]

"Setting aside the fact that the program's launch library is a bit on the sparse side..."

Well, of course it is. It can't be an easy job to track down distributors for games that are no longer (physically) sold and ask them to fork over their list of valid CD keys for probably little or nothing in return. To say nothing of where they might've stored said list. God knows that if source code can be lost so can these. I'm amazed that they're even trying.

I'd imagine the biggest problem they're facing right now has to do with just convincing publishers to opt-in with the games they've already released at GOG. As you say, game companies like their moneys and this is literally giving it away free. And agreed on the "amazed" part. It's really ambitious.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Great offer from gog.com. As someone who now tries to buy drm free where possible, I do get annoyed when a drm free version comes available after buying a steam or other version. Sometimes I bite the bullet during sales and buy a drm free copy so I can always have a copy of the game stored locally. So if more publishers opt in with this on gog.com they get a big thumbs up from me.

So far my key steam key for Call of Pripyat could not be redeemed, though my Clear Sky key could and I've yet to try my Shadow of Chernobyl one.

 

[tzimize]

Heh. Amazing. GoG keeps finding ways to be awesome instead of assholes. Try to pay attention industry, this is how you build loyal, or even rabid fans.

 

[josemlopes]

You can use your Steam keys too

 

[StorkV]

GoG is starting to sound really good!

 

[Amaror]

Considering that they're under no obligation at all to do this, that they're performing a significant service by making many older games playable on modern systems for the first time in ages, and that pursuing this policy to any substantial degree actually cuts into their regular custom...

...That's pretty damn awesome of them.

Well if you think about it, it kinda makes sense. If we assume that GoG is only going for those titles were the publisher/developer is willing to part with their list of keys for free, then this doesn't really cost them anything.
The people allready have the games, so they wouldn't have bought them on GoG anyway. But this way GoG gets a ton of positive publicity and has a good chance to get people to use the site, that might not have done so otherwise. And since they now have a library on GoG, they're also more likely to visit the site and maybe discover other games they want to buy on GoG.
At least that what i think the business decision was made for.
Of course it doesn't make it any less amazing that their doing this, but it also actually makes sense as a business move if you think about it.

 

[Bindal]

Well, I certainly take that offer. Still had a disc of Shadow of Chernobyl laying around but due hardware issues, I am currently unable to use ANY disc in my computer. Which isn't an issue as I have almost all my games in digital form, anyway. But Stalker is among the few that aren't. Or weren't as it is of now.

 

[Sight Unseen]

You can use your Steam keys too

My Mount and Blade Warband steam key didn't work.

 

[josemlopes]

You can use your Steam keys too

My Mount and Blade Warband steam key didn't work.

Its only for the Stalker games, for the Steam keys of Mount and Blade (and some other 4 games or something) to work you have to be from Russia or some other country close. They have it specified somewhere on the site.

EDIT:http://www.gog.com/reclaim
its right there on the box at the right

 

[The Madman]

Just redeemed all the STALKER games on their site, retail and STEAM both, and it was a painless process. Major credit to GOG, that's a nifty feature and if they continue to implement it for other games I could easily see myself using it for convenience sake.

 

[Anchupom]

Oh damn, GOG are really stepping up their game. (No pun intended)

Here's hoping that I'll get to play Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge on my PC in the near future without having to dick around with DOS Box every time I want nostalgia.

 

[Strelok]

Still had my boxed copies of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series around, I had already replaced them on Steam when they were on sale, but why not GoG too, got a lot of extras too with the soundtracks, and wallpapers.

 

[praetor_alpha]

I got my STALKER Chernobyl and Pripyat keys from the service formerly known as Impulse (Gamestop app? whatever) and they worked without issue. Also of mention is that you can claim your Witcher 1 and 2 keys on GOG. Not at that page, but this one: http://www.gog.com/witcher/backup

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

"Setting aside the fact that the program's launch library is a bit on the sparse side..."

Well, of course it is. It can't be an easy job to track down distributors for games that are no longer (physically) sold and ask them to fork over their list of valid CD keys for probably little or nothing in return. To say nothing of where they might've stored said list. God knows that if source code can be lost so can these. I'm amazed that they're even trying.

Not to mention that not every game necessarily had a CD Key.

 

[killerbee256]

I see an issue with this, many games have had lists of CDs keys listed online. What's to stop people from taking those cd keys and claiming games?

 

[Doom972]

The key from my copy of Shadow of Chernobyl, back from when the game was new, worked just fine. Looking forward to more of these.

I see an issue with this, many games have had lists of CDs keys listed online. What's to stop people from taking those cd keys and claiming games?

Nothing would stop them, but it's not that much of a concern. These lists are used by pirates, and I'm willing to bet that pirates don't frequent GOG, or any other digital store for that matter, because they aren't interested in legitimate copies of games. However, it would be a good advice to reclaim your games as soon as possible to avoid having someone else claim it first, as unlikely as it may be.

 

[killerbee256]

The key from my copy of Shadow of Chernobyl, back from when the game was new, worked just fine. Looking forward to more of these.

I see an issue with this, many games have had lists of CDs keys listed online. What's to stop people from taking those cd keys and claiming games?

Nothing would stop them, but it's not that much of a concern. These lists are used by pirates, and I'm willing to bet that pirates don't frequent GOG, or any other digital store for that matter, because they aren't interested in legitimate copies of games. However, it would be a good advice to reclaim your games as soon as possible to avoid having someone else claim it first, as unlikely as it may be.

True enough, thought I've used them a few times when I have an official disk but lost the paper with the CD key on it.