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General discussion (archive)New Gaming Options: Survey Results(520 posts)(520 posts)
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Posted April 19, 2013
Survey Results: See what the future of GOG.com holds!

A few weeks ago we asked you to fill out a survey about some of the possible new areas of gaming that GOG.com might move into in the future. We also promised that we’d share the results with you, and they are below. Before we get to that, though, we did want to let you know what these mean to us:

1. We remain committed to bringing you guys the best games from all of gaming history, on both PC and Mac. This means that while we’re exploring ways to bring you new games, we also are committed to bringing classics back to life as well. This year alone has seen Omikron, System Shock 2, the Leisure Suit Larry series, Strike Commander, and even Daikatana!

2. DLC is a controversial issue, but something that has been in gaming—by another name—since the very early days. You guys seem to understand that it’s not possible for us to sign new games with all of their DLC (before it is even made) bundled in, and it looks like you’re willing to either buy DLC or not as you find it interesting. As part of our continual efforts to improve the user experience on GOG.com, we will be looking at new, better ways to present DLC in our catalog as well.

3. Selling episodic content before the “season” is finished is also something we’re looking forward to bringing you in the future, and you seem to agree.

4. Season passes—for both DLC and for episodic content—clearly have a mixed perception here. Season passes—if we do offer them—are something that we’ll approach with deliberation to make sure that we’re confident that the content that is promised will all be delivered.

5. Finally, we have somewhat conflicting information on the persistent multiplayer features; when discussed in a very abstract fashion (as it was in the first survey), it’s a very clear “no.” When mentioned in a specific game that we’ve shown you, it’s an equally clear “yes.” What we’re going to be sure of, going forward, is that we’re very careful that any game that we bring you guys with persistent multiplayer features will be at least as offline-friendly as Planetary Annihilation is.

One of the defining characteristics of GOG.com is that the games that we sell have no DRM; this isn't going to change, and we will continue to evaluate the games that we bring to you to make sure that they're not only great games, but great games that we think will fit in well with how we do business.

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Thank you for responding to our surveys in such large numbers. GOG.com would be a mere shadow of itself if it wasn't for its incredible, open, friendly, and active community--that is you!
Post edited April 19, 2013 by G-Doc
Posted April 22, 2013
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Novotnus: Does that mean they should run GOG just for the fun of it?
Nope, I'm affraid they do it for profit - and if it generates no profit or even generates losses, they'll have no reason to keep it going.
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snake289: You telling me they don't already earn a good profit already considering that the site gets more buyers everyday?

They can continue releasing games on the site without rip off DLC and season passes and continue making a profit while earning the respect for more long term customers.
Not being able to modernise their internal structure to allow newer games, easier patching and DLC's are kind of making them lose mine respect more and more. I stopped buying new games here some time ago because of this.
Posted April 22, 2013
Wow it seems the choice I opposed won on every count.

I hate dlc..
Posted April 22, 2013
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vulchor: Chances are you don't understand why us old school gamers hate DRM in the first place, so this community isn't the best fit for you.
I know quite a few old school gamers in this forum (myself included) that don't mind non-intrusive DRM and are here mostly for the old games. Some could be even older than you.

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vulchor: GOG was about high standards and the golden age of gaming.
I'm very sorry to bust your bubble, but GOG is a company and companies are about making money. Period.

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vulchor: Sure there are newer games from developers that respect your gaming rights, and these games are welcome here too. But sliding down the slope that offering DLC and Online multiplayer games (with or without cheap, shoddy single player to appease) for the sole purpose of having a larger game catalog risks alienating those in the community that are the largest proponents of this site.
Let me ask you one thing about the online part: should all UT games be removed from GOG forever? Because they fit your description perfectly. UT is an online multiplayer game with a "cheap, shoddy single player to appease (well, SP is nothing more than multiplayer with bots). GOG should remove it too, right? Because it certainly doesn't fit your standards of old school gaming.

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vulchor: What ever happened to GOG's pledge to give us the most complete edition of game possible? IF a game is going to have DLC, then it's not complete until all the DLC is available. If that's the case, I'm fine waiting for it, packaged all together as an ultimate edition, that because it's a year or so after original release is priced cheaper than the base game originally was anyway.
You will wait for the complete edition and so will i. But many consumers won't, they'll just buy it from somewhere else instead. It's unfair to force GOG to lose a fraction of potential consumers for nothing.

