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GOG head: massive discounts 'bad for gamers'
GOG managing director Guillaume Rambourg shared a shockingly controversial opinion: there's a downside to Steam discounts. "Heavy discounts are bad for gamers," Rambourg told Rock, Paper, Shotgun. "If a gamer buys a game he or she doesn't want just because it's on sale, they're being trained to make bad purchases, and they're also learning that games aren't valuable." The all-too-common phenomenon of spending more money than you want to just to get everything that's on sale in a particular week is "not good for anyone," he said.If, like us, you wonder at this point how this attitude squares with GOG's own weekend sales, Rambourg explained: "Our average sale tends to be around 40% – 50% off; that's plenty of incentive to pick up a game if you're interested or if you just think you might like to try it because you're not sure about the game, but not some crazy 75% or 85% discount that damages the long-term value of a game." Of course, if you want to get extremely technical about it, the majority of GOG's business is selling $6 versions of games that cost upward of $50 when they originally came out (twenty years ago).
GOG re-relaunches with new indies and Grimrock pre-orders
Good Old Games has relaunched again, this time without pretending to go out of business. The new, new GOG offers more community features to suggest new games, a new, faster downloader, and, most importantly, more games.GOG is fulfilling its promise of newer games with a growing selection of recent indies including Trine and The Whispered World. It's even selling a game that's so not old, it's not even out yet. Pre-orders for the first-person dungeon RPG Legend of Grimrock are open now for $11.99, in advance of its April 11 release.
Save on enough Myst games for a full lifestyle change
Maybe you didn't want cheap Myst games in August, but have since then matured into a person who is all about that. Celebrate the beginning of your "Myst person" phase by picking up Myst: Masterpiece Edition, Riven, RealMyst, and Manhole: Masterpiece Edition for $2.99 each, or Uru Complete Chronicles for $4.99.You have until March 5 at 11:59 am EST to facilitate the birth of the New You as a person with a righteous collection of Cyan Worlds games.
Space (and other) Quests half off on GOG this weekend
If you grew up on the LucasArts side of the adventure game turf wars, you missed out on some really wonderful Sierra stuff -- specifically, the Space Quest series; a consistently funny, wonderfully designed set of sci-fi adventure games.GOG just happens to have them on sale this weekend for 50% off, so you can get the entire series for ten bucks. Other Sierra adventure game packs are marked down too, including King's Quest and Police Quest. Those are fine, but they lack a certain something. There are no pet facehuggers, for example.
GoG discounts Jagged Alliance 2, Witcher 2 for the weekend
It's a straight-up gorgeous Saturday you guys, and we can't think of a better way to enjoy a really beautiful weekend than by staying inside and playing video games all day. As it happens, GoG is having a sale this weekend on various classics (like Jagged Alliance 2 for $4.99) and The Witcher 2 (for $33.99).
Square Enix joins Good Old Games with Deus Ex and Hitman
Square Enix has joined the ever-growing list of publishers to bring its classic titles to GOG.com. The first two Square-Enix titles to hit the service are Hitman: Codename 47 and Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition (2000 being the year in question). You can pick up either for $5.99 and $9.99 respectively.GOG promises more Square Enix games to come. We'd expect most of those to come from Square's library of Eidos titles (Thief, anyone?), though the PC ports of Final Fantasy VII and VIII are a slim possibility. Slim.
Classic Syndicate infiltrates GOG on Jan. 19, asks how to conquer world first
Syndicate, the original title of twisted corporate greed and cyberpunk inhumanity, is hitting GOG on Thursday, Jan. 19 for $5.99. GOG's Syndicate will come with the game manual, artwork and avatars, but until it's officially released GOG is having a little dystopian fun. Ten players can win a copy of Syndicate by forming the best team of four people -- yourself and three others, real or imaginary, dead, alive or not born yet -- to lead the DRM-free revolution as the world's largest Syndicate. Just drop a description of your team in the GOG comments before 7 a.m. EST on Jan. 19 for a chance to prove yourself in the corrupt corporate world.
GOG.com joins SOPA opposition
GOG may be a Polish company, which doesn't comment on "politics, legislation, and government actions" of other nations, but it has come out against SOPA. It states, "SOPA works in a fashion similar to DRM, if you ask us: it only will have an effect on people who are, by and large, honest consumers."
PSA: GOG holiday sale on now, lots of $3 and $5 games
Last week, we told you about GOG's upcoming Holiday Sale, forcing you to inhabit a dream of the future when you can buy old games cheaply. Now you can escape that reverie and feel the joy of $3 Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition in the real world, as the Holiday Sale has begun! You'll find games like The Witcher, Beyond Good & Evil, Psychonauts, and the Incredible Machine Mega Pack for $5 each; Freespace 2, Master of Orion 1 + 2, and Fallout for $3 each; or, if you feel like playing something from this year, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $23.99. When you're browsing the deals page, be sure to hit the "show more deals" button at the bottom because, you see, there are so many more deals. In fact, almost everything in the catalog is half off until January 2. Activision games go back to regular price on December 26, and Codemasters and Piranha Bytes are skipping the sale.
GOG cutting the prices of most games in half, giving Witcher with Witcher 2 purchase
Classic game distributor (and CD Projekt portal) GOG isn't one to be left out of the holiday discount phenomenon. The site revealed its sales plans for the rest of the month, including a free copy of The Witcher with Witcher 2 downloads, and a 50 percent discount on "virtually" its whole catalog.
The Daily Grind: Are you giving the gift of games this year?
