Page 1 of 2

GOG.com closing a marketing ploy

Posted: 2010-09-19 01:15pm
by Edi
Heads up everyone!

As of right now, the GOG.com main page has the following announcement in there:
Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.

We're very grateful for all support we've received from all of you in the past two years. Working on GOG.com was a great adventure for all of us and an unforgettable journey to the past, through the long and wonderful history of PC gaming.

This doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.

On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games. Stay tuned to this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

All the best,
GOG.com Team
If you've bought stuff from there, keep an eye on the site and download everything when possible.

Good old Games shutting down

Posted: 2010-09-19 01:16pm
by Mr Bean
http://www.gog.com/
Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.

We're very grateful for all support we've received from all of you in the past two years. Working on GOG.com was a great adventure for all of us and an unforgettable journey to the past, through the long and wonderful history of PC gaming.

This doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.

On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games. Stay tuned to this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

All the best,
GOG.com Team
So good old games is shutting down. No reasons on why they are shutting down but there's already talking that someone else is going to buy out their stock and we will see GoG games on Direct2Drive or Steam in the next few months.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 01:17pm
by Mr Bean
Merge or delete my thread which was one minute after Edi's
http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. ... 4&t=144977

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 01:19pm
by Edi
Merged.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 02:26pm
by AniThyng
Man this sucks, I just bought Panzer General 3d from them and was considering getting MAX, MAX2 and Ground control 1...but now it's too late. :(

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 02:43pm
by Artemas
Can't you get ground control free anyway?

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 02:47pm
by Brother-Captain Gaius
Aw, shit. I loved GOG. I'd gotten a couple things from them and checked it now and then to see if they'd added more cool stuff.

Sad to see them go. Seems like there's quite a lot of self-destructing going on the game industry lately.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 03:03pm
by Ace Pace
Artemas wrote:Can't you get ground control free anyway?
Yes. Ground Control on FilePlanet

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 04:21pm
by Edi
This sucks expecially since they had a few titles I might have taken. They had just added Age of Wonders to their selection too.

Speaking of which, Ace, we spoke a long time ago about that game and its availability then. It's also been added to Impulse, so if you want to get it, now is the time.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 04:48pm
by bobalot
Wow, that totally blows. I bought two games from them and was planning on buying a few more.

What changed so quickly? They just recently excitedly announced they had brought on another developer and were looking to distribute their old games.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 04:54pm
by Edi
The word on the hardlight.net forums (Freespace 2 Open) is that this may be some sort of publicity stunt or reorganization of some sort. They've been doing some digging, since the FSOpen project requires access to the actual FS2 game.

I'm going to wait and see for a while.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 06:39pm
by Formless
Rock Paper Shotgun wrote:Something Afoot At GoG

Hrm. So there’s something going on over at DRM-free digital distribution site GoG.com. The site is down, and in its place a message that, in part, reads: “We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We’ve debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we’ve decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.” (And the message seems to have changed since I read it earlier, which is interesting.)

However, it’s not necessarily over, and there will be a solution for everyone to download their games. We contacted the GoG team and received this message: “As the message on the site says, this doesn’t mean GOG is gone. We’ll have more to share in the coming days.” So we wait and see. My guess? They’ll be assimilated into another digital distribution system, something like that.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 06:42pm
by Stark
Age of Wonders is out on all kids of DD things now anyway.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 06:43pm
by Mr Bean
Dang I hope they've been bought out by Steam. I'm not a direct to drive fan even if I do own half a dozen games on their service. And I've not even gotten into Impulse.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-19 08:20pm
by MKSheppard
If they get bought out by steam....ugh.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-20 01:33am
by weemadando
I suspect its a restructuring and maybe a service merger with some of the other classic games sites.

Steam would go against the whole no drm thing.

I knew I should have picked up Cannon Fodder over the weekend when temptation struck.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-20 01:48pm
by 2000AD
Rumour has it (Link) it's just a marketing stunt for switching out of Beta.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-21 08:43am
by houser2112
I hope it's a marketing stunt too. If they're getting bought out, chances are that the buyer will not be as benevolent (like Steam).

