EDIT 2017: I don't do much of this anymore, but others still do.

EDIT: Nowadays, most stuff is happening behind-the-scenes in our spare time. Those that want to check out some of our year-old research can download the old text files here:

http://download1499.mediafire.com/nii4edvs5ayg/cl8c5wxpu8wl018/rights-research.zip

EDIT: I should note that I did not intend to make this thread just about /me/ searching for game rights. SCPM and others are doing fantastic jobs.

Basically just a continuation/separate thread for what started [url=http://www.gog.com/forum/general/small_companies_with_good_old_games_not_yet_on_gog_that_should_be_contacted ]here [/url]and evolved
[url=http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_that_are_unofficially_confirmed_for_release_in_the_future/post323 ]here [/url](recommended reading, pages 17-20; give me your opinions on what's top and what's flop for GOG to bring from Abandonia). The conversation didn't really fit because the games weren't even *unofficially* confirmed, so a separate thread seemed like the best response.

Basic story: I got started searching for games on Abandonia (specifically those owned by small companies that might actually contact me), made some encouraging contacts, had a conversation about "abandonware" owned by big companies and started posting lists of that, people (including Turnipslayerr) have been helping me and encouraging me and others, feelsgoodman.jpg, and here we are, I guess.

Now if somebody would just write this up in A. A. Milne fashion, we'll be all set.

Here are the games I listed (those on Abandonia, apparently owned by "big" publishers, that seemed worth re-releasing); this list will continue as I post in this thread, so keep an eye out for future posts of mine. Please write your opinions of games, whether they should come here or not, how GOG could price them fairly (5.99 bundle, 9.99 bundle), etc.

7th Legion, from Microprose
Willy Beamish, from Sierra (too kiddy?)
Alien Legacy, from Sierra
Archimedean Dynasty, from Blue Byte
& [url=http://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/bat_2_the_koshan_conspiracy]B.A.T. II, from Ubisoft (not that great?)
Bad Blood, from Origin
Battle Bugs, from Sierra (again, not that great?)
Big Red Adventure, from Core Design (okay, art looks rather poor; not sure how the puzzles are)
Blackthorne, from Interplay
Caesar II, from Sierra (does Caesar 3 make bringing 1 & 2 pointless? The original Caesar is freeware, but a C1&2 bundle might be nice for 5.99.)
Call of Cthulhu - Shadow of the Comet, from Infogrames
Castle of Dr. Brain, from Sierra (also "kiddy" probably, but it seems worthy of resurrection)
Centurion - Defender of Rome, from EA
Claw, from Monolith Productions (GT Interactive, Infogrames, Atari, some hoopla)
Codename - ICEMAN, from Sierra (probably needs to be bundled)
Command & Conquer, from EA (well, freeware; hopefully GOG can still bring it eventually)
Conqueror - A.D. 1086, from Sierra
Conquests of Camelot - The Search for the Grail, from Sierra (probably needs to be bundled)
Conquests of the Longbow - The Legend of Robin Hood, from Sierra (freeware, but bundle with Camelot b/c both .....make up "Conquest" series; both well-received!)
Cruise for a Corpse, from Delphine and Interplay
Cyber Empires, from SSi (part of Ubisoft and not D&D stuff)
CyberMage - Darklight Awakening, from EA (somebody suggested legal issues b/c based on comic)
CyClones, from SSi
D-Generation, from Mindscape ("associated" with EA)
Dark Legions, from SSi
Death Gate, from Legend Entertainment Company (GT Interactive, Infogrames, Atari, some hoopla)
Deathbringer, from Empire Interactive Entertainment (crap?)
Death Rally, from Apogee
Desert Strike - Return to the Gulf, from EA and Gremlin
Disciples of Steel, from FormGen, Inc. (GT Interactive, etc.) (crap?)
Dominus, from US Gold (merged with Eidios)
Drakkhen, from Infogrames
DreamWeb, from Empire Interactive Entertainment
EcoQuest - The Search for Cetus, from Sierra (Dr. Brain 1&2 + Eco Quest 1&2 + Willy Beamish = 9.99 deal?)
Empire Deluxe and Empire 2, from New World Computing (not that great?)
Epic, from Ocean Software (Infogrames, etc.)
Fatty Bears Birthday Surprise, from Humongous Entertainment/Infogrames/Atari (okay, Pajama Sam and Spy Fox are more important, but did ya really expect me to miss out on mentioning this?)
Fantasy General, from Mindscape ("associated" with EA)
Fields of Glory, from MicroProse
Four Crystals Of Trazere, from Mindscape
Freddy Pharkas - Frontier Pharmacist, from Sierra (seriously, isn't this highly desired?)
Future Wars - Time Travellers, from Delphine and Interplay
Gauntlet 1 & 2, from Mindscape Inc. (showing their age)
Global Domination, from Impressions (not rated so well)
Gold Rush, from Sierra (tough on the eyes, but maybe bundle-worthy)
Gunship 2000, from Microprose (3D showing its age)
Hammer of the Gods, from New World Computing
Harrier Jump Jet, from Microprose (again, 3D showing its age)
Heart of China, from Sierra
Heimdall 1 & 2, from Core Design
Hero Quest, from Gremlin Interactive/Infogrames, etc.
High Seas Trader, from Impressions
Highway Hunter, from Epic Games (another shmup? anything original?)
The Horde, from Crystal Dynamics (seem a bit ... odd)
Hostage - Rescue Mission, from Mindscape (EGA graphics)
The Immortal, from EA
Inca, from Sierra

