Posted May 26, 2019
Here’s my conundrum: I want to better support CD Projekt/CD Projekt Red/GOG – and do so by buying more games from GOG, but there are very few games that I buy at launch each year. Maybe only one or two. I don’t have the time to play them as much as I would like and my disparate libraries are already saturated with titles I’ve barely touched.
Since the launch of ultra-value games bundles (such as Humble Bundle), it’s moderately rare that I’ll buy many games in traditional sales – regardless of the distribution platform – unless they are titles that I am particularly keen to play or support. The Witcher has been – and Cyberpunk 2077 will be – day 1 pre-orders/purchases on GOG for me (and I never normally pre-order, occasioanl crowdfunding aside), but these sales are few and far between. I seem to have transitioned toward buying many more games at much lower individual prices (in bundles) – which, in turn, means I’m probably spending a little more overall per year on games, but in a way that favours platforms like GOG less than I would like.
My questions, quite simply, are why hasn’t GOG launched a Humble-Bundle-like programme in the past, and are there any plans to do so in the future? There must be a great many people who would happily buy so much more from GOG, and games that they normally wouldn’t pick up individually, if the price and package were appealing enough.
A few thoughts and possible solutions to problems that immediately spring to mind;
1. Problem: GOG receives nothing from Humble Bundle.
Solution?: I’m not suggesting that this should be done through another service (Humble or otherwise) - do it independently.
2. Problem: Catalogue/titles are de-valued through grey-market distribution.
Solution?: Redeem titles directly to the account holder’s GOG account (no key).
3. Problem: GOG has a smaller pool of titles than, say, Steam.
Solution?: Release bundles with a frequency that is suitable to the size of the catalogue (quarterly, perhaps, or whatever seemed sustainable and appropriate).
I’m intrigued to hear what other people’s thoughts on this are, and likewise any of those from anyone at GOG, if they’re willing to share.
Since the launch of ultra-value games bundles (such as Humble Bundle), it’s moderately rare that I’ll buy many games in traditional sales – regardless of the distribution platform – unless they are titles that I am particularly keen to play or support. The Witcher has been – and Cyberpunk 2077 will be – day 1 pre-orders/purchases on GOG for me (and I never normally pre-order, occasioanl crowdfunding aside), but these sales are few and far between. I seem to have transitioned toward buying many more games at much lower individual prices (in bundles) – which, in turn, means I’m probably spending a little more overall per year on games, but in a way that favours platforms like GOG less than I would like.
My questions, quite simply, are why hasn’t GOG launched a Humble-Bundle-like programme in the past, and are there any plans to do so in the future? There must be a great many people who would happily buy so much more from GOG, and games that they normally wouldn’t pick up individually, if the price and package were appealing enough.
A few thoughts and possible solutions to problems that immediately spring to mind;
1. Problem: GOG receives nothing from Humble Bundle.
Solution?: I’m not suggesting that this should be done through another service (Humble or otherwise) - do it independently.
2. Problem: Catalogue/titles are de-valued through grey-market distribution.
Solution?: Redeem titles directly to the account holder’s GOG account (no key).
3. Problem: GOG has a smaller pool of titles than, say, Steam.
Solution?: Release bundles with a frequency that is suitable to the size of the catalogue (quarterly, perhaps, or whatever seemed sustainable and appropriate).
I’m intrigued to hear what other people’s thoughts on this are, and likewise any of those from anyone at GOG, if they’re willing to share.
Post edited May 26, 2019 by RedRabbitRun