@JudasIscariot:
Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know that it was that usual back in te 80s and 90s already.

My main reasons:
- Support the DRM-free way (legal cracked versions are just awesome and I gladly pay for these, too many bad memories with DRM of games I actually bought.)
- I can sell my old huge boxed versions and have more space in my tiny appartment without shrinking my collection (HDDs ftw!)

Haha, same here.
If any game I pirated when I was way much younger gets on here, I usually buy it.

I'm too lazy for one, and more than happy to give GOG money to do all the hard work. I have a backlog of about 30 games I've bought and never played, and about 20 more I've bought with the intention of replaying, and haven't gotten around to it yet. Who has time to pirate anything?

Because every time I visit an abandonware site these days, they tell me to go buy it on GOG :p

Seriously, I like to support GOG because they do a good job of ensuring the games are functional and complete, and they might even throw in much appreciated extras and it's all at a very affordable price.

As a contrast, I recently bought Doom and Doom 2 from Steam, just because they were on sale, and I still had to leap through some hoops to get them working properly. Two of the greatest games of all time (OF ALL TIME!) and they're just tossed on the store with this "you bought it, sucker, get it working yourself" attitude. Appalling. If GOG treated their catalog like that, I damn well would pirate them.

For me it's like a midlife chrisis, I'm getting old and want to relive those great games I used to play. And also like the post above me says GOG is doing a great job so I turn to them for my fix.

I personally started gaming in 1988 but I was not at all good in finishing games (I blame my lack of concetration for this). So I have many unfinished bussines with many games.
And I intent to finish them.

Convenience and availability are major factors. Plus, I can actually ask for help if a game I own doesn't work properly.

Before GOG, I used to frequent a site called Home of the Underdogs, something that people might call an abandonware site. However, for me and many others the site was never about getting stuff for free. It was more of a virtual museum of computer games. The games that were sold anywhere actually had a buy link instead of a download link.

HotU was about celebrating gaming culture, preserving the great games of old and not letting them fall into oblivion. It was about highlighting the games that never got the attention they deserved to bring them out of obscurity. People put effort not only into getting the games to work on modern systems, but also dug up manuals and history about the games and their makers. GOG has some of that same spirit, although it's mostly focusing on the (often deservedly) popular titles.

1. Support. It's good knowing that you can download a game from GOG and pick up and play without fooling around with the settings.

2. Acknowledgement. You know why people want obscure video game characters in games like Super Smash Bros.? Re-releasing forgotten games ties into that philosophy. It gives those forgotten titles the chance to become well-known.

3. Potential sequels. There are many games out there that people want to see sequels to, so making the previous installments available officially at least gives hope. Shenmue III, anyone?