Thanks to everyone who posted their opinions of these games (I enjoy reading them because I haven't played any of these games; I'm just basing what's worth bringing by Abandonia scores, screenshots, and occasionally gameplay footage), and who encouraged me, SCPM, Barry_Woodward, and others to help GOG a little in figuring out game rights.

And so the story continues...

Response to http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_that_are_unofficially_confirmed_for_release_in_the_future/post378:

I'll be sending a message to Nancy Holder shortly. EDIT: Message sent.

There'd be a very solid chance that I'd buy probably half to three quarters of the games on that list.

tfishell, have you heard of BloodNet and Legacy - Realms of Terror?

Both really good Adventure/RPG games published by Microprose (so presumably owned by Atari).

Also there's the Magic Candle series, which were fantastic Ultima-like games of the late 80's, the series also includes a prequel called Bloodstone - An Epic Dwarven Tale, and Keys to Maramon, a spin-off. Releasing them all as a bundle would be the best idea.

Also I assume you're leaving out all the D&D games?

Not wanting (at all) to make a wishlist post with all my own hopes, but I'm surprised by all these sierra and no laura bow mystery ("colonel's bequest", etc), as they would be easily bundled. Same for both "manhunter" actually.

Also, we've got a few sid meier but no "covert action" for some reason. I had discovered it a few years ago, it was awesome by any standard. Only one game section couldn't be played for some reason (it required keypad input, and I couldn't get it to respond to these numbers). I think it's solid enough to deserve a bit of focus.

I also think that gog should consider rewarding you for your efforts, but that's just a judgement from afar...

_____
Edit : Also two or three more things.

1) "Future wars" could be bundled with "operation stealth".

2) "Desert strike" with "jungle strike".

3) "BAT" was indeed not great to my eyes, but it had been recieved, if I remember well, as a huge milestone in comic-book-like open-worldish rpg. And it's quite different from anything else. That alone would justify it, I think.

4) NOT bundling "shadow of the comet" with "prisoner of ice" would be a great move. The package would be worth less than "shadow" alone (yes, I estimate "ice"'s worth in negative figures).

How much do lawyers cost in Poland anyway? GOG could theoretically hire a lawyer to dig up old games and their contracts/who they belong to nowadays

And with Nuclear Strike!

@tfishell
Which Dark Legions do you mean?
Dark Legions or The Dark Legions? I own the former and I can guarantee is a very good game. Similar to Archon series but not on a board but realistic terrain. Each turn you can move your troops and when you attack your opponent you are taken to the battlefield where action takes place. Each units have different abilities.

If people feel like I end up bumping this too often, let me know.

