Good Old Games: Pirates Are Our Competition, Not Steam

[targren]

Take steam for example: you don't have to jump through hoops to play your game, just download it and hit play.

Not strictly true.

Steam update? Expect to wait for that download before you want to play.
Want to install your game on your laptop? Need to install Steam first.
Unexpected internet outage before you set your games to "offline"? Well, there's always that book you've been putting off reading...

Admittedly small hoops, but they're there nonetheless. And that's still not the biggest advantage of GoG over Steam.

By tying your games to Steam, you are allowing Valve to change the rules that allow you to play your game, any time after your purchase. They can put whatever obnoxious terms they want into the TOS, and if you refuse, your library is gone. With GoG, they're out of the way once you've got your grubby little paws on the installer. No Steam DRM, and no first-party DRM either.

 

[Griffolion]

It's good to see GoG have a good idea as to who are truly threatening them. As always, best of luck in their enterprise, I hope they continue to increase in popularity.

 

[Snotnarok]

I'd disagree. A lot of GOG's library requires workarounds or fixes to work on modern PCs. Some of the game straight up do not work, yet GOG sells them with little warning.

This is another decent reason why its not as popular as Steam. Piracy is one thing, selling games that straight up don't work anymore is another.

I've purchased alot of games from GoG and none have had issues running, the games have been updated (either using dos box or by patching) to work on modern systems. Not saying it's impossible, but sofar I haven't seen an issue (and I have alot of games on there).

DRM In general? That is a topic here, the guy from gog bringing up that he wants it to be more convenient than piracy, which many developers/pubs go against with their own policies.

Games on gog (weather new or old) don't have DRM as it's apart of the agreement of selling the game on the site. He's saying what gog's view on the issue of piracy is, their philosophy, and one that has worked well for them too.

Yes I'm aware, I was just stating that I had issue with a dev who DIDN'T go by that logic. Who'd rather you jump through hoops, I'll make an edit so this is more clear.

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

If steam/Valve was ever about to go under, all they need to do is throw out the hint that HL3 is cancelled and everyone would buy like crazy from them to prop up the likelyhood of it finally being released.

As for GOG/CDPR, I bought Witcher 2 directly from them because they promised (and delivered) on the no DRM. Even though it's still on my backlog, I want to support a company that supports gamers with actions not just lip service.

 

[RicoADF]

Yes I'm aware, I was just stating that I had issue with a dev who DIDN'T go by that logic. Who'd rather you jump through hoops, I'll make an edit so this is more clear.

Ah my mistake, it's 1am here so that's my excuse

 

[OldNewNewOld]

Quite a a lot of people think something along the lines of "I don't want to pay for a decade old game when not even a cent is going to the developer or maker of the game".
And I understand the way of thinking to some extend.
And lets not forget that GoG does actually sells "pirated" games. There were quite a few cases where the games executable was a crack created by some pirate group.

Yeah, some people don't really like GoG for those reasons.

 

[Weaver]

While I do think it's very laudable to have the goal of an easy to use service; I kind of feel like they should see Steam as competition.

 

[MCerberus]

Sorry, I'm pretty sure that the two services have library overlap as well as being heavily invested in selling nostalgia and impulse buy gaming. You may be competing with pirates, but you have other competitors.

Except Origin, which is still a joke.

 

[DataSnake]

Steam update? Expect to wait for that download before you want to play.
Want to install your game on your laptop? Need to install Steam first.
Unexpected internet outage before you set your games to "offline"? Well, there's always that book you've been putting off reading...

About two weeks ago, my internet was down for two days straight. My ability to play games on steam, which I had not gone through any extra steps to "set to offline", was completely unimpeded. Also, it occasionally asks me if I want to restart to install a steam update, but it's never refused to let me keep playing games if I put it off.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

And this is why I use GOG. They understand. And, they're awesome. Prices might be a bit higher than I'd like, but that they're even still upholding some of those games is just outstanding. Anyways, off to check their sales!

 

[aggers]

i love GOG, they really are my first choice for games

 

[Covarr]

Wanna beat the pirates? Offer something they don't have. A dedicated client, a game manager. That's one of the biggest reasons I prefer Steam to GOG, and I'd bet it's something that would seriously curb piracy.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

A game retailer that recognizes that legal or not, they are in competition with the pirates? Color me impressed. The key to fighting pirates isn't to demonize them, it's to outcompete them. Competing with free is hard, it's not impossible. You just have to give a better product for a reasonable price. Otherwise bottled water wouldn't be the huge industry it is, everybody would just buy a reusable bottle and keep it filled at all times.

 

[Genocidicles]

Wanna beat the pirates? Offer something they don't have. A dedicated client, a game manager. That's one of the biggest reasons I prefer Steam to GOG, and I'd bet it's something that would seriously curb piracy.

P.S. Thanks

GOG has an optional download client to use.

Something like Steam would be DRM though, and the lack of DRM is what makes GOG so awesome.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

This mostly applies to the older games but GOG is very solid about making sure to include fan patches that are basically required for a smooth experience. This makes life a little bit easier as well, no searching through defunct websites to find it. The community there is quite good also.

 

[Louis Martin]

Torrent trackers carry linux games. Get on it GOG!

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I'd disagree. A lot of GOG's library requires workarounds or fixes to work on modern PCs. Some of the game straight up do not work, yet GOG sells them with little warning.

This is another decent reason why its not as popular as Steam. Piracy is one thing, selling games that straight up don't work anymore is another.

I've purchased alot of games from GoG and none have had issues running, the games have been updated (either using dos box or by patching) to work on modern systems. Not saying it's impossible, but sofar I haven't seen an issue (and I have alot of games on there).

You're one of the lucky ones. Take a stroll through the GOG forums sometime. The place is filled with complaints about games either having trouble or flat out not working. Also, there's a list of games that GOG sells that will flat out not work with Windows 8. That's going to be a problem for them in a few years when gamers are one or two OS generations part that.

 

[Jamous]

Not going to lie there is a part of me that is utterly terrified of the eventuality of Steam going darkside. I sincerely doubt it'll happen, but still, the option's there...

GOG is, however, an excellent alternative to it. Unfortunately it's a moot point for me as Steam is my main platform.

 

[shintakie10]

Not going to lie there is a part of me that is utterly terrified of the eventuality of Steam going darkside. I sincerely doubt it'll happen, but still, the option's there...

GOG is, however, an excellent alternative to it. Unfortunately it's a moot point for me as Steam is my main platform.

Ya know whats funny? If you primarily buy games off of GoG you don't need any platforms!

Imagine that. Not needin extra software to run the software you legally own instead of only holdin a license to games that you don't own on Steam accordin to Valve.