This thread is in no way dissing GOG and the great things they do, its just my personal thoughts and wondering what the rest of the community think

I know there have been kind of similar threads in the past but after reading an article about GOG yesterday posted on on the forums where it was an interview with the CEO it got me thinking.

I don't want this to turn into a Steam / Origin uPlay bitch fest, like I say its just my observations.

So.........

Last games I bought from GOG on day one or as close as possible to their release was Catacombs pack and Omnikron (2 awesome games and releases). Since then I have purchased a few items in the summer sale to finish off D&D collection and replacing a few disc based games.

I know it takes time and work to get titles onto the site but we are being drip fed releases week after week when other sites like Gamersgate etc have new stuff a lot more regularly. Not forgetting the digital clients like Steam etc who have in all fairness been around a lot longer and larger user base release stuff virtually daily.

Now I know and GREATLY appreciate the extras you get on GOG and DRM free which makes life much easier especially when internet can go down and you can't access Steam for example due to the way the client works and if incorrectly set to Offline Mode won't even go there.

But this isn't about Steam, its about GOG!

Other sites like Desura, Gamersgate, Dotemu etc have DRM free games in their catalogs that GOG don't have, I appreciate that you will occasionally get timed releases and exclusives but why don't GOG have these titles also, even just to build up their catalog and give us more choice as consumers. There are also a few games on Greenman Gaming that use their horrid Capsule client, surely they could easily be converted for release on GOG as Capsule doesn't have all the achievements etc, its just a way of downloading and launching a game.

This isn't a rant, I just wish that GOG would up their game to keep in line with other sites that have DRM free stuff

Whats everyone else think?

Just noticed Rise of the Triad has just landed, no cash though due to moving house so that will have to be next week, so first game in a long while!!

I think that in general from the start of this year things have been rather uneventful and stagnant for GOG

I mean, sure, we got some great games released but GOG still needs to:

- Release a ton of other wishlisted games
- Add a ton of Site features
- Do more community events
- Release more recent "AAA" games
- Do better discounts, steam almost always provides better discounts than GOG
- Make sure that you can get the best possible version of the game online compared to other DD services (Hello there Strike Suit Zero)

I know the GOG team is working hard for their Zloty over there but the company really needs to hire more people, get things flowing more quickly and just get things Rolling

GOG is now a major competitor to other major DD services, it's time it started acting like one, it's no longer a "Niche small service" like it was back like 2008-2010

No, actually, I think they're doing great just as they are :)

For one thing, one important point you're missing is, sure, GamersGate etc. may have "more" games, but frankly most of their games are crap and a huge percentage do not work correctly. That's because they'll basically sell anything and do, whether it's dross or not, whether it doesn't work on most systems or not, whether it's riddled with bugs or not.

And that's the reason why GOG comes out ahead every time for me and a huge number of other gamers, simply because they spend so much time testing their games to make sure they work on the vast majority of systems.

That's why, out of more than 100 games I've bought on GOG, I've only had minor problems with two of them and they were easily fixable.

With GamersGate games? At least 50 percent of what I've bought there have had major problems, some still do not work no matter what I try, so I've wasted my money, and, in several instances, the only way I managed to get them to play was to go through gyrations that a GOG member nicely suggested and thankfully worked.

GamersGate management? They couldn't give a TOSS whether the games they sell work or not, just that they sell them.

And honestly, most gamers have so many backlogs that releases of just two or three games a week is fine. I mean seriously, you're going to start buying more games when you already have a huge backlog, just because GOG shoves a couple more hundred up there? Of course you're not.

Do I want GOG to be like Steam, GamersGate or Desura? Hell no. If it was, I'd stop buying here.

And as for GOG management, they are incredibly smart about how they're running this business. They ARE standing themselves apart from the other dross digital download services and they ARE consistently releasing quality games - both classic games and indie..

That is how they make sure they offer something different from the GamersGates and Steams of the world and that is how they survive. After all, as someone who has been in business for over 30 years, I can tell you the minute you start trying to copy what your competitor is doing, unless you have more money than your competitor and can immediately beat them at their own game, you're basically screwed and, from then on, all you'll see is a downward slide.

I love GOG. Very happy with how they do things here and hope it continues.

The above member pretty much says my feelings on this as well. GOG is doing fine as it is. Doesn't need to what competitors are doing especially for a two bit service like Gamersgate.
GOG is about "quality" releases - no way do i want to get all the crappy games (and there *is* a lot of real shit games we don't need on here) on here - i trust in GOGs choices. It also takes time for GOG to evaluate games, contact devs/publishers, come to agreement sign contracts etc.