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-21 11:05am
by Molyneux
I dearly hope that this is just a marketing stunt; I picked up Fallout there awhile back, and I've been meaning to grab some more games from there as well. I do know a friend who's been buying up pretty much every game they have that he can afford - he's a major old-games fan.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-21 07:26pm
by Jade Falcon
I do hope its not a Steam buyout, as in the UK at least, the prices for Steam games can be near brick and mortar retail prices with the exceptions of a few sales.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-22 12:38pm
by Formless
And it turns out... it was a publicity stunt. A stupid, barely thought out publicity stunt:
Rock Paper Shotgun wrote:Good Old Games Gets New, Relaunches

So what is going on at Good Old Games? The press conference is in full flow, and the company has announced… it was a hoax. Quite possibly one of the most ill-advised hoaxes imaginable. The site will continue on, completely rewritten and no longer in beta, with a few new features and some new games. There’s all the details below. More details will be added, so refresh until I say not to.

Speculation has been rife since the site disappeared last Sunday, replaced with simple text statements deliberately implying that the site was closing down. “This doesn’t mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever,” they said. “We’re closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.”

It was all thinly veiled allusions toward their beta phase coming to an end, rather than the site disappearing forever. But it was one that saw users unable to access their games for five days, without knowing if they’d get them back.

Unfortunately GoG chose to deliver the message by dressing as monks and expressing “our humble apologies”, stating that “we have sinned”. Rather than any sense of contrition, they’ve instead chosen to continue their joke.

The site needed to close down for the update, but choosing not to explain this to their audience with any clarity. Boasting “a lot of hints”, they imply that it was the audience’s fault for not having gotten the joke. A joke, they say, was because they feel the industry is too “stiff”. They have not been bought by a larger distribution platform, and will continue to be an independent publisher.

98% of the website code has been rewritten. The site is “ten times faster”, and can now handle six times as many users. And the download client – which was always horrible – has gone.

In demonstrating their new simple login system, unfortunately they managed to screw up their own password, and then complain that it’s running too slowly.

There’s a new recommendation system, which will suggest games to you based on games you’ve bought, and those you’ve rated. The game catalogue will divide games by genre, letting you filter by really specific choices, including single or multiplayer gaming.

Product pages will explain “what’s cool about this game”. These are being written by fans of the games, rather than quoted from marketing speak. They also say they will have been completely tested from “A to Z”, hopefully suggesting they’ll all be guaranteed to work.

They will continue to bundle “goodies” with games. 150 of the games in their catalogue will work in Windows 7, and they intend to patch the rest in the future.

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-22 12:42pm
by Thanas
Those guys are retards and I do not think they'll see any of my business. If they are so immature, what reason do I have to trust them with my address, personal data and credit card information?

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-22 01:31pm
by AniThyng
Is it the week of stupid IT marketing decisions? ZoneAlarm didn't do themselves any favours last week either with that ZeuS.Zbot.aoaq stunt.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/21 ... e_warning/

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-22 01:38pm
by General Zod
AniThyng wrote:Is it the week of stupid IT marketing decisions? ZoneAlarm didn't do themselves any favours last week either with that ZeuS.Zbot.aoaq stunt.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/21 ... e_warning/
My first thought was "this sounds like a lot of those fake antivirus hijackers out there", and it seems the person writing that article agrees with me. I'm amazed that any legitimate antivirus company would think that's a good idea, but at least it shows there's someone even less competent at marketing than GoG. :D

Re: GOG.com Closing

Posted: 2010-09-22 02:19pm
by Jade Falcon
Thanas wrote:Those guys are retards and I do not think they'll see any of my business. If they are so immature, what reason do I have to trust them with my address, personal data and credit card information?
Despite this stupid hoax I wouldn't go so far as to call them retards, but opinions will differ. Regarding card information, unless the new launch has changed the payment system, you can pay through Paypal which was a fairly recent addition.