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General discussionRequests made *by* GOG?(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)
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Posted November 10, 2015
Hello,

I appreciate from a recent RPS article about GOG.com, that a significant part of the re-issue process of old games is played by the search for retail versions of a game they intend to re-publish, and that sometimes it goes through contributions by the community, especially when there are multiple versions of a game and the source code is lost.

So I was wondering if there is a space here somewhere where GOG themselves can post open calls for versions of the game, or other materials thereof, that they intend to publish. Stuff like "We are negotiating the rights for game X but we need retail version Y - if a user has it can they please send it to us?" (maybe not discuss stuff such as rewards, that's between the publisher and the user).

I am asking this because it is sometimes the case that GOG manage to secure the rights to a game, but whoever holds them lacks the very assets they have the rights to! I am also worried that, without such an online resource, a requested game lies in a deadlock because we don't know GOG has picked it up for negotiations and they don't know when we can help get it released.

Maybe such a resource (such as a sticky forum thread or another wishlist category) could even be usd to proxy material requests from associates such as Night Dive or Retroism?

Cheers.
Posted November 10, 2015
There is a related thread about that....
Posted November 10, 2015
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Niggles: There is a related thread about that....
Great, do you think you can help me find it?
Posted November 10, 2015
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arrexius: I am asking this because it is sometimes the case that GOG manage to secure the rights to a game, but whoever holds them lacks the very assets they have the rights to! I am also worried that, without such an online resource, a requested game lies in a deadlock because we don't know GOG has picked it up for negotiations and they don't know when we can help get it released.
In the cases where the rights holder don't have access to the game or assets, GOG is known to use ebay and/or the employees personal collections. Once a game is released, forum members do comment on whether they have anything interesting to add, and usually contact a blue (or a blue contacts them) for more info.

GOG does not like to publicly speak about what they do or do not have planned.
Posted November 10, 2015
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arrexius: Hello,

I appreciate from a recent RPS article about GOG.com, that a significant part of the re-issue process of old games is played by the search for retail versions of a game they intend to re-publish, and that sometimes it goes through contributions by the community, especially when there are multiple versions of a game and the source code is lost.

So I was wondering if there is a space here somewhere where GOG themselves can post open calls for versions of the game, or other materials thereof, that they intend to publish. Stuff like "We are negotiating the rights for game X but we need retail version Y - if a user has it can they please send it to us?" (maybe not discuss stuff such as rewards, that's between the publisher and the user).

I am asking this because it is sometimes the case that GOG manage to secure the rights to a game, but whoever holds them lacks the very assets they have the rights to! I am also worried that, without such an online resource, a requested game lies in a deadlock because we don't know GOG has picked it up for negotiations and they don't know when we can help get it released.

Maybe such a resource (such as a sticky forum thread or another wishlist category) could even be usd to proxy material requests from associates such as Night Dive or Retroism?

Cheers.
I think the problem there is the legality of it. I have, for a lot of my older games, imaged them so as not to destroy the CD, however that is not technically legal in some cases. And the tranmission of that to a third party is definately a nono. Also, technically, some games are a real bitch to try to take anything from - looking at you starforce/securom, which are specifically designed to stop you doing this.
Posted November 10, 2015
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nightcraw1er.488: I think the problem there is the legality of it. I have, for a lot of my older games, imaged them so as not to destroy the CD, however that is not technically legal in some cases. And the tranmission of that to a third party is definately a nono. Also, technically, some games are a real bitch to try to take anything from - looking at you starforce/securom, which are specifically designed to stop you doing this.
Nothing illegal about it, since GOG has the distribution rights for the games in question. They've even been known to use existing cracks to remove DRM from retail versions of games, and they certainly didn't get the cracks from retail discs.
Posted November 10, 2015
What we could do it make a list of rare retail versions we have and then send them to GOG just in case they are surprised by it and find something on it that they have not themselves.

For this one can probably exclude everything with more than 1,000 votes in the wishlist.

I may still have the original of some of the early StarByte games (Winzer, Hannibal, Rings of Medusa, Transworld).
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/hannibal
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/winzer
...
Now if only GOG would be negotiating the rights for them...
Post edited November 10, 2015 by Trilarion
Posted November 10, 2015
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nightcraw1er.488: I think the problem there is the legality of it. I have, for a lot of my older games, imaged them so as not to destroy the CD, however that is not technically legal in some cases. And the tranmission of that to a third party is definately a nono. Also, technically, some games are a real bitch to try to take anything from - looking at you starforce/securom, which are specifically designed to stop you doing this.
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Wishbone: Nothing illegal about it, since GOG has the distribution rights for the games in question. They've even been known to use existing cracks to remove DRM from retail versions of games, and they certainly didn't get the cracks from retail discs.
Mmm, personally I am not convinced. It wouldn't be the first time a big publisher suddenly takes an interest. With the various litigation, ongoing law making or such, even owning something with someones IP on it may lead to prosecution in the future.
Posted November 10, 2015
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arrexius: Great, do you think you can help me find it?
There you are: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_search_for_game_rights_a_diaryesque_thread
Posted November 10, 2015
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toxicTom: There you are: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_search_for_game_rights_a_diaryesque_thread
Thank you very much. It is indeed related if somehow complementary to this. Let us assume here that GOG has secured the rights, which would basically allow them to grant permission to make one copy to be sent to them (provided the mid-2000's generation DRM doesn't prevent that).

It is apparently the case that they have turned to eBay more than once. In this respect, I am starting to worry that I might have blown my own chance to get some rare Windows game on GOG by getting a copy off eBay before they did. Ouch.
Post edited November 10, 2015 by arrexius
Posted November 10, 2015
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arrexius: ...
You're very welcome. The thread is really interesting read. Guess the stories of the GOG people are equally interesting, but of course they can't easily disclose them.
Posted November 11, 2015
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toxicTom: There you are: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_search_for_game_rights_a_diaryesque_thread
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arrexius: Thank you very much. It is indeed related if somehow complementary to this. Let us assume here that GOG has secured the rights, which would basically allow them to grant permission to make one copy to be sent to them (provided the mid-2000's generation DRM doesn't prevent that).

It is apparently the case that they have turned to eBay more than once. In this respect, I am starting to worry that I might have blown my own chance to get some rare Windows game on GOG by getting a copy off eBay before they did. Ouch.
I know for a fact that people on the forum have contributed extra material for some games, and I would not be the least surprised if the originals to some games on GOG come from users private collections.
Posted November 11, 2015
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Maighstir: I know for a fact that people on the forum have contributed extra material for some games, and I would not be the least surprised if the originals to some games on GOG come from users private collections.
This is true for at least some localized versions. I guess as soon as a deal is made GOG won't publish until they can acquire an English/International version. But I'm pretty sure some German versions are donated by the users - so GOG had the licenses to publish them, but didn't have the actual localized games.
Posted November 11, 2015
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Maighstir: I know for a fact that people on the forum have contributed extra material for some games, and I would not be the least surprised if the originals to some games on GOG come from users private collections.
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toxicTom: This is true for at least some localized versions. I guess as soon as a deal is made GOG won't publish until they can acquire an English/International version. But I'm pretty sure some German versions are donated by the users - so GOG had the licenses to publish them, but didn't have the actual localized games.
In the recent Gog Published DUNGEONS & DRAGONS collections, two of the games have a localized German donated by the community.
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General discussionRequests made *by* GOG?(14 posts)(14 posts)
(14 posts)