I think it's been a well known fact for years that most games that in some cases never usually make the jump to the next generation of consoles unless there was miracle.

Usually it boiled down to licensing issues or simply trying to track down the developers in question that have disappeared into the ether. I saw the interview about all this with the GoG staff, and it seems to me they know their way around to find these individuals and I have a good feeling GoG is the future for all retro gaming whether it be for PC or it originated from a console.

I hope at some point the GoG Team will support not just PC games, but also old retro console games if it ever happens.

I think any efforts by GoG or another group out there should make some kind of attempt, it would be a interesting new path that has not been tried yet in the virtual PC market.

Also I forgot that GoG has already a example which is Grandia 2 (and a few other titles), I think that is a small start to a potential future IMO. Also in theory it should be possible to fix any potential original bugs or new bugs much more easily than it was possible for Consoles officially or unofficially (a more modern example would be Fallout 4 as it is more possible to fix all the bugs on PC where on Console it is impossible unless the Official Team decides to make another patch).

if anything when it comes to Eastern Video Game Companies, I think GoG should talk to the people over at SEGA JAPAN, SEGA has shown they're willing to try new paths as of late. Given they're likely to just copy-paste most of their 1st party games, but hopefully there will be a way to revive most of the lost games like the ones for Saturn.

Well anyway, I know I'm being idealistic but if not in this time period..maybe sometime later 20 years from now.

Finally I think the biggest retro library that is dire need of support has been mostly PS1, Saturn, and SNES games, great deal of them have died along with their systems and PS2 will eventually follow as not many of them have gotten a remaster. Also it would be nice to get JPN-Only games support on GoG as it's been a market that usually only Play Asia has been playing with (but only with modern games with limited English support).

Really, it's a giant untapped market and let's not forget there is a giant pot of English Translation Support over the years. It would be a big win for the Japanese Developer who would not have to spend the money to get the game translated or at least in theory.

In conclusion, I do believe Retro Gaming on PC should be the future while modern gaming continues onward with their consoles. I used to be a console fan until I saw the folly it could bring, and I hate to see most of those games just disappear forever (and especially if the studios in question who made the games is defunct). Sometimes studios and companies who don't re-release for many years usually deem it not that profitable anymore, so why not just hand it to GoG and go full digital?

Whilst it's certainly an interesting avenue, I thought Sega had a reputation for not having anything here "because DRM-Free". Eg, where's Endless Legend, Endless Space, Shenmue, Bayonetta, Yakuza, Shogun Total War, Medieval Total War, Alien Isolation, Company of Heroes, Crazy Taxi, etc?

It is a great idea, but the truth is, the companys just don't care. The Outrun games are a good example, not sold anymore because of the missing ferrari licence. Sega could pay for the licence, but they don't. So those games are not even for sale on the consoles anymore. i don't know if the pc version of Outrun 2006 will even work on windows 10...

I have Outrun 2006 on disc and it works on both W7 & W10 (1607). As you said though, anything involving time-limited licensing for vehicles, sports brands, etc, is pretty much doomed years later, and you cannot buy Outrun 2006 legally anywhere now.

Thanks for the info. It still being sold on amazon germany, so i gonna buy it. I allready have the psp version and the ps2 version. the sad thing is, because of the license, the xbox version will never be playable on the xbone x. imagine this great game in 4k.............of course it can be achieved with the pc version, but i am not a fan of most sega ports.

I think that GOG should spy out various console properties and make the offer to cover the costs of porting, expansion, & translation, in exchange for a temporary exclusivity window for release on the PC. Say, for a year?

For example: Asura's Wrath, Ace Attorney: The Great Detective (not the real name), Persona 5 Platinum, ect. This would allow GOG to steal Steam's thunder, drawing attention to the platform and the money of people who want grade-A console gaming without the birdcage.

This.
I love my "oldies but goldies".

However - most of today's players were born too late to have experienced them, when they saw release, so today's market has in largest parts no nostalgia towards these titles.

And to be honest: I can't even condemn them for it - today's players are used to much better graphics, more comfortable (and customizable) UIs and practically everything else being nicer and more approachable...

Sure, I can show my 15 yo stepson the games I loved when I was his age...and to his credit - he will sit down and play them with me. But will he play them (alone or with his friends), when I'm not around? Nope. No chance.

