forbiddenspiral: Firstly, I think the preservation program is a great idea! I'd be happy to support it with a voluntary donation if that's an option.
GOG is a store that sells games, a for-profit organization, not a charity. You support GOG by making use of its services, i.e., by buying games from them. The main driving force behind GOG's preservation program is to sell games and make a profit from them.
forbiddenspiral: However, please GOG, consider not removing previous versions of games from our library when they enter the preservation program.
Some older installers still work on Windows 7 or XP, but now require Windows 10/11.
This can cause issues for people who don't have access to those systems (e.g., using old hardware or just not wanting to upgrade).
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Since GOG is profit-oriented, they need to focus on what will maximize that profit. Supporting what have become dead operating systems is, in the long run, not going to help achieve that. In addition, GOG’s ethos has always been to make old games run on modern systems. So, as operating systems are retired and new ones become the standard, GOG naturally shifts its support to those modern systems.
I’ve said this many times and will say it again: if you are truly interested in game preservation, then you should support the organizations that focus specifically on that. These are non-profit organizations that are not driven by profit, but by the goal of preserving games. This includes archives, museums, and even libraries that are working to preserve digital media. There are also dedicated organizations like the Internet Archive, the Video Game History Foundation, or the Videogame Heritage Society - all of which rely on donations, and need your help.
