3rd or 4th yes, but the numbers are still minimal compared to Steam.

Here.

Steam has nothing to do with it. The post I haven't been able to find had GOG somewhere around 8.5% versus steam with 58.6%. Which is to say that GOG accounted for about 1/7 of the sales that Steam did.

Now that might seem small, but the reality is that the game still has to be coded and the patches still have to be made, and barring GOG specific bugs, that's basically free money.

So, yes, that's a flimsy excuse. The costs associated with the patching are not that high.
Thanks, I ended up finding the link after trying again. It would have helped had I remembered that it was Defender's quest that we have numbers on.

You're absolutely right. This is not about Steam. So basically in this case it's separate patching for ~8% of the userbase, a percentage that might have been less (but not necessarily 8%) if it had only been on Steam. For instance, Stardock got a lot of crap for making their games Steamworks, but a lot of them said they'd get the game anyway, despite objections. (some wouldn't of course)

I think you're grasping at straws here. Given that folks only went Steam 60% of the time when given the choice, it would be rather astonishing to learn that of those 40% that didn't buy from Steam that fewer than 25% of those patrons don't feel strongly about Steam.

Sure, it's possible, but it's not likely.

What's more, the cost of providing patches to GOG as well as Steam is minimal. Not to mention that GOG handles most of the technical support out of their share of the proceeds.

Sure, I won't deny it. But I think a digital distribution service should also strive to promote a healthy gaming environment. Steam platform creates a distracting environment which actively attempts to get gamers to waste their time on frivolous activities like collecting cards rather than playing their games.

You might think it's silly, but it's a serious concern for the future of gaming that the next generation of gamers actually play games.

One of those new games I would concider buying because I just love setting (own Space Hulk 2 on CD and also board game) - but no GOG release = no buy. As simple as that.

You know what to do guys:
http://www.fullcontrol.dk/contact.html
(you know, harass them for GOG release)

Also:
http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/space_hulk_2013

That's probably it. +1

Now that I think of it, some publishers do charge for the service of distributing patches, but I think that's mostly just console companies.

AFAIK, that's not something that GOG does, but I don't have access to any of the contracts, and GOG being DRM free, the publishers could always host their own patches.
I know, but where am I going to find a duck and a hose at this hour?

I've never seen any complaints of being charged for a patch with any PC digital store, so I think its only a console thing. Even there Microsoft stopped charging the cert fee recently for patches and Sony had for a bit now. Microsoft did say they reserve the right to charge per individual case if they feel the company is abusing the free patch process though.

On the flip side, having that fee there should be an encouragement for a company to not release a buggy product in the first place that needs excessive patching later on.

Or they could just euphemistically start referring patches as DLC and then charge for them.

Eh, whatever. Still want the game, so I'll buy it wherever.

Auto patching is a pain. Never liked it.
When a game is working fine in the current version I see no reason to update, and even when it needs the patch I prefer to do it myself.

As for the game. Well it would be really nice to see Space Hulk here, I guess I wont mind too much if it never appears though.

2 things for this thread.

1) Space Hulk is now available for pre-orders on steam. EU2 price is €27.99

2) I've contacted JAFTeam over at the Bear's Pit for a little more clarifications about a possible GOG build. I was talking with Andreas, who is not one of the developers/programmers, so he can only tell me what he has been told. So, here's the info he gave me.

A) They don't plan on using any additional DRM, other than steam. To quote him B) The shop is not a micro-transaction one, it's a way to purchase the DLCs from ingame (so yes, Space Hulk will have DLCs, if you were wondering that). Again, to quote him So, it seems that Space Hulk won't be coming anytime soon, though it is possible that once their programmers finish the final touches of Space Hulk they will be able to do a different build. Andreas also said that they will be making JA:F with a GOG friendly approach from the start.