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GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

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Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#181

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

fernie wrote: post #144
benoau wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of this is based on the assumption that the way it was done is the way it will be done. Who will own and run Steam 30 years from now? Gabe Newell will be long-gone, his nepobaby next-CEO will be closing in on retirement if they don't check-out early to enjoy their vast wealth like Gabe has done. What does Steam look like 60 years from now? Adults using it today are mostly dead and all of their licenses revoked fo…

I can assure you that offline installer you got today from GOG will not work on Windows 20 or whatever OS will be the dominant for PC in 30 or 60 years time.

If it works on WINE today, I would expect it to work on WINE tomorrow. Worst case, you can probably just install an older WINE on a newer OS to ensure it.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#182

Post by andoando »

benoau wrote: post #93
dangus wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is basically never. They have no incentive to do that except for extreme circumstances, and they have all the leverage in the world over game publishers. Delisted games tend to stay in your library for redownload. I never understood the cynicism for digital media, it’s been multiple decades now and the model clearly works. Obviously I prefer zero DRM but it’s also not a hard line requirement for me personally.

All of this is based on the assumption that the way it was done is the way it will be done. Who will own and run Steam 30 years from now? Gabe Newell will be long-gone, his nepobaby next-CEO will be closing in on retirement if they don't check-out early to enjoy their vast wealth like Gabe has done. What does Steam look like 60 years from now? Adults using it today are mostly dead and all of their licenses revoked fo…

I mean I don't really give a shit. Im buying a game to play it now, maybe next year.

Besides you only need Steam if the publisher chooses to use Steam DRM. There's clearly an incentive for it, don't think its purely Steam's fault.

If that's the model the publisher offers, that's the model you have. Its your choice to participate in it or not.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#183

Post by oarsinsync »

tart-lemonade wrote: post #167
stodor89 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "buy" Hozier's album > change countries > oh, you own this album for Bulgaria, but not for the US, so you can no longer play it

Region-locked physical media (and before explicit region locking, PAL vs NTSC vs SECAM vs variants like PAL-M) also have this problem to some extent.

Yes and no. I took my physical media with me along with my player, and all was fine.

I took my digital media with me along with my computer, and all was not fine.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#184

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

mariusor wrote: post #63
paxys wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes there is a difference. Steam sells you a license that can be revoked at any time. The games have DRM, and rely on cloud servers to authenticate you. If you turn your internet off they will all stop working after a certain period, even if fully downloaded. And if Steam or the DRM owner goes out of business you will end up with nothing. If you buy and download something from GOG, it is yours. You can still play it…

> The games have DRM, and rely on cloud servers to authenticate you. That is not true as a global rule. Game developers can release fully independent versions of their games even on steam.

They can. Do they? Statistically?

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#185

Post by wewtyflakes »

fernie wrote: post #144
benoau wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of this is based on the assumption that the way it was done is the way it will be done. Who will own and run Steam 30 years from now? Gabe Newell will be long-gone, his nepobaby next-CEO will be closing in on retirement if they don't check-out early to enjoy their vast wealth like Gabe has done. What does Steam look like 60 years from now? Adults using it today are mostly dead and all of their licenses revoked fo…

I can assure you that offline installer you got today from GOG will not work on Windows 20 or whatever OS will be the dominant for PC in 30 or 60 years time.

It would presumably work in a virtualized environment.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#186

Post by ekianjo »

cogogo wrote: post #176
ninth_ant wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They don't because too many people pirate games to make that a viable business. This is an opinion, stated as if it’s fact. There are many factors contributing to the ongoing success of steam. Ease of access, a strong network effect, word of mouth from satisfied customers, a strong ecosystem of tools and a modding platform, willingness to work across many platforms and a variety of vendors including competitors, an…

I grew up playing pirated games on the Apple II 35 years ago. The fact that many people pirate is not an opinion.

Piracy is much less endemic nowadays.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#187

Post by CDRdude »

cogogo wrote: post #176
ninth_ant wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They don't because too many people pirate games to make that a viable business. This is an opinion, stated as if it’s fact. There are many factors contributing to the ongoing success of steam. Ease of access, a strong network effect, word of mouth from satisfied customers, a strong ecosystem of tools and a modding platform, willingness to work across many platforms and a variety of vendors including competitors, an…

I grew up playing pirated games on the Apple II 35 years ago. The fact that many people pirate is not an opinion.

“Many people pirate” is a different statement than “too many people pirate games to make that a viable business”.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#188

Post by fn-mote »

rvnx wrote: post #151
Mathnerd314 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Research from the University of Amsterdam’s IViR “Global Online Piracy Study” (survey of nearly 35,000 respondents across 13 countries) found that for each content type and country, 95% or more of pirates also consume content legally, and their median legal consumption is typically twice that of non‑pirating legal users.

Fun fact, this study was financed by YouTube to create a legal shield. In 2017/2018, they were in the position where MPAA and RIAA were saying: "Piracy costs us billions; Google must pay" + they had European Parliament on their ass. Google financed that 'independent' study to support the view "Piracy is not harmful and encourages legal spend". So the credibility of "independent" studies, is something to consider very…

My real world observations agree with the direction of the study, so I don’t entirely dismiss it as fake based on its funding source.

I am cautious about the conclusion, though. It seems clear there is a spectrum from “unscrupulously pirate everything” to “consume legitimately after pirated discovery”, and quantification is necessary.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#189

Post by doctorpangloss »

rantallion wrote: post #106
georgeecollins wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, but the model that Valve pioneered is the model that supports 90% of all commercial PC games made today, a higher percentage if you cut out MMOs and free to play games, which you certainly don't own. I love GoG and I have worked closely with a lot of people there on projects they are great. This announcement seems like good news. No one has to sell games on Steam. No one has to use a model where they "rent licens…

> They don't because too many people pirate games to make that a viable business. This is what we've been told since time eternal but it seems more likely that those pirating are those that wouldn't be inclined to pay at all.

people are commenting in this HN thread like piracy hasn't been thought about, deeply, by many thousands of people for ages in the games industry. i could link to numerous people writing very wise things about it - the CEO of a certain competitor to GOG and Steam comes to mind, he basically wrote the Luther thesis on games piracy - but then i'd be downvoted.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#190

Post by dmantis »

cogogo wrote: post #176
ninth_ant wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They don't because too many people pirate games to make that a viable business. This is an opinion, stated as if it’s fact. There are many factors contributing to the ongoing success of steam. Ease of access, a strong network effect, word of mouth from satisfied customers, a strong ecosystem of tools and a modding platform, willingness to work across many platforms and a variety of vendors including competitors, an…

I grew up playing pirated games on the Apple II 35 years ago. The fact that many people pirate is not an opinion.

It doesn't prove that DRM free is not a viable business.

I also grew up pirating, but I haven't been pirating games for more than 10 years now.

A few bucks costs much less to me these days than a headache with finding a cracked version and installing potential malware on my computer. Not even talking about supporting the artists and developers.

Gabe is right that piracy is a service problem. If you have proper easy installers, easy buying, easy refunds and you are from a middle class and higher - it doesn't make sense to download random executables from the internet. And if you have low-income, you won't buy stuff regardless of DRM and just wait someone to crack it.

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