I remember when that happened, all those people who were oh so sure that they were right about it destroying the business.

It can also mean that the new members haven't yet bought all the games they want. Old members might have left when they got the game or games they wanted or is like me that have bought all the games I really want and is buying the occasional new release or game on sale now and then.

So the real question is if GOGs rising graph hinges on getting new members at a good rate or not. Could explain a lot about why GOG do things.

Same thing really. The shutdown created a lot of publicity on almost all gaming sites then the new users were pleasently surprised to find Baldur's Gate waiting for them when the site came back. It can't have only been the AD&D games to justify that spike.

LOL!

Well, there ya have it, folks. ) Straight from the GOG Staff, which makes those answers official.


-Khalaq

Just one more thought here. Last year on the CDP Conference, the GOG team showed an alexa internet statistics as kind of traffic (=buying interest) measurement. This year they didn't but we can make it. It's of course only of restricted usefulness but for the fun of it: :)

GOG vs GamersGate
GOG outrunned GG in fall 2010, GOG is further increasing
GG developing laterally with large fluctuations

GOG vs Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive used to be top ... before 2010, but since then a decline for D2D and an incline of GOG brought both to roughly the same level

GOG vs Steam
Steam is simply Goliath and GOG David or so it seems. However looking at it the other way: there is plenty of improvement for GOG. :)

Note: Of course the traffic rank does not mean that all of these services cannot grow at the same time, only that some are not growing relative to the other sites of the internet, but in absolute numbers all DD services could. Second, the Alexa statistics might be erroneous, since they (through their toolbars) watch only tiny part of the overall traffic. Third, traffic does not directly translate to sales.

So, considering the note, we can only conclude that:
- GOG is increasing exponentially (logarithmic scale)
- GOG is probably on a similar level than GamersGate or Direct2Drive
- GOG is way below Steam

Or even shorter:
For the moment GOG is doing fine.

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/gog.com

Thanks for the analysis Trilarion :)

Speaking only for myself, GOG has definitely cut into the market of Steam. I always look for games on GOG, first, and I hold off buying games I think GOG will have on its site in the future. In those cases where I buy a game from Steam for less than $10, I buy the same game a second time when it comes out on GOG.

The only place GOG falls short compared to Steam, as far as my buying dollars are concerned, is when it comes to brand new FPS games. (I buy my non-FPS games in a box.) Since GOG doesn't carry the newer stuff, I can't buy it from them. The exception to that being The Witcher 2, of course....


-Khalaq