What a BRILLIANT idea! I have always hated game companies and software/media manufacturers for intentionally designing their products on easily damaged discs when we already had the technology to create covered discs with a sliding access for reading digital information (like on the PSP games or Floppy discs) But it was decided to let them be vulnerable so people would have to pay extra to replace them when kids were rough with them or they forgot to put them away and they fell behind something and now their garbage.

But reclaiming your game is brilliant!, so if you did own a hard copy of a game and it got messed up somehow or your kid brother or maybe your own child used it for a Frisbee its not the end of the world!! ^_^

Little known fact but because of game discs getting so easily messed up like that its actually legal (In the united states, and I think Canada, not sure about other countries) to make copies of any games or movies you own as long as its only for the purpose of backing up your legally purchased products and you don't share any copies with other people. Of course the manufacturers aren't required to make it easy for you to do it even if you are allowed to so they often have a lot of annoying features making if difficult to make a proper copy. I've never heard of it being done with a modern PS4 or Xbox 360 game but their older counterparts could definitely be backed up, although the backups would only play on the intended system and in the case of the PS1 you would need a mod chip installed in the system to be able to play backup copies of games should the need arise, not a hard thing to install if you know how to solder a chip into a circuit board.

...what

It'd be nice if they updated the list though, instead of abandoning the concept. Same with GOG Connect.

This seems to be a case of finding publishers willing to honor old copies of games with a downloadable, updated version. You know, the really cool kids.

Gog Connect is this but with Steam as an extra monkeywrench in the middle. I don't know all the specifics, sadly, but I know that when you have something on someone else's platform you need to deal with the platform as well as the publishers to get stuff done.

Either way I also love the ideas at play here and am glad they are still going on even if the list is not huge.

It's a good idea & concept, but alas many publishers struggle with the notion of fairness, ethics & honesty.

When it comes to getting money from you more than once for the same game, most are morally weak and think more money ... yum yum yum.

So, it is not surprising that most of us gamers, don't have an awful lot of love and respect for the publishers etc.

As they say, what goes around comes around.

It is my belief, that the Games Industry would be a lot healthier today, if respect was a two-way street.

Many DEVS are doing it hard and many games are unfinished or poorly finished, full of bugs and unrealized elements etc.

If they want sympathy & support from Gamers, they are certainly going the wrong way about it.

GOG cop a lot of flack at times, but they have gone out of their way in many areas to make things better for us gamers ... or the possibility of it, if publishers and or developers come on board.

Two examples of that, is the Reclaim option and the GOG Connect option.

They are there, they exist, GOG have provided the framework.

Publishers and or Developers need to come on board and utilize them.

Gonna play the devil's advocate here for a bit, and it will seem as if I support devs/etc more than customers, though I do support customers slightly more than companies.....I ask that one bear that in mind when reading the following: It would be nice if they did so...but they are businesses, not charities. :) Eh, to me the ones who ask for more money for copies one lost or broke are mcuh better than those who charge for the same games on multiple(newer generation) systems. Fair enough, but most gamers are a hard to please bunch who seem to want more and more from ip holders while complaining about not getting that extra thing here and there, and even when those same ip holders give us some things some still complain it's not good enough. Not ALL do that, but a good number do. True....the problem is a small number seem to think respect means ip holders giving them everything they want or ask for, and that them saying no is disrespectful or wrong of them to do...even if the ip holders give them the moon otherwise. Games have had bugs(sometimes more, sometimes less) since games have been a thing. I agree, though, that some companies are lackluster when it comes to squashing them before shipping....though those same games are often full of thousands of lines of code and tons of data. It'd be nice, but to support GOG people could/can wait for sales and buy the games here for less than the price of a fancy coffee in some cases in the meantime. :)

https://www.gog.com/reclaim

"Reclaim your game: Dead since 2017!"

("MORE TITLES COMING SOON.
LAST UPDATE SEP 27, 2017)

You make a good point, but I know for a fact that there are more publishers who are willing to honor this, than those included in the current list. The idea was to create a list with a few titles and update that every once in while, so that you couldn't reclaim all your games from chill publishers at once. But then they stopped updating the list.

Play devil's advocate all you like, but it has nothing to do with charity ... or even business - unless that business likes to rip people off. It is about doing the right thing and whether you have a moral compass or conscience.

They can make all the excuses in the world, but they don't stack up.

That's not to say some recompense isn't due for new work, just that recognition should be present for those who bought and supported you, which means be fair. No-one is denying that some gamers have unrealistic expectations or desires. But honestly, that is barely a factor in most cases, and it is expected there will always be the disgruntled.

However, you only need to have some insider knowledge of the Game Industry to know it is not all roses. Deadlines and pressure are enormous, and not really warranted, except for the short term money factor. Many games start well and then go downhill due to those pressures, which often means they sometimes don't get finished or more often, just poorly finished. That usually means bugs, but also how good the game really is. The original vision for the game is not properly realized, not because it can't be, but because of time and financial restraints. Many games don't realize there full potential because of that and many planned sequels get tossed in the bin.

All about short term thinking and maximizing financial gain in the smallest amount of time.

And before you say it, that it just can't be helped, that is not true, as there are those out there who have the support and understanding etc to do things right, and prove that notion wrong.

Respect the gamers and gamers will reward you. GOG more than any other store, has shown the possibilities for that, especially with old games, giving them value once more, after many have been lost or abandoned.

Hey, thanks for letting me know about this. I'll be sure to keep an eye on the list.
Most of these games have sold multiple times to the same customer, on multiple platforms so it's not like they haven't already banked over the years.

