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News GOG relaunches, admits closure was a hoax

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by CardJoe, 22 Sep 2010.

  1. Jipa

    Jipa Avoiding the "I guess.." since 2004

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    Like many others, I'd never heard about GoG before, and now I have.

    Why all the hate? It's not like they stole your money, and if they actually had to have some down-time anyway, why not do it like this? I just don't get it.
     
  2. Smilodon

    Smilodon The Antagonist

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    Not a fan at all of the marketing technique...


    Having that said, it certainly works well. I hadn't heard of GOG before this, and now that I do know about them I will probably use their services.
     
  3. ZERO <ibis>

    ZERO <ibis> Minimodder

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    Yea if it had not been for the hoax I probably would have never heard of them. Now I am going to be checking out that place and maybe picking up some cool classics.
     
  4. Memnoch-fr

    Memnoch-fr What's a Dremel?

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    This actually isn't too bad a technique. Whether you agree with it or not, they got more advertising in two days than they ever got before and it hardly cost them a penny. They also didn't really lie : from previous article - CD Projekt has said that it has "decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form" so basically, they shut down for 24 hours to change this form.

    Reading this forum often although I don't often post, I mainly see people who can easily read between the lines of any manufacturer marketing drivel, but most got caught out with this one.

    Maybe because we expect some companies to use agressive techniques and others not. Although at the end of the day, those who use such techniques always finish off better overall (Inter rather than AMD, Nvidia rather than ATI/AMD, etc.).

    Ok they do tend to annoy anyone here, but general consumer, and even a certain amount of everyday people who consider themselves 'experts' in these areas get foiled by it.

    Sorry long post. In a nutshell, yes not the best of marketing decisions for their current customers but which will make them much more money ;)
     
  5. enciem

    enciem Minimodder

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    good on 'em.

    They're not a major publishing house and this kicked up a lot of fuss and lifted awareness. Those bugged by this need to chill out a little. It's not like they're announcing P2P servers only for an FPS game or something.
     
  6. Xtrafresh

    Xtrafresh It never hurts to help

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    I for one think this whole stunt is fking awesome. It shows they have some genuine balls, a sense of humor, and a sense of GAME. It's good strategy, well executed, dramatic result, and it clearly demonstrates that they are a living, breathing company that is NOT owned by corporate stiffs but by people that do what they do with uncompromising passion.
    I'm getting my first paycheck in 4 days, and the first 5 euros i spend will go to these guys, JUST for that quote. I think we are all missing how profound this is. He is one of an exceedingly rare breed: company owners that run their company not to make money, but to actually do what the company does. There are not enough of these in the world.
     
    flibblesan likes this.
  7. dactone

    dactone dact-one

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    i think it was a good idea' i had not heard of them before , now i will be spending my cash there!

    i love good old games.
     
  8. kempez

    kempez modding again!

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    Great PR stunt and good on them. Good to see a smaller company who believe the right things are doing well. Good to see they won't sell and want to run their business as a business.

    I never went to the site before, but I will now for sure :)
     
  9. Weekly_Estimate

    Weekly_Estimate Random bird noises.

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    I never heard of them before now,

    :naughty:
     
  10. Neogumbercules

    Neogumbercules What's a Dremel?

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    At least they were up front about it. They don't have the advertising money to get themselves out there, so this worked for them.
     
  11. ian8415

    ian8415 What's a Dremel?

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    I now have heard of them, well done GOG, slick
     
  12. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    Well, I would just put the following question to all those people saying "Yeah, great job, I don't see what the problem is."

    How would you react if Steam did the same thing and shut down the site for four days, so you didn't know if you could get your games etc?

    Personally, I get that it's good marketing, but that doesn't mean it is good full stop.

    If nothing else I've lost respect for them on the basis that one of the founders, during the press conference and while dressed as a monk, admitted that Fallout: Tactics was his favourite ever game. I mean, really.
     
  13. gurboura

    gurboura TopLevel Computers

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    It's because with Valve's time, it wouldn't be 2 days, it would be 2 years.
     
  14. deadsea

    deadsea What's a Dremel?

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    Kinda apples and oranges? No DRM installers vs maybe working offline mode?

    Anyhow, "also sees Bioware's classic RPG Baldur's Gate added to the online catalogue" is what I've been waiting for. I just hope it's properly patched and not just the 4 original installers uploaded...
     
  15. Xtrafresh

    Xtrafresh It never hurts to help

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    Completely different company. Valve sells AAA titles for 60 euros, and full packs for as much as 200 a pop sometimes.
    GOG has a maximum of 10, 30 would be a big order for them. Aside from that, Valve is a major player in the gaming market in their own right. Yes they do get gamers a lot better then any of the others do, and yes they have much better ethics then the other guys, but they are still big business.

    The one thing i can blame on GOG is that they should have promised all the customers who had paid but not downloaded yet a way to collect their purchase.

    Anyway, i think this required balls and a really big measure of actual involvement in the own business to pull of. I remain convinced it was a good move, period, not just from a marketing standpoint.
     
  16. centy

    centy DFI Nutter

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    My first thought when a friend told me the news was "damn I should have used their service more"
     
  17. Eat_My_Shortz

    Eat_My_Shortz What's a Dremel?

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    "How would you react if Steam did the same thing and shut down the site for four days, so you didn't know if you could get your games etc?"

    Well I think this was part of the genius ... shutting down GOG for 4 days showed everyone that they didn't lose their games, due to no DRM. If Steam had shut down, we wouldn't be able to play.

    Sure, you couldn't download your games, but if you had already downloaded there's no problem (the ability to re-download is an extra feature -- they've already given you the game!)

    "The one thing i can blame on GOG is that they should have promised all the customers who had paid but not downloaded yet a way to collect their purchase."

    No, they clearly stated on their website through the whole four days, "On Thursday we will be providing a solution to download all of the games you have purchased," so they did promise this to customers from the start.

    I don't have a problem with this. To put it another way, imagine if your local games store put up signs that said "closed down" all over the shop for a few days, and a lot of people went, oh no I really wanted to shop there, then they had a big "re-opening" sale four days later and said "just kidding". You wouldn't be angry at them for closing down for those four days, because you already bought games from them. They didn't stop you from playing those games for four days, only stopped selling new ones during that time.

    The only difference with GOG is a) they're online and b) they were offering to let you re-download the games you already purchased.
     
  18. chrisb2e9

    chrisb2e9 Dont do that...

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    Good on them for doing something so risky. The amount of comments on other forums from people who have never heard of the service but wanted to. Well now they can. Not to mention that the re-opening will bring more news and more customers. Even better.

    I have never used the site and if I had been a customer and found that they were closing I would of been upset. But seeing them back with a better site, would of brought me back.
     
  19. runadumb

    runadumb What's a Dremel?

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    Not a fan of this move and if valve did it I would freak out my ass but it seems to have worked for them going by the forums here. Funnily enough I made my 1st purchase off them a week before they "closed". I will probably be a returning customer.
     
  20. blink

    blink stay cold

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    I had never heard of them either. Glad they closed down or I might never have. Their site sounds very promising.

    I am a bit confused about how they operate though. One downloads a title and then is able to keep that title correct? You are able to burn a backup .iso to a disk for future reinstallations or no? If that is the case, and there is no DRM and certainly not an "online" check, then I guess I don't understand why people would be upset that they closed down other than not being able to buy more games. I mean, Valve or Steam or whatever it is called has all that DRM garbage right and you don't really own the game so you have to be connected to them to play correct? (I don't use Steam obvy) Or are the complaints about losing the ability to play mutiplayer online games?
     
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