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General discussion (archive)Should Gog port old console games?(37 posts)(37 posts)
(37 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 12, 2010
Inspired by the "PS2 games on PC" thread and the Votes. I am not taking this question very seriously, it's just a play of thought going through my random brain.
Lately, emulating old console games have become pretty common, for instance Snes and PSX.
But shouldn't Gog give it a try and port some classics?
I mean, it's like giving a dead franchise a new revival in a positive way.
For instance "Parasite Eve". Who didn't played it, it's a "turn-based- shooter" horror game, which is PSX-exclusive. But whoever tried it with the espxe emulator out should realize it's good to play on PC. Also it got almost 100 votes although it's PSX-exclusive.
Just as other classics, Alundra (PSX), Terranigma (SNES), Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia(SNES), Ocarina of Time (N64), I could go on, can be considered as port-worthy.
Why am I so eager for console ports is always the exciting thought of modding them. Changing models, lowering or highing the level difficulty, changing background music, improving it to it's finest, this kind of thing.
It works so well on the Capcom Games Devil May Cry 3 and Resident Evil4, also on the Orange Box, I am kinda obsessed about it.
So, what do you say? Want to buy your old favourites on PC?
Post edited February 12, 2010 by Tantrix
Posted February 12, 2010
Not only should GOG not do this, they very likely cannot. With all of the old game catalogs of each of the respective consoles showing up on their individual digital distribution services, there is no reason for rights holders to even want to expand into the PC market. Better that GOG focus on getting more and better PC classics that already do not have any distribution markets than to try and deal with the mess that is console ports.
Posted February 12, 2010
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cogadh: Not only should GOG not do this, they very likely cannot. With all of the old game catalogs of each of the respective consoles showing up on their individual digital distribution services, there is no reason for rights holders to even want to expand into the PC market. Better that GOG focus on getting more and better PC classics that already do not have any distribution markets than to try and deal with the mess that is console ports.

An even greater reason: console emulation tends to rely on ROM files which are copy righted. For each game sold, the player would need to have that ROM file. This is why you won't see any Amiga games being sold very soon, either.
There's at least 500 PC games seriously worth releasing on GOG and of that 500, maybe 50 are already on GOG so they still got a nice long way to go.
Posted February 12, 2010
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Tantrix: Terranigma (SNES), Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia(SNES),

I love those games.
I would love to see that as well, but it won't happen like Cogadh said. On the other hand, I hope to see some Amiga games in here... someday.
Posted February 12, 2010
Maybe....
Posted February 12, 2010
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cogadh: Not only should GOG not do this, they very likely cannot. With all of the old game catalogs of each of the respective consoles showing up on their individual digital distribution services, there is no reason for rights holders to even want to expand into the PC market. Better that GOG focus on getting more and better PC classics that already do not have any distribution markets than to try and deal with the mess that is console ports.
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Red_Avatar: An even greater reason: console emulation tends to rely on ROM files which are copy righted. For each game sold, the player would need to have that ROM file. This is why you won't see any Amiga games being sold very soon, either.
There's at least 500 PC games seriously worth releasing on GOG and of that 500, maybe 50 are already on GOG so they still got a nice long way to go.

Well, one would assume that if GOG were to start selling console ports, that part of that would involve selling a legal ROM for that console game wrapped in an emulator package, kind of like what they already do with the DOSBox and ScummVM games. The fact that older console games relied on ROMs rather than "traditional software" is really a moot point in the end.
Posted February 12, 2010
Its a nice idea but only after gog gets more of the great pc games, like others have said there are still a ton of great pc games to bring to gog.
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cogadh: Well, one would assume that if GOG were to start selling console ports, that part of that would involve selling a legal ROM for that console game wrapped in an emulator package, kind of like what they already do with the DOSBox and ScummVM games. The fact that older console games relied on ROMs rather than "traditional software" is really a moot point in the end.

Thats actually something I'd like to see, though its not hard to emulate the games myself if I wish, I can only do so legally for ones I own on catridge or disc which are hard to comeby now.
Posted February 12, 2010
There's no denying the appeal of having old console games on GOG, I could definitely go for some old NES or SMS games... maybe even some of the old Atari system games, but there are just so many reasons that it can't/won't/shouldn't happen and so many more reasons that GOG should just continue to focus on getting PC games that I don't see it as something they would even consider pursuing. Maybe 5-10 years down the road, after GOG has become an established powerhouse in the digital distribution market, they could try expanding in that direction, but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of old PC titles that they need to get here first, before that could happen.
Posted February 12, 2010
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Tantrix: Lately, emulating old console games have become pretty common, for instance Snes and PSX.
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Tantrix: Why am I so eager for console ports is always the exciting thought of modding them. Changing models, lowering or highing the level difficulty, changing background music, improving it to it's finest, this kind of thing.

I think you are confusing the concepts "port" and "emulation".
Yes, you can emulate lots of older platforms, but this is done by interpreting the original game ROM (in the case of consoles, usually a single file) using an emulator program. This does not let you mod the game in any way, it simply lets you run it.
For a real port, which might in some cases let you mod the game, you would need to rewrite and recompile the source code of the game to the Windows platform. In many (most?) cases, this is not even remotely feasible.
Posted February 12, 2010
this issue has been brought up so many times, the general consensus on the matter is that GOG should not and that they cannot.
It would not legally be possible for many situations. If you're looking to play a console game on PC you should contact the developer/publisher yourself and ask them if they have plans to do so.
Posted February 12, 2010
Well, this is where are the coders are for, Wishbone ^^
Post edited February 12, 2010 by Tantrix
Posted February 12, 2010
Maybe you should ask Cloanto instead.
http://www.amigaforever.com/
http://www.c64forever.com/
and coming soon:
http://www.spectrumforever.com/
http://www.stforever.com/
Posted February 12, 2010
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Tantrix: Well, this is where are the coders are for, Wishbone ^^

Coders whose time would be much better spent getting PC games compatible with current hardware and OSes, rather than rebuilding a game from an entirely unrelated environment so that it works on a PC. I don't think you realize the magnitude of work that could involve. The expense in terms of labor spent on the product would very likely not be worth it to GOG.
Posted February 12, 2010
Bah, just another request made by someone that didn't take 2 minutes to think about what they were asking for. Even if GOG did start "porting" games, they wouldn't sell them for anywhere near the $9.99 price point.
Posted February 12, 2010
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Sielle: Bah, just another request made by someone that didn't take 2 minutes to think about what they were asking for. Even if GOG did start "porting" games, they wouldn't sell them for anywhere near the $9.99 price point.

I said this was a play of thought, not an actual request.
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General discussion (archive)Should Gog port old console games?(37 posts)(37 posts)
(37 posts)