I was more talking about most businesses that aren't as bad, not the truly bad ones.

Also morals and conscience are all well and good, but they don't often fill one's belly or keep one warm from the cold, and go against some parts of human nature(greed could be seen as self preservation to an extreme extent).

I often wish people would be nicer to each other, but of course of their own free will/while not having their own wants and rights violated or encroached upon, and as long as they are not forced or coerced into doing so(through actual force or overt appeals to emotion/attempts to shame said people).Agreed 100%Thing is, they work in a somewhat cutthroat industry where who gets to market first during some "seasons" get the most profit to fund said new games in the future, etc.

Also even with a good amount of time and money ideas often get canned or cut anyways due to them possibly taking a project over budget(time/money) or some exec or panel deciding the ideas aren't profitable/marketable enough.That's business...you either are a shark or get eaten by other sharks.And many of them are independents with kickstarter/etc money or crowd support....most big companies cannot always depend on such as they aren't usually crowd funded(besides maybe pre-orders if one counts that).GOG is very good in many ways, though on the other hand some trends have shown they are a business as any other. Still, they are a light in a dark cave in many respects and more good than bad, imo.

It's how the world is usually...many are self centered for various reasons(good or bad)...if you don't want to see it, then fine, but hand waving it away doesn't make it not so.

First off you are using a worse thing/worse sounding thing to make my own thing sound bad by comparison...not good debate tactics.

That said, please hear me out for a sec here: in the right context maybe it is....like if someone is starving & cannot find food at a soup kitchen/etc and needs to feed himself or his family. Imo in such cases a man stealing some food from a store to feed himself or his family is not so bad(well as long as it's cheap & filling and they actually eat it, and not them stealing fancy steaks to sell for drugs or similar).

That's anecdotal....from watching the majority of sales it seems it's often the ones(AAA) who get to market at the right times/before others that sell better. Of course other things like marketing/etc play a part as well.

You seem to equate ALL such practices in one "boat" as equally bad when that isn't so.....also some such tactics are sadly needed when competing with others who would do the same or worse/more to sell their product.....people DO have limited money, after all, and getting that money is harder the more competition there is.

But many that pull on nostalgic strings do succeed and sometimes very well, and when they do they don't need to rush a game out or do some things other companies do due to not needing to due to having money to burn.

Tell that to the various games that I thought were good and set up for sequels that never came.....sometimes due to not making enough money.

I was mainly trying to explain it and show how the world really is in some cases, which you seem to be in denial of due to being overly optimistic/having a certain view on things.....I wasn't trying to defend truly bad behavior.....I was just trying to show you how some of your ideas are a bit unrealistic.

I never said they weren't, just the notion that it has to be that way.

LOL ... really?

I think you need to open your mind a bit further and look at the bigger picture ... it's all interconnected.

You are indeed a fanciful young person ... highly imaginative.

I must have missed the definitive proof (comprehensive facts) for that.

So YOU say. Not seen or heard any facts to definitively back that up ... just notions by some people, who like to make excuses for bad stuff.

Do they now .... I think you need to do some research ... not saying there isn't the odd successful one that succeeds on all fronts ... they are rarer though than you seem to realize.

Not making enough money in the short term maybe, because they are attempting to maximize profit for outlay in the shortest amount of time.

There is also the fact, that a good game is a good game to some degree, even if it isn't finished properly. Many greatish games have flaws (bugs etc), due to funding cuts etc. Often that doesn't stop them being a great game, just one that is less than it could and should have been and which often results in poor sales (short term) due to feedback about those same flaws etc. I can think of heaps of great games like that ... Sin Episodes is just one.

Gawd, this is just something from your mind and how you rationalize the bad stuff, making excuses for it.

I'm surprised you are not in favor of DRM .... because there is a need and it cannot be helped.

Like I said ..... Bollocks!

First off, thanks for the back-forth....even if we disagree on several points I do like a good debate/talk on various issues. That said:

My mistake, then.....still, it'll be hard to break all of humanity from the "habit", I think....but we will see as time goes on.

That one bit was still(even if accidentally so) a poor bit of debating....most of the rest, though, was done well...even if I didn't agree with all of it.

So you're saying that people don't do that sort of thing? Or that I have a good imagination and that's it? Just checking.

Yes, that bit was anecdotal on my part, but it's plain as day(imo) if one watches the trends/the "market"/people's spending and reasons for doing so/etc.

I never said they happened very frequently(at least I don't think I did....would have to check)....just mainly that they can and do succeed a bit more based on people's nostalgia/word of mouth/being "indie"/etc, and they don't have to rely as much upon some of the tactics as other AAA companies to try and thrive(money for one, for those that crowdfund a good amount....those attempts that overly succeed don't need to worry about money issues as much like some AAA companies as it's not uncaring corporate investors usually but "regular joes" chipping in mostly, who don't demand they hurry a game out as much on average as AAA investors do).

Agreed mostly on this bit.

Agreed on Sin Episodes(hopefully the new Ip owners/etc will revive it :)) and the rest.


Not making excuses for, per se, but just admitting(to myself) and showing(to others who won't or can't see, in general I mean) how things work or most likely work. I am not trying to be their white knight(or black knight?), if that's what you thought.

Actually, I don't agree with it but I do get why the dumb execs/etc think they need it and why they likely implement it.....still, not in favor of it, though.

(Also is this a false equivalence I spot or no?)

*Holds up gold plated monocle* Pish posh and balderdash? ;)