Posted October 04, 2024

JAAHAS
100% Steamless
Registered: Sep 2008
From Finland

BreOl72
GOG is spiralling down
Registered: Sep 2010
From Germany
Posted October 04, 2024

-----
Delisted due to the war in the Middle East. 2K/Yaeger didn't want to catch flak about having a game where you can kill civilians in the Middle East so they forced digital retailers to delist the game to help keep it under the radar that such levels existed. Just like how Infinity Ward/Activision caught flak for the "No Russian" level in COD MW2.
-----
They could have just patched it out and kept it up for sale.
-----
If the expiring license lie was true, they could have just patched it out and kept the game up for sale.
-----
When GTA IV had music licenses expired, they removed the songs through a patch and kept the game up for sale. If the music licenses is the only problem for Spec Ops: The Line, Yaeger/2K needs only to remove the music through a patch and can keep the game up for sale. Clearly there was another motive for the delisting, i.e. politics, not the music.

Reznov64
Preservation is a lie
Registered: Aug 2021
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024

-----
Delisted due to the war in the Middle East. 2K/Yaeger didn't want to catch flak about having a game where you can kill civilians in the Middle East so they forced digital retailers to delist the game to help keep it under the radar that such levels existed. Just like how Infinity Ward/Activision caught flak for the "No Russian" level in COD MW2.
-----
They could have just patched it out and kept it up for sale.
-----
If the expiring license lie was true, they could have just patched it out and kept the game up for sale.
-----
When GTA IV had music licenses expired, they removed the songs through a patch and kept the game up for sale. If the music licenses is the only problem for Spec Ops: The Line, Yaeger/2K needs only to remove the music through a patch and can keep the game up for sale. Clearly there was another motive for the delisting, i.e. politics, not the music.


Reznov64
Preservation is a lie
Registered: Aug 2021
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024
Because they claim to work on preserving games. Where is Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason? Where is You Are Empty? Gone, not preserved at all, removed from sale.

wolfsite
Canadian
Registered: Sep 2010
From Canada
Posted October 05, 2024


Same with adding games to the store as they would be wide open to legal issues for hosting a game without approval of the IP owners.

BreOl72
GOG is spiralling down
Registered: Sep 2010
From Germany
Posted October 05, 2024

...we have created a massive digital library filled with books, music, art, movies and other forms of entertainment that we can lose access to any of those works just because a piece of paper with a contract or license on it expires.
People who bought "Spec Ops: The Line" here on GOG (or on any other store) before it got delisted, still have access to the unaltered game.
I write "in general", because there have been cases, where music was removed from game(s) ("GTA" series).
That's "removed" as in "removed from the games, sitting in the accounts of owners who had purchased the game(s) prior to the expiring licenses".
Mind you: the access to that/these game(s) is still granted - it's just not exactly the game(s) anymore, one initially bought.
Btw: that step (retroactively removing music) was not well received by the "community".
And yet, you are here, asking for the same to happen to other games...

GamezRanker
Disagreement Verboten!
Registered: Sep 2010
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024

Tbh i'd rather at least have the games for sale DRM-free. Then people could buy them and put the music back in, like with the aforementioned quake games.
Post edited October 05, 2024 by GamezRanker

Time4Tea
Free speech and honey!
Registered: Jan 2015
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024

And yet, you are here, asking for the same to happen to other games...

I wouldn't personally buy Dawn of War here, due to the DRMed multiplayer. But, it's still good to see it available DRM-free, for those that do want it.

GamezRanker
Disagreement Verboten!
Registered: Sep 2010
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024


BreOl72
GOG is spiralling down
Registered: Sep 2010
From Germany
Posted October 05, 2024
So, you're expecting buyers to restore a game to its original state themselves?
That's the equivalent of Toyota sending a representative to my home, to remove the wing mirrors from my purchased car.
And then, when I complain about it, people are telling me to shut up, simply go to the local scrapyard, find fitting wing mirrors and attach them to my car myself.
Edit: typo
That's the equivalent of Toyota sending a representative to my home, to remove the wing mirrors from my purchased car.
And then, when I complain about it, people are telling me to shut up, simply go to the local scrapyard, find fitting wing mirrors and attach them to my car myself.
Edit: typo
Post edited October 05, 2024 by BreOl72

Time4Tea
Free speech and honey!
Registered: Jan 2015
From United States

GamezRanker
Disagreement Verboten!
Registered: Sep 2010
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024
That's a piss poor comparison, as it takes very little time and effort to put something like music back into a game.
(achievement unlocked - 10G - forum users whine about first world problems for the 100th time)
(achievement unlocked - 10G - forum users whine about first world problems for the 100th time)
Post edited October 05, 2024 by GamezRanker

BreOl72
GOG is spiralling down
Registered: Sep 2010
From Germany
Posted October 05, 2024

That's the equivalent of Toyota sending a representative to my home, to remove the wing mirrors from my purchased car.

With a clear, appropriate sign on the store page, at least the buyer has the choice.
You don't have to buy it, but someone else might be ok with it.
See: the situation from which you start is as follows:
- There's a person without a car.
- That person goes and buys a "fixer upper" car, well knowing, that the wing mirrors are missing.
Nothing wrong with that.
Whereas the situation from which I started, is as follows:
- I have a car.
- I bought it last year already.
- One morning I leave the house, to find my wing mirrors are missing and there's a message from my Toyota dealer sticking under my wipers.
- In that message, they're telling me, that Toyota licensed the wing mirror design 10 years ago from Honda and that that license has now expired, and therefore they had to remove the wing mirrors from my car.
You know: the car which I purchased last year, including these wing mirrors.
Surely you can see the difference?

Time4Tea
Free speech and honey!
Registered: Jan 2015
From United States
Posted October 05, 2024

- I have a car.
- I bought it last year already.
- One morning I leave the house, to find my wing mirrors are missing and there's a message from my Toyota dealer sticking under my wipers.
- In that message, they're telling me, that Toyota licensed the wing mirror design 10 years ago from Honda and that that license has now expired, and therefore they had to remove the wing mirrors from my car.
You know: the car which I purchased last year, including these wing mirrors.
Surely you can see the difference?
Yes, in that situation, there would be some fault on the dealer, but there would also be some on you.
2) again, we're talking about a situation where the only alternative is that the game be de-listed from the store. I.e. the perfect option that you want isn't available. In fact, we're talking about games (Spec Ops) that have already been de-listed.

Timboli
Sharpest Tool On Shelf
Registered: May 2017
From Australia
Posted October 06, 2024

https://www.epicgames.com/unrealtournament/en-US/#intro
When it was still somewhat in development, everybody could just grab it for free, straight from the launcher. Used to even have a separate tab for it in the launcher.

https://www.ut4ever.org/index
This is where many folk just get the wrong idea, and GOG doesn't enlighten them.
You can't possibly have GOG, a store that could close any time, be a preservation source.
What GOG are, are a means to preservation via their customers. But only if their customers download and backup.
It is us the customers that are doing the preserving.
True preservation requires DRM-Free, and storage at many independent locations around the world. Only us customers can be relied upon to do that.
Post edited October 06, 2024 by Timboli