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vulchor: I agree that many many people on this site that support these changes wouldn't care if games had DRM either. They're the ones that want their Steam keys.
You know that DLCs and DRM are completely different things, right?
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amok: "us old school gamers" - apparently I am not one of them. Never mind.
70% of GOG's members are NOT old school gamers because they voted "Yes" for DLCs. Funny, isn't it?
Post edited April 22, 2013 by Neobr10
Posted April 22, 2013
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Fuzzyfireball: As pointed out in this post, companies have always tried to get your money any way they can. Don't forget "expansions" like Oh No! More Lemmings or C&C's Covert Ops, which were just more of the same. Map packs. You have both the good and the bad, and that hasn't changed since.
You know what's worse? The fucking GOTY edition of No One Lives Forever. It had a full mission available exclusive for the GOTY edition that couldn't be acquired by any other mean. If you had the regular edition the only way to play that level was to buy the GOTY edition of the game. Nice, uh? But hey, DLC is evil. Double standards, my friend. There has always been BS moves in the game's industry and there will always be.
Posted April 22, 2013
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snake289: You telling me they don't already earn a good profit already considering that the site gets more buyers everyday?
I'm only saying that there is no such thing as "too much profit".
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snake289: They can continue releasing games on the site without rip off DLC and season passes and continue making a profit while earning the respect for more long term customers.
For some users DLCs are added value (for example: JMich). For some they are something bad that shouldn't have its place on GOG (you for example). I guess the largest group of users (me included) remain neutral in this matter - I can see some advantages and some disadvantages of DLC here - but I can live with disadvantages and avoid them by simply NOT BUYING things I don't want while having more options to buy things I want (as I said, I'd gladly buy Jane Jensen's Moebius or add a DLC to my GOG copy of Agustin Cordes' Asylum).
Posted April 22, 2013
If the industry was to adopt these unrealistic ethics about DLCs, they would simply make a game and be done. All the extra content would not be made because why do it if there is no money in it. This theory about DLCs being part of the game that are cut out, I think for the most part it doesn't happen to often. If people cant make a living making DLCs they simply would not be made.
Post edited April 22, 2013 by Whitewraith
Posted April 22, 2013
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Whitewraith: If the industry was to adopt these unrealistic ethics about DLCs, they would simply make a game and be done. All the extra content would not be made because why do it if there is no money in it. This theory about DLCs being part of the game that are cut out, I think for the most part it doesn't happen to often. If people cant make a living making DLCs they simply would not be made.
I'd gladly buy a DLC for KotOR 2 that would make it complete. The game was butchered before the release (fixed years later by a group of skilled modders, btw) and sold without some rather important content - not because they had any plans for a DLC, but because LucasArts wanted the game out before Christmas.
I liked the game enough to pay a little more for a better experience.. For many years the game just was as it was, broken and incomplete. How having an option to make it better (even for money) could be bad?
Posted April 22, 2013
You know, there's something in this discussion that makes me wonder...

Do people come to an online game store because they think "Hey, this has random games with no DRM and doesn't offer stupid money-grabbing content packs, so I'll buy something random just because"? Or do they come there because it sells a specific old game that they've been struggling to run on their new PC and/or to find it at all for years? Or because they want a specific new game, but find shopping here more comfortable that at another store for whatever reason?

I personally think that, had I not discovered GOG a few years ago and came here just today to buy the same game, I frankly wouldn't mind the stuff that was added to the site since then, nor the stuff they're planning to add, because they still sell that very game, and I still find the way they do it very comfortable - I only need an account registered to my e-mail address, and my credit card. And nobody wants anything from me besides my money - no need to install extra software or to be online when the game itself doesn't require it, no need to constantly connect to the service or its other customers when I don't want it. That's pretty much all that matters - I'm still here, I still buy old games as they're released, and I also buy new games because for me it's a better option than buying them from a site where I won't feel as comfortable as here. I'm yet unsure whether the new additions will affect me at all, but at this point, I still feel comfortable.

