Don't recall hearing of that site before. Is it new, or did I just miss it ?

Well +1 for that. That was a great read and pretty interesting as well. Especially the Atari/White Wolf bits.

It's a few years old, but it's more like one man's blog on things like game design and industry topics than a news site or anything.

Read a couple of articles, they're pretty good .

My concern is they're going to try to become TOO MUCH like Steam, and go about developing a Steam-like client, albeit an optional one. I suppose something optional that makes it super-easy to install games, apply mods, and provide stable multiplayer for classics (such as Homeworld which is hopefully coming from Gearbox) would be good, but I'm worried in the years to come unnecessary Steam-like bullshit will be added, like social features, pop-up announcements, etc.

ANYWAY, My hope , naturally, is that he's referring to a few big-name publishers with kickass backlogs, that they've been working behind-the-scenes since the summer or over a year (meaning the article mentioning one of the big 3 being signed wasn't in vain) getting a large number of extremely impressive titles working again.

I would like a client to update and manage games easier (and see what games are installed, downloaded or online only). I'd also like to be notified about special offers (so long as I can control when and how I'm notified). What I hope is that not only will such a client be optional (so people are free to ignore it) but that they also have an open API so anyone else can build a rival client.

That is my biggest hope but I don't dare get too excited in case it doesn't happen.

Jack Keane 3, obviously. ;)

I may have been too "harsh" on the idea, especially when I remembered that I created a thread on this subject probably a year or more ago, actually advocating for a client. Perhaps my concern is this will be billed as the "next great thing" or "progress" for GOG while the desire for a new publisher, or new deals with current publishers (given how many classics many of them have) will be dismissed or pushed aside because GOG.

Personally, I would LOVE for GOG to develop a system just like Steam. All of the social stuff is all optional so people that don't want to partake, don't have to. Even if GOG developed a client that was 100% identical to Steams (minus the DRM of course), people would still have the option to log on and buy games just as they do today.All of the other stuff is all optional and in my opinion, options are ALWAYS a good thing. Its why I have preferred XBox over PlayStation that last 2 generations and why I chose to go with XBox One out of the gate this time around. XBox has had more options, in regards to just about everything (entertainment, Indie games, online gaming features, etc.).

I think it would be a big mistake not to try and add features to GOG especially given how popular many of the features have become. Achievements are a perfect example. Out of all the features we saw added to gaming over the last 8 years, Achievements/trophies are BY FAR the most successful and the most popular. People love achievements and the fact that GOG doesn't have them is a considerable weakness. I actually have friends who won't buy from GOG for this very reason. In fact, they wont play games that don't have achievements. Personally, I think that is really lame but I think people would be shocked at just how many people there are out there that share the same opinion. Raptr posted an article a few months back that talked about addiction to achievements and I was blown away at the sheer number of people that commented that openly admitted they no longer play older games because they don''t have achievements. I have no doubt whatsoever that GOG would see a significant increase in new accounts if they started offering achievements for their games.

Of course, that is just one example and there are many more. One of the features I would love to see GOG implement is some sort of abandonware section, one that offered many of the extras that you get with regular purchases (scanned manuals, box art, maps, etc.). While there are abandonware sites already on the internet, I think GOG could really outdo all of them, in regards to both the quality of the site and the extras that it offered. The abandonware sites I visit now don't have box art, and only a few games have manuals. I think it would be really cool and would fit perfectly with GOG's appreciation for older games.

All in all, I definitely feel that its in GOG's best interest to follow in Steam's footsteps. Steam has been hugely successful for a reason. It has great prices and a huge selection, but most importantly it has a ton of options and features that people really love. In regards to GOG, I just don't see the downside in adopting many of Steams features.

Jack Keane 3 : The Revenge :P

I will admit I shouldn't have put off the idea of making an optional client as a bad one so quickly. I think I was worried due to the way the PR guy seemed stuff like, "We knew we couldn't stick with old games forever, so we started adding new games." Well that's true you can't stick only with old games forever, but as someone here for the good old games I felt a little bit thrown under the bus by what I felt was kind of dismissive of the g.o.g. fans. Maybe I was reading too much into that, though.

The problem comes when GOG emulates Steam to the point where it effectively becomes known as "that store that's trying to be Steam #2" or something like that. Generally, from a marketing point of view, it's not worth trying to be everything to everybody; you're better off specializing in one particular area. I think GOG has succeeded because, online, it has become known as a curator of DRM-free old games not easily available legally. (There is room for debate on whether DRM-free or old games helped the most.) If GOG starts bringing in Steam features like crazy, it may "muddy the waters", or make it difficult to distinguish between the two in gamers' minds. I think, starting out at least, many gamers here would be unhappy because GOG would be bringing in features they were trying to get away from (social network-esque stuff, pop-up achievements that break immersion, etc.), and Steam users probably wouldn't migrate over anyways because all their friends are on Steam already, so why change now.

But of course this is all speculation, and I could be flat-out wrong. I had one single advertising class in university, which hammered home the importance of focus in business rather than broadness. Maybe if GOG hammers home how all this is optional, they might be able to keep most people happy.

If in early 2014, GOG says they signed one of the Big 3 or ZeniMax, and starts bringing more classics from current big-name publishers again (aside from EA), my worry will have been bullshit anyway.

Strategy Informer - December 4, 2013
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/26365/gogcom-announce-30-day-money-back-guarantee-begins-december-9th
&
IncGamers - December 4, 2013
http://www.incgamers.com/2013/12/gog-offering-money-back-guarantee-game-functionality

"A day after Peter writes a piece about how Steam’s refund policy is garbage, GOG hurls an email at me explaining that they’re changing their own refund policy.

GOG are describing their new policy as “a 100% money back guarantee on the functionality of all its games for PC and Mac users everywhere in the world,” which sounds like good news to me. The gist of it is that, if you purchase a game and GOG’s support team can’t get it working on your computer within 30 days (and your computer meets the system requirements on the game page), you get your money back. In short: if the game should work, doesn’t work, they can’t make it work, then you get a refund. Which seems pretty fair to me."

Wow. Just wow. That is awesome customer service that goes way way beyond anything anyone else out there does. I have been thrilled with my GOG purchases to date even when I had some problems with a few games, but this announcement makes me feel that much better that buying games on GOG is worth it.

Mind you, most of the games I have from GOG I haven't gotten a chance to play within 30 days of purchase due to volume and backlog. LOL

I really hope no one abuses this new policy but I'm a pretty cynical bastard.