That kid has a phone that can display nicer graphics than all these old games, and a gaming PC on which he can play even nicer games - both equipped with easy online MP (which is a must for him)... and I really don't want to mention the old control schemes, which are much harder to get into today, if you weren't used to them in the past...he definitely doesn't like those. Heck - I struggle to get into them again.

Let's be honest: if I were 15 yo today - I wouldn't want these old games, either.
It's pure nostalgia that makes me love them so much.

So...I just don't see the market which would be necessary to make any (bigger) financial investments reasonable.

Not sure if Retro Gamng on PC really is such a big future. For one, I'm not sure how much effort it is to make old console games running on a PC (with emulators maybe). Furthermore, the hunt for the distribution rights could be a real nightmare. Finally, I do not have the impression that there aren't enough games for PC already out there. The new "old" games would have a lot of competition. Also the PC market isn't that big. Why not bringing them directly on smartphones? GOG is not exactly experienced with mobile platforms.

In conclusion. I like the idea in principal, because I like old games. I think it might be doable somehow. However, I#m not sure it would really pay off for GOG and GOG really should do it.

As Linko said, if only it were that simple.

The majority of the best retro games are on Nintendo consoles. (There's no two ways about it.)

You can forget about any game involving a licence of any kind. Car, sportsball, athletes, movies, music, the works.

Games from before the third generation of video games aren't worth the effort because most of them can be recreated with imagination or coded yourself.

Even if you've figured some clever way to put the rom image into an executable container or sandboxed runtime where only authorized roms could be ran, you'd still have a whole heapa' rights to work though. This Japanese studio went defunct, assets were bought by another company, sold to creditors, and are now a paper in a Laotian vault somewhere.

What's more for how large the market for these kinds of games is, you're probably better off just buying the carts and doing your own dumps. *shakesfistatNEScarts*

Yes, a vital aspect of GOG is gaming preservation, which I would like extended beyond "just" PC gaming, though PC gaming is the base. We already have some nice Neogeo games on here. Imagine if SEGA would agree to put Saturn and Dreamcast games on here, I think the floodgates would open for both old games and newer games. Also with this subject, I'd like to say that although the topic originated with older games, one can certainly say that some games from the past generation or two are "retro" as well (of course, to people nowadays, I assume that anything not focused around online multiplayer = outdated). And I don't think it's just "nostalgia" that makes us prefer old games. I continue to believe that older games offered more content, better content, and were better programmed. Obviously there are exceptions but I think that is the general rule of thumb until newer games coming out prove otherwise. I do not exclusively play old games, btw, I love the new games I have bought on this site.

I think the real upshot of getting "new-er" retro games like PS2-era, PSWii60-era is that it will push the indie market harder. I have harped before on how I feel too many indies are small in scale and take the easy way out with basic graphics, basic gameplay rather than content-stuffed massive games. Obviously there are exceptions and I praise them...the Divinity Original Sin games, I already have biggest edition of Pathfinder-ordered, Kingdom Come (even though I will not buy more from that developer after they told users to download updates through Galaxy), you get the idea. There are some dang good games that came out from AA developers in those eras I mentioned, which in theory newer developers will have to compete harder to beat for the customer's dollar. We as gamers would win in this scenario, by having more choice and an even higher quality level when everyone is "stepping up their game". Just imo.

I think it is grounded. The approach is less expensive than spending money on unproven games, while tapping into a market that has gone unfulfilled. A key part of the process is to look at the (industry) players and ask yourself who has the most to gain from being bribed onto the GOG wagon, and those who gladly toss aside their properties.


Capcom would be good for the former, I think. They have been bundling up many of their Megaman games and selling them as a collection on Steam. My guess is that they may eventually package their Battle Network games. Considering how GOG is investing in mobile gaming, having the Battle Network games to sell on handhelds would be...*ahem*, handy. Being able to start inquiring about the rest of Capcom's catalog doesn't hurt either.

Konami on the other hand seems very interested in forgetting that Hideo Kojima has existed. Their disdain for the man would extend to the products that he was involved in, such as Snatcher and Policenauts. GOG can probably buy those classic games for a song, slap Hideo Kojima's name onto them, and then make a bit of coin off them. Aside from the PR value, handling those games would give GOG an excuse to establish ties with Hideo Kojima.

Networking is important, especially in business. If commission work makes it possible for GOG to establish a relationship with other companies, then it should be seriously considered.