I know that my views tend to make me not fit into any community, but - if everything on GOG was the way it is now, or is going to be soon, right from the start, how many people here would've never bought anything from them?
Post edited April 22, 2013 by YnK
Posted April 22, 2013
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YnK: I know that my views tend to make me not fit into any community, but - if everything on GOG was the way it is now, or is going to be soon, right from the start, how many people here would've never bought anythyng from them?
Don't worry, it's a friendly place and different opinions are allowed :)
Posted April 22, 2013
I bought from Impulse instead of Steam when Impulse labelled DRM and had no online restrictions and Steam didn't. When Stardock sold Impulse to GameStop and they stopped being 100% about labelling DRM and I started to notice some of their games not working with common mods (Morrowind & Oblivion) but Steam had started labelling DRM and wasn't using the weird encrypted binaries, I switched to buy things on Steam. When Steam added their attempt to restrict class-action lawsuits (which I hate anyway, but consider a vital right/freedom) I haven't logged in there since.

I buy from GoG because they have games I want for prices I consider worth it for those games, and I've re-bought several games I had on Steam (and now don't get to that way) because GoG still treats me with respect as a consumer.

If GoG adds games for sale with all sorts of things like this, but it's 100% clear about what the game is, what it isn't, and what restrictions are there, then they're still treating me with respect as far as I'm concerned. Now if they were to do something like focus on solely multiplayer games, then I probably wouldn't find much new that I considered worth buying, but I wouldn't think anything negative past, "I guess I'm not in their target market any more. Oh well, I probably wasn't going to get through what I've already bought from them in one lifetime anyway."
Posted April 22, 2013
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vulchor: What ever happened to GOG's pledge to give us the most complete edition of game possible?
It never existed. Seriously, show me where they ever said that, because everyone keeps saying something similar but there is zero trace of this "pledge".
Posted April 22, 2013
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PaladinWay: Now if they were to do something like focus on solely multiplayer games, then I probably wouldn't find much new that I considered worth buying, but I wouldn't think anything negative past, "I guess I'm not in their target market any more. Oh well, I probably wasn't going to get through what I've already bought from them in one lifetime anyway."
I don't believe that'll ever be the case - classics are one of pillars of GOG and this community. We may get some multiplayer-focused games, but we're still going to get our weekly fix of classics :)
Posted April 22, 2013
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PaladinWay: I bought from Impulse instead of Steam when Impulse labelled DRM and had no online restrictions and Steam didn't. When Stardock sold Impulse to GameStop and they stopped being 100% about labelling DRM and I started to notice some of their games not working with common mods (Morrowind & Oblivion) but Steam had started labelling DRM and wasn't using the weird encrypted binaries, I switched to buy things on Steam. When Steam added their attempt to restrict class-action lawsuits (which I hate anyway, but consider a vital right/freedom) I haven't logged in there since.

I buy from GoG because they have games I want for prices I consider worth it for those games, and I've re-bought several games I had on Steam (and now don't get to that way) because GoG still treats me with respect as a consumer.

If GoG adds games for sale with all sorts of things like this, but it's 100% clear about what the game is, what it isn't, and what restrictions are there, then they're still treating me with respect as far as I'm concerned. Now if they were to do something like focus on solely multiplayer games, then I probably wouldn't find much new that I considered worth buying, but I wouldn't think anything negative past, "I guess I'm not in their target market any more. Oh well, I probably wasn't going to get through what I've already bought from them in one lifetime anyway."
This. I've actually abandoned a few gaming sites in the past because they started to do things that I absolutely didn't like - it wasn't what they were selling, but how. With GOG, I'm certain that they won't do anything like that, the currently planned upgrades aren't going to get in my way in any case, and if they keep releasing games I want to buy, I have no reason to complain. They want more people to come here - fine, and this can be done without losing the established customer base, provided said base doesn't overreact. ;)

That said, I do wish they'd put more effort into upgrading and organizing the site, because even the community wishlist here is a total mess. Seriously, is there a forum thread for suggestions regarding the technical aspects of the site?
Post edited April 22, 2013 by YnK
Posted April 22, 2013
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mko: Wow it seems the choice I opposed won on every count.

I hate dlc..
Totally agree. Seems GOG is destined to head towards mediocrity, and what's worse is people want it to. How depressing.

DLC is a good thing. WHEN IT'S FREE.

I will pay for expansion packs, not DLC.
Posted April 22, 2013
I have to say im a touch disappointed with the results,
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)New Gaming Options: Survey Results(520 posts)(520 posts)
(520 posts)