More games from publishers already here that could theoretically make an appearance (up to page 73 on Abandonia):

Infiltrator 1 & 2, from Mindscape (EGA graphics, "strong" green landscape)
Into The Eagles Nest, from Mindscape (from 1987; bundle with Infiltrator?)
Iron Cross, from New World Computing
Iron Lord, from Ubisoft (graphics = showing age)
Island of Dr. Brain, from Sierra (bundle with Castle of Dr. Brain)
Jill of the Jungle + Jill Underground + Jill Saves the Prince, from Epic
Jones in the Fast Lane, from Sierra (kinda saying "'90s" with hairstyles in pictures, lol; like The Game of Life?)
Journey - The Quest Begins, from Infocom (should probably be bundled with other Infocom games)
Jungle Strike, from EA and Gremlin (Infogrames, etc.) (bundle with Desert Strike)
Keef the Thief - A Boy and His Lockpick, from EA (early Naughty Dog apparently?) (mediocre?)
Keys to Maramon, from Mindscape (part of Magic Candle trilogy, but Mindcraft published original Magic Candle?)
Kings Bounty, from New World Computing, Inc. (can we get the original, perhaps sold with the new ones?)
Last Ninja 1 & 2, from Activision (only 9 ratings, aged graphics; not sure what to think)
Laura Bow 1 & 2, from Sierra (dat EGA; bundle it)
Leather Goddesses of Phobos, from Infocom (big Infocom text-based bundle for 5.99; make DCT happy!)
Legacy - Realm of Terror, from Microprose (dunno if where the rights went, honestly)
Legends of Valour, from SSi (editor found it horrible, but 2000+ people found it decent)
Les Manley 1&2, from Accolade (Infogrames/Atari) (That "King" box art makes me want to punch him in the face; sorry)

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Just sent a message to http://www.adeptsoftware.com/ about releasing Jetpack, Jetpack 2, and God of Thunder on GOG. Based on screenshots, Jetpack doesn't seem to be anything special, but it got good reviews and lots of downloads (apparently over 1 million from Adept's site alone), so I figured offering up the idea of a GOG release couldn't hurt.

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These guys - http://www.mobygames.com/company/loriciel-sa - have Jim Power, which looks quite sweet. (Is it Amiga only?) I can't remember if I tried to make contact, so this will act as a reminder for me to check I guess. :P

"Loriciels (later known as Loriciel) was a French video game company, founded in 1983 by Marc Bayle and Laurent Weill." - if somebody else wants to try to make contact.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cdv_Software_Entertainment has Jurassic War , and they're still in business apparently, but their websites are all dead ends it seems. http://www.cdvusa.com/ and http://www.cdv.de/ (Mediocre game anyways?)

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Kingdom At War was distributed by http://www.giantbomb.com/manaccom-pty-ltd/3010-2940/, but I guess they went into insurance or something? http://www.giantbomb.com/manaccom-pty-ltd/3010-2940/ gave me http://www.manac.com.au/

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Kronolog - The Nazi Paradox and Liberty or Death, from Merit Software (these guys? http://www.meritsoftware.com/ :P)

http://www.koei.co.jp/ published L'Empereur; no idea what that site says. :P

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http://www.silmarils-collection.com/ seems like a fantastic deal! Le Fetiche Maya seems good.

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GOG, talk to Virgin Interactive about Legend of Kyrandia!
Also, The Learning Company! maybe; not sure how well Life and Death 1 & 2 have aged, but 8,000+ people rated 2 a "3". they were probably mentioned in an earlier list (in the *unofficially* confirmed thread) if the games caught my eye.

I do recognize all those names, but I can't remember details; they were probably mentioned in an earlier list (in the *unofficially* confirmed thread) if the games caught my eye.

I am leaving out D&D because I assume that GOG can't bring any of that without the D&D license. (although we do have some D&D-related games here) Le this one, published by SSI. :) By "former" you mean this one?

Yes. It would be great to see it here :)

Some other comments:

High Seas Trader - I did enjoy this game. It was a golden age for managerial games... but I'm not sure if those games aged well. Everybody who played it and enjoyed it back then would love to see it here (along with Merchant Colony, Merchan Prince 1 and 2, Machiavelli the Prince and perhaps a few others) - that's the power of nostalgia. But I'm afraid those game wouldn't sell well. They were somewhat difficult to get into even back then. I may speculate that developers actually assumed that everybody had already known how to play a trading game - there were so many of them after all - so they didn't bother and threw the players in at the deep end. The best one from those I mentioned (I own them all) is definitely Machiavelli.

Jones in the Fast Lane - I don't think it's a good idea. It's a very, very short game. Half an hour and you are done. And I don't thing there is much replay value here. You just have to click a lot: visit a building, click "work"button several times. Visit university or college and click several times to increase your qualifications, visit some shops and click whatever you want to buy. That's it. And I think you can't even do anything bad in this game so it's not really challenging.

