GOG.com adds movies to its lineup
DRM-free game distributor GOG.com has expanded its online catalog to include a selection of gaming documentaries, announcing that it will seek partnerships with major studios to feature additional TV and film offerings via download and streaming.
Twenty gaming-themed documentaries are now collected under GOG.com's new "Movies" tab, including the world premieres of Gamer Age, The King of Arcades, and Pixel Poetry. The service currently offers two of its featured films -- Art of Playing and TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard -- free of charge of registered users.
GOG.com hopes to entice major studios to join its catalog with the strength of its initial offerings, but GOG's VP for North America Guillaume Rambourg notes that getting Hollywood to embrace the service's DRM-free stance is an uphill battle.
"Our initial idea was to start with the big guys, but the process is not easy," Rambourg said. "In our first round of talks, the response was largely, 'We love your ideas, but we do not want to be the first ones. We will gladly follow, but until somebody else does it first, we do not want to take the risk.' Most studio officials agreed that DRM is pointless, but were quick to add that the lawyers would not allow them to get rid of it."
New DRM-free film releases will hit GOG.com weekly.
[Image: GOG.com]
Show full PR text
GOG.com Spread the DRM-free Spirit from Games to Movies, Want Hollywood Majors to Join In!
The DRM-free digital distributor of PC games wants to change the landscape of the movie industry, kicks off with 20 documentaries on gaming and the geek culture but eyes TV and cinema classics from major studios.
There might be hope for the movie industry to shed DRM after all! GOG.com, the digital platform for PC games that has delivered DRM-free content to gamers worldwide for almost 6 years, is adding movies to its catalog. With over 200 partners in the gaming industry--including major publishers like Ubisoft, Square Enix and EA, as well as indie darlings like Klei Entertainment, Almost Human, and Wadjet Eye Games--and a dedicated community, GOG.com is the perfect case study of how effective going DRM-free is. And now GOG.com is on a mission to convince the big Hollywood studios to offer their TV and cinema classics 100% DRM-free. "Our initial idea was to start with the big guys, but the process is not easy." admits Guillaume Rambourg, GOG.com VP for North America. "In our first round of talks, the response was largely, 'We love your ideas, but we do not want to be the first ones. We will gladly follow, but until somebody else does it first, we do not want to take the risk'." Most studio officials agreed that DRM is pointless, but were quick to add that the lawyers would not allow them to get rid of it."
GOG.com regrouped, and decided to prove its point in practice. The team will launch its movie section with documentaries catering directly to its existing community: gamers and geeks. The lineup includes world premieres like Gamer Age, The King of Arcades, and Pixel Poetry, as well as award-winning films presented at international festivals, like Indie Game: The Movie. The movies will be available--with plenty of additional goodies--for download or through streaming, whichever user prefers. Two titles, "Art of Playing" and "TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard," are launching completely free of charge, so that anyone can try how great the DRM-
free experience really is! Subsequent movie releases are scheduled to arrive on GOG.com every single week.
Alongside the inclusion of the "Movies" tab the entire GOG.com site has received an awesome upgrade. With its fresh new design and new features the website is now more mobile-friendly and much easier to navigate. Additionally, the online store has introduced new payment methods and will now support local currencies: Euros, Pounds Sterling, Australian Dollars, and Russian Rubles. However, in the spirit of GOG.com, the choice between using local currency or sticking to the US Dollar is entirely up to the user.
With this first step into a completely new territory and a major website level-up, GOG.com aims to be the place to be for both gamers and film buffs. Welcome to the DRM-free world!
