Good Old Games Faked Shutdown to Avoid Being "Boring"

[SnipErlite]

So in order to "liven things up", they thought, "Hey! Lets pretend we're shutting down, disappointing our entire consumer base. And once all hope is lost, we'll pull a 'Psych! Heil Hitler!'* And then we'll just laugh, and they'll laugh with us."


*("Psych; Heil Hitler" is a running joke over on TGWTG.com [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com]. The joke originated here: Captain America Review [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/10915-captaina].)

That was hilarious, thank you for that.

OT: It was a good publicity stunt to be honest. I didn't really know about GoG until they did this... (Y)

 

[Casimir_Effect]

I think a lot of people will be (should be!) forgiving them when they see that Planescape: Torment is now available on Good Old Games. That's right, the greatest RPG there is when it comes to plot and story is once again readily available.

And if I hear one person complain about the graphics or resolution then I will find you. Wherever you are, I will find you. Especially you, Steven!
(Also there are mods which allow you to play in any resolution you want)

 

[Antari]

Well for the people impressed by this "stunt", Enjoy. I however don't want to be around for the next practical joke. Ya the game industry is getting dead serious, boring, and a few other unmentionables. But I'm starting to see Rule #1 for a game company is, don't take it out on the user, in any way. A happy customer is a return customer. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a happy face in a boat thats being rocked.

 

[AceDiamond]

So they wanted attention?
That's a pretty lame stunt.

It's called good marketing.

At least they did something vaguely interesting.

It's probably bad marketing to piss off your customers. Especially in a way that blocks them access.

Oh no we couldn't download our game installers for 3 days, what a tragedy. Seeing as how I was able to install my GoG version of Total Annihilation during this downtime and play it, I fail to feel any sympathy.

You, uh... did read the title of the article, yes? Not only that, but the comments made on behalf of GOG.com were an admission that they intentionally misled people. Dress it up however you like, but the purpose behind telling a half-truth is to misinform and deceive.

I'm not dressing it up, nothing in their release said specifically that they were done for as a company. I get that they misled people but they misled through omission and deception and all we had to do was fill in the blanks which we did. I think you're just a little too mad about being played for a fool instead of just dealing with it and moving on.

It strikes me as amusing that every time a company tries to play a joke it gets blown wildly out of proportion with the self-entitled selfish brat behavior of gamers in general rearing its ugly head and going "you're NOTHING WITHOUT US". Please. The industry is big enough that a few people acting like GoG or Valve or Activision or EA pissed in their cereal isn't going to cause a massive change.

So once again. Deal with it. People need to get a sense of humor about things.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

I'm not dressing it up, nothing in their release said specifically that they were done for as a company. I get that they misled people but they misled through omission and deception and all we had to do was fill in the blanks which we did. I think you're just a little too mad about being played for a fool instead of just dealing with it and moving on.

Yeah, I'm totally mad about being duped, despite having found out about this story after the fact. Nice try.

Quick question: you go out of town on a business trip, leaving your girlfriend behind. She blows your best friend while you're gone, and when you return, she tells you that she hasn't had intercourse with anyone. A year later, after you've gotten married and paid for pretty much everything of hers, you find out she blew your best friend. You're not going to hold it against her, right? I mean, it is your fault for filling in the blank incorrectly, because she was only misleading you by omitting the fact that she was giving head to your buddy. You can be mad about the fact that she cheated on you, sure, but you can't really get mad about all the time and money you continued to invest in her, because she never technically lied, right? Well, you sure wouldn't be mad if we applied the same logic you're trying to use in this stupid argument. Somehow, I get the feeling we'd observe some major discrepancies between what you're saying now, and what you'd do in that situation.

In other words, stop trying to win internet arguments via hypocrisy, because this is clearly more about you wanting to "win" than to make a valid point.

Snip.

Well, no shit advertising is misleading, but when it directly parallels a 13-year-old girl leaving a vague suicide note on myspace for attention, it becomes pathetic.

 

[Thorvan]

So they wanted attention?
That's a pretty lame stunt.

It's called good marketing.

At least they did something vaguely interesting.

It's probably bad marketing to piss off your customers. Especially in a way that blocks them access.

What? They had to block them off, they were rewriting the site.

 

[LTronic]

Well, I hope they won't close for real.
They've been doing awesome job honestly.

BTW, does anyone knows they know have a serious competitor called DotEmu ?
They launched in May and are growing quite fast, looks promising IMHO

http://www.dotemu.com

 

[LTronic]

w00t they just added Planescape Torment
instant buy for me !

 

[kaoskongo]

For me, the PR stunt worked.

I had no idea GOG.com existed, and then one day boom! All over my RSS Feeds are these posts declaring 'the death of gog.com!' And then when they came back from the so-called dead, I just had to check out what they were all about. I'm glad I did.

If they didn't do their little white lie dance routine, I would not right now be adding Planescape, Raptor, IWar2 and other great old games to my wishlist to buy eventually

It worked. And I am all the more happier for it

 

[XT inc]

so they are pulling the equivalent of signing off xbox live and then coming back on to try and grab peoples attention with their miraculous return after the people think you are gone.

 

[Something Amyss]

Oh no we couldn't download our game installers for 3 days, what a tragedy. Seeing as how I was able to install my GoG version of Total Annihilation during this downtime and play it, I fail to feel any sympathy.

Ummm...Good for you? Doesn't mean people weren't put off the site, and it certainly doesn't mean anyone is looking for your sympathy.

Honestly, the way some people get so offended by a fact....

What? They had to block them off, they were rewriting the site.

Tongue in cheek?

 

[Quaxar]

Hehe, well done. At least they are doing something different and funny instead of badmouthing each other...

 

[teh_gunslinger]

I wonder if all the people who argue that it was a lame stunt and all even remember the hilarious marketing going on back in the '90s or so? GOG sells old games, and it would seem, do old marketing. I for one found it awesome.