vampirosuk: What does it tell you? (apart from GOG doesn't have the update) What do we actually know about the situation with the GOG release?
Let us speculate that the absence of a GOG update / DLC is the developers fault:
Uninstalling your GOG purchase does nothing. We've paid good money for this product, and we're going to 'reward' the developer / publisher by buying the game again on Steam? If anything, this only encourages and contributes to the problem. That we'll just take it and still keep coming back to them for their games.
Because the GOG userbase is comparatively insignificant to Steam, how does this automatically make this GOG's fault, as to developers' attitudes towards the GOG platform, and hence its customers? We can only change the developers' attitudes by voting with our wallets. Ask ourselves, if having a principled approach to how we are expected to be treated as a customer - and potentially affecting change - worth it for being without their product?
Regardless of whether the issue is with how viable the developers find the GOG platform, a technical issue with the release or where the GOG version falls in the list of priorities, we simply don't know - other than Atari's response mentioned in a previous post here. Given the vagueness of this response, we still don't know what area of responsibility for the 'delay' falls. Why would developers / publishers / GOG, as businesses, reveal details which could have negative implications for any party? when they are in a business partnership?
Is it up to GOG to develop and publish games / updates of any products on its store? or is the onus not on the developers?
Are we, as customers on the GOG store, not meant to support this store and GOG's mission in giving ownership to customers? As supporters of this approach, are we not meant to take a more principled stance in how we are expected to be treated as customers?
What does stating our grievances on this forum achieve? Why not publically call Digital Eclipse to account on their public channels such as YouTube?
At this point, as soon as I see a copy that includes both DLC on either TPB or 1337x, I'm going to just obtain it there, and save money on the DLC guilt free. In the future I'll stick with Steam or Epic Games for any and all recent releases as it seems like GoG is, as the name implies, only good for Good OLD Games...at firesale prices.
I myself, with a library of 100s of legally purchased games, would make this one game I own / DLC an exception for piracy, given the way it has been handled, by whatever parties are responsible.
I, like the other users on this forum, just want to see their update / DLC on here. This situation and the experience for GOG users / customers is poor.
I don’t know the workings between GOG and games publishers, but given that users perceive updates / DLC being delayed on GOG as ‘standard industry practice’, then surely something has to change. Whether GOG needs to review their policy with publishers, in how they agree to update their games / DLC. The bottom line is, everyone is losing out here, as things stand. Customers will go to Steam when their updates don’t appear. Especially without any communication from GOG / publishers.
‘That’s the way it is’, is not good enough, especially given that GOG are trying to push their storefront as a viable platform even for new releases. I, too, have been hesitant for a long time in buying new releases on GOG, because of reading GOG customer reviews over the years of GOG versions missing updates that are on Steam.
Actually, ‘Atari 50’ is the only time I have purchased a new release on GOG. On launch day, I was intending on buying the Steam version, as there was absolutely no mention of a planned GOG version, either on Atari / Digital Eclipse website or even the GOG store news page. What’s that all about? GOG is a storefront, selling the GOG version of Atari 50, and it just appeared on the store page out of thin air? Can you imagine other GOG users in the same situation? Unless they checked back on the GOG store at the last minute, they would probably have purchased the game on Steam.
There’s no doubt that GOG also has a lot to answer for. They are selling the base game Atari 50, and as a storefront - given that GOG users have no doubt contacted GOG for an update - GOG should be in touch with the publishers, or at the very least, acknowledging their GOG customer’s queries, as best they can. Do they want their customers to purchase from the GOG store or not? It’s about communication, transparency and clear customer expectations. Keeping their customers informed.
GOG’s mission statement says they ‘put gamers first’ and that their customers have ‘direct contact with the GOG team’. I too have contacted GOG about the Atari 50 DLC, but never received any response. It’s about time GOG lives up to their gamers first statement and make it actual policy and work with their publishers, and be transparent to their customers - as much as possible - on what to expect when purchasing a game - especially a new release - on GOG with regards to us receiving updates in a timely manner. Otherwise, we’ll go elsewhere for new releases.
