I have real-life things that are taking top priority, unfortunately, so I've had to stop focusing so much on this search.

That's understandable. After all, Real Life is DRM-free, frequently updated, and has scads of DLC. I just wish they'd fix some of the bugs in it. ;)

Zing. :P Anyway, anyone who wants to make a new thread related to this subject, and wants to "lead" the search for game rights, is welcome to.

Well, OK, thanks for all your hard work
So long and thanks for all the DRM free fish!

Ah I now hear that it uses Tages Solidshield 5 on The Adventure Shop
Urgh! Nasty!

Yeah, that "thing" is even worse than Securom. Yuck!

I have a little free time here and there, so maybe I can still do a little of this. (The re-release of I Have No Mouth was inspiring. :)

Quick question, for those who have an opinion:

Would it be better to try to figure out the rights to games high up on the GOG wishlist? (for the ones we are not sure about, and not tied up with a publisher not here on GOG) For example, I was thinking about doing a bit more research on the Discworld games (although it's possible SCPM has gotten as far as possible on that), since theoretically we could have those here ala Infogrames/Atari if Terry Pratchett can be convinced.

or

Should I continue on looking for good old games on Abandonia, since those that are owned by small companies or just a few people might be easier to bring?

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I went ahead and tweeted http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bateman and Terry Prachett (again) about the Discworld games. I also tried to sign up for the Terry Pratchett discussion forums to raise interest there, but I can't seem to get a confirmation email. http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/forum/

I also tried to raise interest with Blizzard over their classic games - Warcrafts 1 & 2, Diablo 1, Blackthorne, etc. - by tweeting them. https://twitter.com/BlizzardCS Little doubt that GOG would have already tried to contact them about these, but it doesn't hurt to fuel the fire.

Glad you will be sticking around, tfishell! My opinion on your question is a compromise, namely to chase down the Abandonia titles that are popular on the wishlist (assuming there are many), and otherwise to go after Abandonia titles we think would be good on GOG.

I would avoid major releases that reside with big studios, or anything with licensing, as those need to be negotiated from the get-go by GOG. I think the Abandonia approach is more fruitful for individual efforts. At least, it has been for me. That being said, I don't see any problem with tossing in highly-requested wish list items into this thread, if only so that we can share our knowledge about them and see if they may be good candidates for pursuing.

Discworld = Psygnosis = Sony

IHNMAIMS was made by Cyberdreams, but HE sued them and won all rights. That's why he was the one to decide it can be released again.

I was researching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld_Noir, which claims GT Interactive as publisher. But it would suck to not get those either.

Thanks man. I'll probably stick with Abandonia, although today I tweeted some relatively big names. EDIT: Actually, I'm kind of focused on the wishlist now, lol.

For those interested, you can see who I have tweeted on my page, I believe: https://twitter.com/tytbone

I like the idea of going after the top tier titles, but the vast majority of them already reside with one of the major publishers GOG doesn't have on yet (LucasArts/Disney, Microsoft, Take Two/Rockstar, Zenimax/id/Bethesda, Blizzard, Sony/Psygnosis, Deep Silver, and Paradox, and a few other companies). In that case, the best bet is to go on forums, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and express/drum-up interest in having them bring their stuff to GOG. I know most of them already have their own plans about their games, already do their own work on bringing some of them back, and don't care for DRM-free non-regionally-priced releases, but it can't hurt to try. Encourage 'em to at least give it a shot with some of their older, smaller titles.

Now, the thing about Abandonia is that it has a very small selection of old games. There're other, more comprehensive abandonware sites that have a much, much larger database of old games. I recommend doing some digging around first. Abandonia will only take you so far.

Regarding Discworld, Mr. Terry Pratchett passed the IP to his daughter Rhianna last year (I believe). In any case, she's the one you want to contact about getting the games made available again.

What's the deal with Blizzard anyway? If they're 'Activision Blizzard' how can GOG have one signed and not the other? I know they like to use their own client but what about their old stuff they don't seem to care much for like the first Warcraft, 1st Diablo and the Lost Vikings series?

And another thing, what's with Sony not wanting to do anything with the Psygnosis back catalog when it contains Lemmings and i-OS and Androids are things? That's like having a license to print money but not being arsed to rent an industrial unit and get the plates made!

Given my time constraints using Twitter to drum up interest is probably my best bet, since I can contact many people in a short amount of time.

Thanks for the Discworld info! I tweeted https://twitter.com/rhipratchett about a possible Discworld Noir re-release on GOG. (since I would think that's an actual possibility, with GT Interactive/Infogrames/Atari being involved instead of Sony)

I see she replied:
"Still trying to workout who owns the rights to them."
It probably is a little more complex than just figuring out what happened to the company (as assets can go so many separate ways) and without a look at the paperwork or speaking to someone directly involved, there's little we amateur rights-searchers can do. At least, she's interested in making the games available again so that's good!