What, seriously? Its my gog username at gmail.com. Thanks man, you rock. I officially take back all the bad things I ever said about you
Err...
No, no bad things... I meant... er... Look over there, a distraction! *runs away*

Thanks akwater, you are awesome. And yeah, Steam's policies are janky.

Mikee.
Don't forget Media. Media of all kinds have exploded over the world since the 80's. This makes advertising a very very powerful tool. Products can now be known for a successful advertising campaign and not the product.
This and the hunt for short term profit I think is the main culprits.
Aliasalpha.
I agree with your point about stuff being more complex so therefore they break easy.
But that doesn't mean it's necessary. Designers have simply put longevity way down the list because the product will be replaced by a new with more features soon. So why spend money and time making products that last when consumers will soon buy a new one? Look at cellphones. A cellphone is old after a year. Product development is going too fast to make it profitable to make products that last.
This also ties in with advertising. Adverts makes us want to have the new stuff.
Ironically all this might be our own fault because lets face it, most of us gets fooled by adverts all the time.

Steam? Or the.... Snail mail way?
edit... sent you an email...i have a bdoc meeting shortly.... so... when i get to my hooch ill see if you have told me which way

Such an interesting thread. You GOGers sure are something special. :)
(I don't have a strong enough computer to play The Witcher, otherwise I'd get the EE version myself - it *is* pretty cheap considering what you get.)
Regarding game prices, I saw The Darkness (amongst other things) for PS3 at a whopping 500KN (circa 68 Euros) in one of the major game sellers here in Croatia - go figure. The only normally priced games were Burnout Paradise: Ultimate Box, Witcher EE, and maybe a few Platinum games for the PS2. PC games are getting more and more expensive unlike before!
And nobody wants to lower the prices because nobody buys them at all, but orders them online from eBay... And the cycle continues... :/

SO not worth that price. Well unless it was a typo and it was 6-8 euros. I think between 6 & 8 euros would be about right

I got a copy for like 2usd, but then again.... i see why...
Yep. Mikee, totally agree... yet, not much any one person can do about it

akwater's the nicest person on GOG! I won't have anyone say a bad thing about him. I'm talkin' about you, Alpha, and I'm comin' for ya. Hear that knocking on your door? That's me.

We should bring back that gifting thread. I loved that.

Part of the reason is that in small companies, the management usually owns a significant share of the company, so it is in their best interest to aim for long-term growth. Also, the owner cannot be fired, if the company hits a slump (every manager will have failures in the long term, or otherwise they are playing far too safe. Big risk and big profits go hand in hand).
The big company managers, who usually have come from outside, may not have such a big stake in the company (they have stock options, but the base salary is also very good). Therefore they think also about their career. If the company takes a big risk and fails, the managers take a big hit in their resume. Keep in mind that this is not the first ladder they are climbing; the managers that have made it to the top may have done it because they avoid big mistakes. Changing long-term plans is very risky -> avoid it and keep milking our current business to death :-). Easy way to make big profits fast is to raise prices and cut service and R&D.

D'oh too late. Just got home:)

I was typing this question yesterday but I lost it. Here's the gist:
What's your thoughts as an insider on the way PC gaming is disappearing from retail stores?
My local Game used to have a decent amount of PC titles (including piles below the shelves) but I just went in there recently and they have little stock left.
I know piracy is touted as a reason. I know online (download and mail order) is touted as a reason. But is it as simple as that? If mail order is a reason then it must be a matter of time before Playstation, Xbox and Wii titles are affected too.
Since your helpfully detailed post explained a lot of the things that go on to bring a game into stores, has the way publishers/distributors approached things brought about this decline too?
If you can take time off from leading the war against DRM, please save retail PC gaming too! ;)