Sure.

Mainly, I think GOG are too rigid with price points. Also, some loyalty rewards might be nice.

I'll add just two things and then I have to go as I have work to do :)

a) The reason why GamersGate has so many games is that most of the new games they have been selling for the last year are only playable on Steam. That is the ONLY way they got those games as that's what the publishers want. Needless to say, not doable for GOG :) (And needless to say, just one reason why I haven't bought a game on GG in a year).

b) Steam may offer 'better discounts', but it is still a DRM service. I am happy to pay slightly more on GOG, (and in most cases it IS slightly more --- pennies or a couple of dollars for the same games), because of completely DRM-free games, GOG's awesome customer service, excellent weekly sales and the ability to download that game to as many computers as I want (not that I do, but I could :)

You get what you pay for, and if I wanted DRM-stuffed games, games that don't work unless I'm online or running a client, some of the worst customer service online (that would be GamersGate), and waaaay more hassle and disappointment when I buy digital games, I'd say GOG should 'up their game'.

As it stands, however, I'm happy to pay a little bit extra for the best digital download service online.

Honestly, sometimes it feels like some people on GOG want their cake and to eat it as well (and I'm NOT saying the people in this thread -- just a group of people in the forums who really do seem to believe they're 'owed' something by GOG).

They want boatloads of games (but only classics if you hear some people talk), all the free stuff that comes with them, stellar customer service, awesome sales, lots of free games, many many games released every week and, oh by the way, they don't expect to pay more than 2 bucks a game because even when a game sale is on and a game is $2.39 it's not "a big enough discount".

Maybe I'm just getting too old, but the self-centered "Me Me Me" whining of some is beyond annoying. And I'm sure GOG staffers sometimes feel the same way.

On that note.....off to get some work done :)

Nope, I think GOG's doing just fine. Tho they'll do even better after they release Carmageddon 2...

I'm fine with 3-4 games a week as long as these are quality releases. And for me the quality control on GOG so far worked great. Of course there are also some crap games, but these are few and mostly part of a game series.

Money-grubbing?

Yeah, games on sale for $2.39. Sales where almost the ENTIRE catalogue is 50 percent off and others are up to 80 percent off.

Free games handed out simply for no reason (we got one just a month ago, and not just some crap game either), and just about the best customer service online.

Honestly, the selfish entitlement of so many gamers is one reason why I'm just not a fan of the gaming community overall. It's like a bunch of 12 year old boys who seem to think developers, publishers and game distribution networks 'owe' them something.

Maybe I've just been in Thailand too long, where most people don't "expect" to be treated like kings for pauper's prices.

Everybody should always try to up their game...

Speaking of the range of titles, I see a lot of prejudging here. Taste is subjective, and one mans trash is anothers diamond, one mans bug-ridden catastrophe is anothers flawed gem. Breath and choice is good (there are a couple here on GoG I would consider trash...)

I would like see the forums revamped a bit, and I would not mind an option client with some auto-patching and easier download and game management features for those who would like to use it.

Hmm.

In many ways, I do wish that GOG would up its game a little. It has successfully proven that there is a strong market for DRM-free, Its whole USP is based around the concept of respecting your customer and on how DRM is a sign of disrespect. It's a message that has gone from being dismissed as a shop "selling abandonware" and representing a supposedly hipster minority towards being a serious force within the space of five years.

GOG are starting to gain the leverage and market influence that they need to get major and newer titles on board. Rayman Origins and System Shock 2 were a positive start, but it really was only a start. Omerta was a classic example of how NOT to release a full-price title here.

I suspect that much of the problem - especially with the major publishers - is entrenched old-guard management and lay shareholders that insist that everything be done to protect the IP and to hell with the customers. There's also a minority of indie developers who are insistent that Steam is the be-all and end-all of PC gaming and that everything else can go to hell, but thankfully they are a minority that is rather insignificant - the vast majority of indie games are DRM-free.

At the same time, however, while I do find that the rate of games released has tapered off of late, I wouldn't want GOG to go the same way as Desura and Gamersgate. Gamersgate is the poster child for massive collections of shovelware junk, and Desura tends to host a lot of useless crap parading as indie. At least GOG has some kind of standard as to what it lets through, even if that standard (Forsaken Gods) does falter massively on occasion.

I don't know where the release rate is failing - be it in the unwillingness of publishers to release DRM-free or in the revenue share that GOG offers - but I do agree that GOG needs to be getting more games on board than it has been of late.

More adventure games are always good:)
There are lots of old ones out there and new ones too.

This. :p

we need more turn based rpgs :P