Would you mind keepin' it down, we're trying to beat a dead horse over here!

I wasn't banned but my posts did get deleted, can't show direct proof but you can see him threatening to do just that (made a screenshot just in case he would like to cover this up, unfortunately I wasn't as precautionary earlier). He also locked my thread where I've pointed out that they don't give proper credit where credit is due and in fact take Black Isle's credit even though they're just modders.They've also shadowbanned me on YouTube for this even though most people agreed with me and it was the most upvoted comment at the time (under their trailer).

Now I urge you to compare it to how Iron Tower studio operates - real developers with brilliant ideas and skills who made one of the best RPGs ever made - Age of Decadence. They never delete any thread or ban users (at least I haven't noticed so if they do it must be extremely rare) Beamdog however has the reputation of banning left and right at false pretences...

Like I said, recent days have been the most important holidays for Poles (i.e. Catholics) so they must have missed it. Just contact them directly if it bothers you this much. What's interesting to me is that juliusborisov did not respond to the question formulated like this:
Which can be translated to: it was our (Beamdog's) idea to do this and we had to beg WotC and GOG to agree (they are after all parties with a final word, especially WotC, GOG wouldn't want to damage their relationship with a publisher who owns best selling games on GOG).

I was disappointed he didn't answer directly, but he did answer as far as I'm concerned.

Not only are they forcing people to buy the EE to be able to get the original, they don't give you a key, and on top of that, they don't even have the decency to tell people upfront. I wonder how they've worked it out for people that buy a gift code. I'd be surprised if you get 2 keys.

Looks an awful lot like DRM to me.


After thinking about this for a bit, it occurs to me that what Beamdog is doing is devaluing the originals. Yes, you can still get them, but they no longer have any resale value. These aren't bundles we're talking about -- this is basically no different than the "bonus" games you sometimes get when you buy a video card. They're giving it to you -- for now -- but they're not obligated to because the only thing you really purchased was the EE. They're just throwing in the originals out of "kindness" and "generosity".

The only reason I can see for them to do this is they're planning to kill them off at some point. Might be a year, might be 2 or 3 years, and very few people will care because they no longer have any monetary value.

As far as Beamdog is concerned, the originals diminish the value of their products and their brand. Every original edition that is sold is an EE that *wasn't* sold. In that interview that someone linked, they said straight up that going forward they'll no longer be dealing with games other than their own.

I'd say the writing is on the wall -- for those who care to read it.

This answer took some time because it was required to do some research to provide a detailed reply.

Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale are all IP and this IP, just as the whole D&D thingy, has its owner.

Intellectual property rights have many forms and there can be an agreement between the interested parties affecting all, several or only one of them. Copyright Law of the United States grants certain rights to the owner of a copyright in a work:

- the right to reproduce the copyrighted work;
- the right to prepare derivative works based upon the work;
- the right to distribute copies of the work to the public;
- the right to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
- the right to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The distribution right grants to the copyright holder the right to make a work available to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending.

This right allows the copyright holder to prevent the distribution of unauthorized copies of a work.

Back in the time of original BG, Interplay had all the rights, then lost them to Atari, then Hasbro got all the rights from Atari.

An ultimate license holder (and owner) of Baldur's Gate. Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale is either Hasbro, or Wizards of the Coast, the subsidiary of Hasbro.

The license to D&D includes everything, it includes the setting, characters, stories and games themselves.

Greg Tito, Communications Director for Dungeons & Dragons, said one year ago: "We're proud to recognize their (Beamdog's) excellent work in offering the best possible experience and support for these legendary titles. We want these to become the definitive editions – featuring both the enhanced and classic versions of the games."

It confirms it was WotC who decided about the ways to distribute original Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale games.

So only Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast can decide to whom they grant distribution rights regarding the IP - Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale.

Beamdog is only a licensee, not a licensor. They cannot decide about distribution rights regarding the IP.

Beamdog doesn't have this IP, all they have is a license to work on Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale, and to disrtibute the EEs through their own store. Hasbro/WotC decide on distribution ways of the original games and can influence distribution ways of the EEs.

GoG.com got exactly those rights to distribute the original games and the EEs the rightholder (Hasbro/WotC) decided to give them.

The text on the game page has finally been changed to:
About: Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition includes the unaltered original version and the Enhanced Edition in one definitive collection exclusively on GOG.com. (The original version will be automatically added to your account after purchase.)
I would have been more clear about the fact that you won't get another copy if you already own it, but at least it's now clear how the game will be delivered and you can correctly assume from that.

I distinctly recall 2 different forum members saying effectively the exact same thing recently, but they were both shouted down by certain individuals for having the audacity to do so...

https://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/info_on_possibly_getting_the_classics_unbundled/post1

https://www.gog.com/forum/planescape_torment/buy_it_while_you_can/post59

I appreciate you making the effort bengoshi, but anyone who made a meager effort to do a minimum of research into to IP laws of most Western nations should already know what you just posted. I doubt it will have any effect on those who have already made the decision to act passive-aggressively towards those who dare to post anything that not outright negatively critical of Beamdog.

That's not much better. Sure they'll add the game to your account -- IF you don't already have it.

It would make no sense whatsoever for Hasbro and Beamdog to enter into an agreement if they weren't on the same wavelength.

At the end of the day, Hasbro just wants it's money -- it's on Beamdog to make sure that happens.

Gee, welcome to the real world........
A business want to make a profit off of the products it owns. How shocking.

Knowing how account works (you cannot have the same game twice) users can assume correctly that they won't get a second copy. I agree, and I have said that before, that they could have been even more clear, stating that you won't get a second copy if you already own it. If it was me I would have done that to avoid any confusion.

Very astute, young man, but it isn't what we're talking about: how one goes about making a profit, is.

There are instances where "business ethics" is something more than an oxymoron. Occasionally.

Beamdog ? Nah thanks.
Glad I already own the real version :D

Oh, good! Better late than never.
They forgot to edit the OP, though: Both should've been edited. If the customer only reads this thread, he/she will have an unpleasant surprise after making him/her purchase (if they alredy had the gog version).

It's GOG we are talking about. This attention to detail speaks for itself...
That's why they have costantly issue while communicating with their customers.