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Report: Good Old Games Closes Its Doors [Updated]
by Xav de Matos, Sep 19, 2010 10:41am PDT[Update: 1:27 p.m.] When contacted for a comment regarding the current GOG.com situation, a Good Old Games representative told Shacknews, "As the message on the site says, this doesn't mean GOG is gone :) We'll have more to share in the coming days." Conspiracy theories online point to the "shut down" as a marketing ploy from GOG.com to exit its longstanding beta status.Writing on a Polish business forum (via NeoGAF, CD Projekt--GOG.com's parent company--co-founder Michał Kiciński mentions a conference dated for this Wednesday along with the message (translated), "Information about this soon on GOG.com (please do not panic after reading the information contained there:)." Our initial skepticism appears to be correct, as this situation looks like nothing more than a bad marketing stunt. More information expected soon.
[Original Story] If a message that has appeared on the Good Old Games website is to be believed, the DRM-free digital distributor has closed its doors. According to a suspiciously ugly message found on the GOG.com website and messages on both the service's Twitter and Facebook accounts, Good Old Games will no longer continue to be the primary sales source for DRM-free PC classic titles.
The message 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.
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.
The message claims that sometime this week a solution will be "put in place" to allow gamers to re-download any content they have purchased.
Shacknews has contacted representatives at Good Old Games to learn whether the message is legitimate and, if so (and we hope it isn't), why the company decided to discontinue its service so abruptly.[Thanks to all who sent this in.]
Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDRvuKjissQ
You can see a quick flash of Baldur's Gate, a game they did not yet release... so GOG will be back - in some form - and Baldur's Gate will be among some of the new titles being added.
Stupidest. PR Stunt. Ever.
Who is responsible for this "great idea" should be fired right now. Way to treat your customers, specially the ones who bought 50% or more of your catalogue and haven't backed up every damn game.
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Oh, and assuming this is just a PR stunt, I doubt everything they said is false. I'm sure it costs a lot of money to run a service like this. My guess is that if they do relaunch and change the way GOG is run, they're going to do a subscription based service with the games running on a server to be played on your web browser.
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UPDATE 20.09.2010
First of all, we apologize everyone for the whole situation and closing GOG.com. We do understand the timing for taking down the site caused confusion and many users didn't manage to download all their games. Unfortunately we had to close the service due to business and technical reasons.
At the same time we guarantee that every user who bought any game on GOG.com will be able to download all their games with bonus materials, DRM-free and as many times as they need starting this Thursday.
The official statement from GOG.com's management concerning the ongoing events is planned on Wednesday. If you want to receive further information about GOG.com, please send an email to update_media@gog.com if you're a media representative or to update_users@gog.com if you're a user without a GOG account.
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It's curious that there was no forewarning of this at all. For a digital storefront whose namesake is in carrying the legacy of nostalgic titles, they likely have a huge customer base to draw support from if they needed a surge in sales. Like, say, the one we're seeing now.
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In sum, probably not a great move. Don't do a back flip as you cross the finish line, guys. Just cross the damn line.
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..Planescape: Torment or Baldur's Gate would also be nice. Just sayin'!
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Interesting to note, nothing official by way of email from long standing account holders about this so Im highly doubt full this is nothing more then PR. Ive always had a good Email communication with them on troubles and website issues.
Gog.com has not lost me and will not lose me, why dont you all stop being angry on the internets and wait for PC gamers interview on Thursday, or read there tweet sometime today as promised.
chill out. maybe it is not the best way to get our attention but it is not so bad. what is so bad about it? stop freaking out, you're not 12 year old girls.
all that we know now was said on the web-site. "gog is not going down" why the hell did you need someone to tell you that? nowhere in the article did it say that. "to allow everyone to re-download their games" so why did you start crying about not downloading your games?
peace.
Please don't die GOG. T_T
http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=24035139#itemanchor_24035139
If the service is genuinely shutting down, then yeah, notice can be abrupt. BOOM--the floor just dropped out. That sucks, but it happens. But unless that is the case, a provider such as GOG that allows customers to invest in their service cannot, under any circumstances, prevent clients from accessing that service. If the GOG is getting a technical and/or aesthetic makeover, or if it's relaunching as a completely new service, the provider should issue a message saying so without simultaneously preventing access to the investments I made in the service. If preventing said access is necessary, saying so and explaining what's happening should be made part of the message.
The message GOG chose to issue is ambiguous at best, and people have reason to be upset. If the issue is anything short of the service going belly up, CDP has handled the ordeal horribly and should expect backlash. I'm not saying I believe those who are vowing never to buy another GOG game again. I'm saying CDP has rolled the dice and decided to gamble the trust their customers have placed in them and their service, and that's something that is not easily earned.
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They could have just gone with a press release, maybe even a sale but that wouldn't do, oh no, they have to create a shit storm and get people worked up over what many believe to be a changing of the status.
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"We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form. "
Man just look at the wording, its a total gimmick. GOG, I didnt think you would pull a stunt like this! However, this is completely hilarious, i for one cant stop laughing at their sense of humor.
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hmm
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"Sometimes it's really hard being DRM-free... hard to keep things the way they are and keep management and publishers happy :("
So maybe they're killing off GoG because of increasing resistance from publishers about their no-DRM policy? Are they starting something new that will allow DRM, or use their own DRM suite?
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Can you imagine the shitstorm if D2D closed down for a couple of days or, heaven forbid, Steam - just so they could implement a few changes here and there.
Jesus Christ whoever thought of this idea shouldn't have a job in the morning, and the idiots who OK'd it should also walk. Stunts like this will dramatically reduce the confidence of their customers and turn away potential ones.
DUMB.
Settle down you retarded spazzes, jesus christ.
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You've got to have a sort of gallows sense of humor.
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Best online game shop, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Steam and crap like that is closing.
Now everyone can say PC gaming is dead or totally fucked up and I will agree.
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I hope they comeback. I kept putting off purchasing Independence War and now I'd really like that get it.
http://steamunpowered.eu/gog-com-is-not-shutting-down-the-end-of-beta-is-here/
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