A word of caution. The developer, Digital Eclipse, seems content to just release a product on the GOG storefront and call it a day. This ‘one-and-done’ approach from Digital Eclipse - of missing updates / DLC - highlights an apparent lack of care and neglect in how they seem to view their GOG customer base. Digital Eclipse has a historical tendency of abandoning updates of its products on the GOG storefront: - 8 Aug 2024, Steam users received a 3.7 GB update for the game 'Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story', where the whole game was redownloaded / reinstalled. GOG users have still not received this update. - Jan 23, Digital Eclipse, after 5 months of keeping their GOG customers waiting - in a total eclipse, with no news or updates - finally announced on Discord the ending of all support / updates / DLC for their flagship product, 'Atari 50'' on the GOG store. They cited the reason as: "The studio's proprietary development tools don't allow for this content to be efficiently re-platformed to the VCS and GOG platforms". This statement doesn't exactly sound promising for other Digital Eclipse games on the GOG store receiving any updates, as 'Atari 50', runs on the same proprietary 'Eclipse Engine technology' as all the other releases in Digital Eclipse' 'Gold Master Series'. - Feb 27, Digital Eclipse’ game ‘Tetris Forever’ had its "biggest-ever update" released on other platforms. This update includes the 1991 "cult classic" Super Tetris and the 1988 title Tetris (AcademySoft) v. 3.12. GOG users are still waiting for this update. For any potential buyers of Digital Eclipse products on the GOG store, who care about having updates / DLC - at all - should think twice. In looking at the 'in-game' experience.... ;) the timeline shows versions of tetris for the dreamcast and other consoles but wont let you play them. there is no online multiplayer
Following Atari / Digital Eclipse’ Jan 23 statement, the implications do not look promising for any updates / DLC for Digital Eclipse' products on the GOG platform: "The studio's proprietary development tools don't allow for this content to be efficiently re-platformed to the VCS and GOG platforms". Digital Eclipse’ website: "At the heart of Digital Eclipse's releases is our proprietary Eclipse Engine technology". How ironic, that a studio, Digital Eclipse, whose stated mission is in “preserving gaming history”, has abandoned their own flagship product, 'Atari 50', on the GOG store. “GOG was created with video game preservation in mind," - Maciej Gołębiewski, managing director at GOG. Why then, is a solution to this 7 months’ issue of missing updates / DLC for ‘Atari 50’ on the GOG storefront, still not being pursued? Possible solutions for GOG users: - Delist ‘Atari 50’ and replace it with the ‘Expanded Edition’, with a discount for previous owners of ‘Atari 50’ - like Digital Eclipse had done previously with the 'Disney Classic Games Collection'. Or, - Offer existing / future customers of ‘Atari 50’ free keys for the ‘Expanded Edition’ - on the platform of their choice. The same promotion Atari gave to VCS owners of 'Atari 50'. On Steam, these keys are provided to developers as a free service. Either solution could have a clear, bold disclaimer on the store product page, informing customers of what to expect with their purchase. This would encourage GOG customers - with the need for DRM-free ownership - to, at the very least, buy ‘Atari 50’ on GOG and obtain free keys to play the 2 DLC packs on another platform. This would also act as a goodwill gesture towards GOG users, and go some way in restoring consumer confidence in Digital Eclipse / Atari / GOG. This action could still result in a positive customer experience for GOG users, and encourage sales and future titles / updates on the GOG platform. This is a win-win solution for everyone.
Following Atari / Digital Eclipse’ Jan 23 statement, the implications do not look promising for any updates / DLC for Digital Eclipse' products on the GOG platform: "The studio's proprietary development tools don't allow for this content to be efficiently re-platformed to the VCS and GOG platforms". Digital Eclipse’ website: "At the heart of Digital Eclipse's releases is our proprietary Eclipse Engine technology". How ironic, that a studio, Digital Eclipse, whose stated mission is in “preserving gaming history”, has abandoned their own flagship product, 'Atari 50', on the GOG store. “GOG was created with video game preservation in mind," - Maciej Gołębiewski, managing director at GOG. Why then, is a solution to this 7 months issue of missing updates / DLC for ‘Atari 50’ on the GOG storefront, still not being pursued? Possible solutions for GOG users: - Delist ‘Atari 50’ and replace it with the ‘Expanded Edition’, with a discount for previous owners of ‘Atari 50’ - like Digital Eclipse had done previously with the 'Disney Classic Games Collection'. Or, - Offer existing / future customers of ‘Atari 50’ free keys for the ‘Expanded Edition’ - on the platform of their choice. The same promotion Atari gave to VCS owners of 'Atari 50'. On Steam, these keys are provided to developers as a free service. Either solution could have a clear, bold disclaimer on the store product page, informing customers of what to expect with their purchase. This would encourage GOG customers - with the need for DRM-free ownership - to, at the very least, buy ‘Atari 50’ on GOG and obtain free keys to play the 2 DLC packs on another platform. This would also act as a goodwill gesture towards GOG users, and go some way in restoring consumer confidence in Digital Eclipse / Atari / GOG. This action could still result in a positive customer experience for GOG users, and encourage sales and future titles / updates on the GOG platform. This is a win-win solution for everyone.
