Just discovered this:
Hitman: HD Trilogy Trailer

Guess some of you people are aware that the reason why there's no digital release of Hitman: Contracts anywhere is supposedly caused by some legal issues related to a song by the band Clutch used in that game. That Square Enix was able to re-release the game as part of the HD Trilogy for consoles suggests that they were able to renew the music license. Sounds to me like there's hope for a digital release on GOG and Steam after all. :)

Chances are they didn't get a worldwide license for the song (if it hasn't been replaced) as Square have no intention of releasing Hitman HD Trilogy in Japan, despite many people asking them to do so. So, given that they won't be releasing it in Japan, GOG likely won't be able to get worldwide distribution either and that's assuming Square just don't slap Steamworks on any potential PC version.

So ultimate chance for release on Steam? Most likely if they release on PC. On GOG? Don't hold your breath.

Either that or they removed the song. Still. it would be nice to see Contracts around here.

Or some new Squeenix releases in general.

Then again, in my experience in case of console releases there's more weird issues concerning regional restrictions, perhaps largely caused by the policies of Sony and Microsoft. And GOG is providing some games to the whole world which have regional restrictions on other distributors like Steam. So there's still hope.

Or removed the song from the game. At. fucking. last.

By the way, it's kinda funny that this package is called trilogy but has parts 2-4 in it...

Considering Square Enix have said no to a Japan release several times now, I don't think so. Also, what games do GOG sell worldwide that are restricted elsewhere? I know of none.

Well, when Rockstar re-released Vice City , they removed all songs they lost licence to (on PC too, not for people who bought it earlier).

But maybe they secured the rights, we will see.

For one they are selling many games globally which are actually banned in some countries like Germany and probably New Zealand. The Build Engine games, Postal, BloodRayne and Medal of Honor come to my mind (MoH was released in Germany but only in a censored version, not the one GOG is offering). Well, at least SME (the biggest douchebags of the music industry) isn't among Clutch's labels, so things can't be THAT complicated in case of Hitman: Contracts. :B

btw. anyone knows what happened to Mafia? The songs they used should all be in public domain now...

i would like this, but as unsure of date for pc, is it worth getting from steam ?

Those are news to me. Unfortunately, it's very unlikely to change things with Square. That's the problem with Japanese publishers. Even when they have worldwide rights to distribute, they will intentionally refuse to release here; especially on the PC. As Square have zero plans for a console release here, they sure won't release on the PC. Now add to this the fact that Square have started embracing regional pricing to new extremes (again, particularly in Japan), and you'll see that it is also unlikely they'd agree on one price for GOG, unless it was say, $80 - and who would want to pay that?

But seriously, I think the bigger issue right now is even if GOG are able to negotiate with the Japanese arm. Do they have Japanese speaking staff?

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/hitman_contracts_rights_issues_worked_out

First page of results when searching for Hitman. Just saying. :P

Anyway worldwide releases are hard and that's a flaw in GOG's business model IMO. Some countries would whine, so now no one gets anything, yay. Anyway, hoping it comes to Steam at least.

That's one side of the coin. The other side is that maybe some games finally get worldwide releases that have otherwise never had one. Admittedly, the first scenario is probably more likely, but still...

As far as I know the games published under the Eidos label are still being handled by European offices which were most definitely also the ones that allowed for GOG releases in the first place - this includes the first two Hitman games (which can be bought from Japan, right?). I guess the same guys who allowed for these two releases will also allow for a GOG release of Hitman: Contracts if all the legal problems concerning the music are out of the way.