If you've got a gamer on your Christmas list, congratulations. With the proliferation of digital download titles and services like Steam and Good Old Games, it's never been easier to put a smile on the face of your favorite geek. Digital gifting does have a dark side, though, or at least a hmm-that's-kind-of-impersonal side. While most of us would never turn down a virtual copy of Skyrim or a few funny bucks to spend in an MMO cash shop, it is nice to get (and give) an actual present that someone's taken the time to wrap and deliver. What about you, Massively crew? Are you giving the gift of digital gaming this year? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Report: Good Old Games to offer Good New(ish) Games
During the CD Projekt Red Investor's Day conference in Poland today, GOG managing director Guillaume Rambourg announced an "audacious plan" to bolster the DRM-free retailer with the addition of new games, following the success of The Witcher 2 on the service. "Traditionally, GOG.com has looked for great classics that are three years old or older," he said. "We will continue to add classic games, of course, but we are actively working to sign newer titles now." Rambourg noted that the newer games will cost more than most GOG releases --$13.99 to $16.99, but that the company plans to maintain its DRM-free model. The low prices suggest that these won't be brand new games, but simply games more recent than GOG's current three-year cutoff period. According to a translation of GOG's action plan, the company's goal is to be the number two PC digital distribution platform. It's already the number one platform in our minds, whenever we think about old adventure games. Isn't that enough? Update: GOG officially announced the initiative. Find the press release after the break.
Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) now on GOG
Before Quantic Dream drenched us in Heavy Rain, it gave us the ambitious, story-driven Fahrenheit, now available on GOG.com for $6. Fahrenheit, known as Indigo Prophecy in North America, experimented with many of the techniques (and story elements) that ended up being refined in Quantic Dream's interactive novella on the PS3. Fahrenheit on GOG is the "uncut and uncensored version" of the game, not originally released in the States, which includes some interactive sex scenes. The real reason to play this game, however, is to watch an interesting, compelling premise go off the rails like a child star after an 18th birthday. A must-experience moment (of disappointment) for any future game writers.
Halloween Sale Megapost: Namco, EA, GoG, Direct2Drive, OnLive
This Halloween weekend, many major game distributors are treating us to some massive sales on games they consider "scary," "dark," or that include zombies. To make the scavenging easy while you put the final touches on your Pyramid Head costume (you freak), we've compiled the Halloween-weekend deals from EA, GoG, Direct2Drive, Namco Bandai and OnLive right here. The trick? We're eating all the candy ourselves, and you get none. Boo-ya.
Little Big Adventure (aka 'Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure') now on GOG
After earlier reports indicated ongoing negotiations over the availability of action-adventure classic Little Big Adventure, the game suddenly appeared on Good Old Games this morning. Its sequel, however, remains absent, though we can't imagine that'll stay the case for much longer. Regardless, for $5.99, you can head back into Twinsun and get your 1994 on starting right now. Hot dog!
Six million GOG downloads means Broken Sword for everyone
During the CD Projekt Fall 2011 press conference, the publisher revealed that its GOG distribution platform is approaching the 6 million download milestone. To help push its sales -- which currently stand at a little over 5.8 million -- over the top, it announced two promotions: First, the six millionth downloader will receive every game on the platform for free. Second, for the first 48 hours after hitting the mark, everyone will get a free download of Broken Sword: Shadow of The Templars Director's Cut. For CD Projekt's sake, we hope they don't get those two promotions mixed up. To wit: "Congratulations! You're our six millionth customer, so here's Broken Sword! Everyone else, here's everything for free oh god we gave all our games away."
Important Mark Hamill news: Wing Commander 3 now on GOG
Wing Commander 3: Heart of The Tiger is available now on GOG.com for $6. Promoted at the time as an "Origin Interactive Movie" and filmed in Hollywood (remember when that mattered?), the game is still a great example of early 3D graphics, FMV and an industry having a "movies are the future of games" identity crisis. Beyond Mark Hamill (Star Wars) in the lead, the game also featured John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings, Sliders) and Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange, Heroes). If sprites and animations are more your thing, Wing Commander 1 + 2 are also available on GOG as a bundle for $6. There's no Mark Hamill, but there's totally a main character with blue hair.
Populous and Ultima IV hit GOG -- and Ultima's free
Interested in being the master of a whole world -- or being a total slave to the rules of one? Two games newly added to GOG's DRM-free lineup will let you experience both. Populous lets you build a world and a civilization, and then ... you know, unleash natural disasters upon it. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar puts you in the role of a hero who must save the land of Britannia while adhering strictly to eight virtues. Thrift isn't one of those virtues, but it's still something you can practice with this game, as GOG is giving it away for free! If you want to pay for some Ultimas, the first three are also up.
You haven't Myst this great deal on Cyan games
If you're looking to pass a quiet weekend clicking your way through some puzzles, look no further than Good Old Games. The DRM-free retailer has put its whole selection of Cyan games on sale for half off this weekend. That includes Myst 1 and 2, the RealMyst remake, and the pre-Myst children's adventure game The Manhole for $2.99 each, and Uru for $4.99. If you want the whole package, and several lost weekends, you can get it all for $16.95. The offer ends Monday at 11:59 PM EDT, so ... buy the games you want before then, unless you want to pay more for your island getaway.
Wing Commander and Dungeon Keeper 2 land on GOG
Good Old Games has announced some new (old) additions to its Electronic Arts library today. First, the service is rounding out the Dungeon Keeper series with Dungeon Keeper 2. The second addition perhaps deserves a bit more fanfare, as classic series (and occasional quiz show fodder) Wing Commander makes its way onto GOG. GOG is bundling both Wing Commander and Wing Commander 2: Vengeance of the Kilrathi. In other words, you won't be able to get your Mark Hamill fix ... yet. GOG promises six more EA titles are "coming soon." The Wing Commander 1+2 bundle and Dungeon Keeper 2 are available now for $5.99 apiece.