Jetpack - the game is incredibly addictive. It's hard to tell why but you may find yourself glued to your computer for hours! ;) It sounds very simple - use your jetpack, collect everything and then reach an open door. You can also destroy some bricks and they will regenerate over the time (something like Lode runner). It doesn't sound very appealing, right? But believe me - it is! There are a lot different enemies, many different bricks with different properties (some of them are even fake - you can see them but you cannot step on them - you will pass through them) that makes it not a regular platformer game. Sometimes you have to think really hard to outsmart your enemies. I can wholeheartedly recommend it!

Thanks man. I read all these opinion pieces, even if I don't have any control over what ultimately appears here. I emailed Adam Pederson of Adept software. He sent this back:

"I did but they won't take jetpack because it's already freeware! And I think jetpack 2 is too new
thanks,
Adam"

I'm compiling a list of freeware titles for GOG to look over, so Jetpack will go on that one. If it really is a good game, hopefully GOG will change their mind and bring it. :) (It's just a DOS title, right?)

I can understand the first part. I'm not surprised that GOG don't want to invest their time - even if it wouldn't take much - for game which is available for free at the developer site. But what about jetpack 2? "too new"? The game is not released yet... Perhaps he still thinks Good Old Games and not GOG.com?

And yes, Jetpack is a DOS game

What about Dynamix? they are already here (Red Baron and Betrayal at Krondor) some of their games were released for EA (already here) and later on they were acquired by Sierra (also here). Some gems from Dynamix still not here:

Metaltech series (Earthsiege series, Missionforce: Cyberstorm, Starsiege series)
Aces series (Aces over Europe, Aces over the Pacific, Aces of the Deep)
A-10 series (Tank Killer and Silent Thunder)
Heart of China
Alien Legacy
Outpost 2

Apparently lead designer and founder Damon Slye went on and founded Mad Otter Games which released Red Baron again on GOG. So maybe he can be contacted about these other titles.

Well, I've received word from GOG that while they obviously want to focus on games that will bring in money, they are willing to take a look at good old freeware titles, too. Since this and the rest of my list are all DOS titles, support and upkeep shouldn't take too much time, I don't think.

EDIT: Here's what I recieved: "There’s certainly a chance of seeing some more GOFGs on the site! We’re still looking into different potential games and working to bring them to the site. Obviously paid games do take a priority but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to bring great freeware titles as well if we think there’s enough interest." So, it's kind of a generic response ("we'll be doing everything we can to avoid layoffs"), but certainly a hopeful one. :)

I guess we'll see; I'll probably send the list to Turnipslayerr probably during the next few days.

Would it be worth trying to contact him if the majority of those titles were published outside of Dynamix? Looking at Otter games, I wonder if he doesn't actually have control over many titles. Maybe http://www.madottergames.com/games/ace-of-aces/?

It's possible GOG just needs to make a the appropriate deals with Sierra, EA, etc. to bring the titles you mentioned. (Hopefully Turnipslayerr will be browsing this page occasionally, so he may notice these. :)

I'm glad to hear it! In that case I think Jetpack fully deserves to be on that list :)

God of Thunder and Death Rally are also freeware. Death Rally is a better fit for GOG, but God of Thunder is a fun puzzle game in its own right.

I've been digging into what happened to Paragon Software (who made games like the MegaTraveller series) and it seems they were acquired by Microprose back in 1992 which means their games could've ended up anywhere from Atari to Take Two.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326652/000114420408053462/v125754_8k.htm

Now, the likes of SoftKey, Broderbund, Mindscape, and The Learning Company are a mess. You can read the story here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Learning_Company
This means, we'll need to knock on the doors of Gores Technology Group and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for many of their former titles. The rest ostensibly ended up with Ubisoft.

I'm still not sure GOG would accept GoT (I was turned off when I first saw it), but I did mention it when I emailed Adept.

Death Rally actually has a remake on Steam - http://store.steampowered.com/app/108700/. I just tweeted Remedy about this, since they do have Alan Wake here. (Maybe they could do like Spelunky and provide the freeware too, since Apogee is onboard.)

"Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with Electronic Arts." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindscape_Group

But ultimately I'm not sure what to think. :P