I've bought 7 copies of Doom for various platforms. I guess I'm a real sucker for rebuying it for whatever platform it gets re-released on.

Yes well that's very nice and kind of you to buy a game and give it away and I applaud you for it but quite aside from personal kindness and acts of generosity the games industry sucks completely and represents the very OPPOSITE of this laudable tendency.

You own the copy with the Nasmith's illustrations? And if yes, with the corrected illustrations or the first ones?
See? Even the Silmarillion you "own" has 3 different versions. Which one do you own? All of them or only one?

It's the same with Europa Universalis 3. First version is the 1977 version of Silmarillion. EU3 Complete is the 1998 Silmarillion version with the illustrations by Nasmith. EU3 Chronicles is the 2004 version with the corrections and additional artwork by Nasmith. Doesn't that mean that you would have to re-buy Silmarillion if you wanted the newer more complete version?

The current problem with the Game industry isn't that they are reselling the same stuff. The problem is with the games that you have to ask permission from a 3rd party before playing them. It would be as if your copy of the Silmarillion was only available in the local library, and you had to ask them permission before reading it. So if you wish to direct your anger at the gaming industry, at least direct it for what it deserves, not for something that it doesn't.

Back in the "old days", you wouldn't have gotten the expansion for free after you bought a game that didn't include it at the time or purchase, nor would you have a new [url=https://secure.gog.com/gamecard/broken_sword_2__the_smoking_mirror]edition of the for [url=http://www.strongholdhd.com/game.html]free just for having purchased the original. Lesser patches, yes, not new editions.

But WHICHEVER copy of The Simarillion I OWN, regardless of whether it contains Nasmith's illustartions (my copy doesn't btw), I don't RENT it, I OWN it and will always be able to read it for as long as I'm able to read.


Yes I am aware of these wonderful things, but after all this time (when it comes to older games) it's to be expected. You shouldn't still be selling Baldur's Gate separately from Tales of the Sword Coast, and of course GOG aren't doing that. But that's only one example and it's not exactly a universal principle to sell older games complete with their expansions, whether it be GOG or not GOG. When games retailers try to sell games piecemeal It's a rip-off plain and simple.

Indeed, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the publisher selling slightly upgraded editions for full price time and again. Any DRM-free software you purchase work the same way as long as you make sure you have access to a copy of it (and unlike software, you cannot easily just make a backup copy of the physical book in case the original gets destroyed).

And I am able to play my copy of for however long I have compatible hardware. Same with [url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/ufo-trilogy]UFO Trilogy. Same with Rayman Origins. Same with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Same with 9th Dawn.

Oh, and you don't own Silmarillion. You own the specific book copy you have. If you come at my house and get my copy, you can't say "But I own Silmarillion, and the book in my hands is Silmarillion, thus I own this book".

As I said before, the problem with the current industry is DRM that requires permission from a 3rd party. It's not that it's selling games piece by piece. Did you know that The Lord of the Rings was supposed to be one book? But the publisher decided to print it as 3 books due to paper shortage, so as to keep the price low. So to get the full experience, you had to buy it 3 times instead of once. So it's not the game industry. The piece by piece has been happening long before video games.

Thank you very much and quite correct of course. Honestly, all this quibbling in support of the transparently wicked ways of the industry makes me chortle. Or it would make me chortle if only it hadn't cost me a shedload of money already ....

Phantasy Star 3, 3 times. Gameboy Advance (Phantasy Star Collection), Wii virtual console, and Steam (Amazon had all 5 Sega Genesis Classics packs on sale for five bucks).

This all comes down to the concept of "ownership". I own a COPY of The Silmarillion. The idea is FOREVER Tolkien's, though who may have the "copyright" these days I've no idea (is it still his son ?) But the COPY of the game is FOREVER mine and this is what it used to be like when it came to buying games, with the horrible proviso that being able to "read" these games in the future will always depend on their compatibility with future operating systems and hardware, which is a separate matter but equally important imo. I OWN all the books which are in my possession and will always be able to read them (copies though they are) for as long as I'm able to read.

I think you're just quibbling and you know it. Selling games piecemeal is a fairly recent phenomenon. In the past you had expansions such as Throne of Bhaal for BG2 : one HUGE expansion and that was the end of it, apart from patches. Nowadays you have "DLC" and there seems to be no end to it. You have to wait a few YEARS before a game is actually complete (and I would advise people to do exactly this) and you can actually buy the WHOLE game without having to worry about whether you might later have to add yet more content. It's just a money-spinning racket, it's as simple as that.

I bought The Cat Lady 8 times :)
- Pre-order from the Dev,
- Physical copy from the Dev (well, I got that at the price of shipping, but still),
- As a part of Be Mine Anniversary (used in a giveaway),
- A GOG copy for myself,
- Two GOG copies for a giveaway to celebrate TCL's release here,
- One gift copy (GOG) for somebody who wanted to get it at bundle price yesterday,
- One gift copy (GOG) which I'm sure I'll find use for :)
Hell, I wasn't aware I bought so many of those :)

So, I have it on GOG, on Desu and a physical copy, + some gifts :)

Test Drive 2 waves hello. If you wish me to link it again, I will. Let me just tell you that it was happening in 1989.

As to the fact about owning a book and owning a game, it depends on the medium the game is on. I owned a copy of Parsec (and the TI it played on) which I've happily passed on to a friend of mine. I can no longer use the TI because I don't have the needed hardware (specifically a TV that can accept the proper input) but my friend was able to verify that it works properly.

Same thing can be said about the LPs that my father collected. I can't listen to them because I don't have a record player. Nor do I have a video casette player, so the tapes are also useless.

Not all games are digital only copies. The GOG copies you have are non-transferable. The physical copies that don't require an account are transferable. So don't say that rebuying a game is a sign of a bad industry. Not being able to transfer ownership may be bad, in which case you should stop using GOG, and needing a 3rd party permission to play your game is also bad. But those things are different from us rebuying a game.

Might and Magic VI, I think:

1) Purchased a used retail copy for cheap.
2) Purchased the M&M Millennium retail collection, which includes MM6-9.
3) Purchased the GOG collection, which includes 1-6.

I eventually gave away the original copy, as it had become quite redundant.