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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

#471

Post by embedding-shape »

pfisch wrote: post #215
stavros wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can pirate games easily, but I buy them on Steam because it's more convenient. If it's too expensive for me, I just never play it (or wait for a deal). I can't be bothered dealing with the installers and the potential viruses and the hassle.

You really can't though, not if the games have an online component or you want the game to be patched/updated as frequently as it would be on steam. Almost all games these days are basically like a work in progress, so if you pirate them then the game doesn't stay up to date. Pirating games is just really inconvenient compared to tv/movies/music.

> Almost all games these days are basically like a work in progress, so if you pirate them then the game doesn't stay up to date.

Which, as a mod author and consumer, isn't always a bad thing. More than once, I had to drop just enjoying a game, to patch my published mods because some update that is automatically pushed out, and people have to accept in order to even boot a single-player game. Why? I don't know, but it's really annoying sometimes.

Besides, nowadays cracking groups release smaller patches too, so while you might not get the update the same hour it was published on Steam, usually within a week or two the same group that uploaded the original release, has released another patch.

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

#472

Post by embedding-shape »

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.

> eternal but it seems more likely that those pirating are those that wouldn't be inclined to pay at all.

There are a lot of different reasons people pirate games, and other stuff, not all reasons apply to everyone, and some reasons on apply to a few.

I used to pirate 99% of the games I played when I was young, because my family simply didn't have money to buy me video games. Once I grew older and had more disposable income, I started buying more games on Steam. Now I have more disposable income than I know what to do with, and I'm back to pirating games, but only for the ones that don't have proper demos available. I probably spent $1000 on games I no longer play and cannot refund, because I'm over the 2 hour limit, and nowadays I pirate the game, and if I enjoy it, I buy it as a way of supporting the developer.

I'm probably not alone with this sort of process, but it's probably also not the only reason other's pirate.

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

#473

Post by izacus »

dundarious wrote: post #264
dundarious wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was mixing up the fact that "Linux native games do not support GOG's Cloud Saves feature" (direct quote from the app itself), with a general lack of support. Given it says "Use the Windows version instead", I am quite wrong, it clearly does support them for Windows games. If you think that's a "lie", consult a dictionary. As for whether my general point stands, I think it's a reasonable inference that if GOG Galaxy…

I just installed a GOG Windows game in Heroic, and the Settings state "This game does not support Cloud Saves" even though my account has cloud saves clearly visible for that same game on the GOG website. Given I'm using Heroic from AUR on a supported OS, and installed with default settings, I consider this cloud save support to be less than stellar, but that's a separate matter, I'm not trying to turn this thread in…

And yet somehow you outright opened it with a direct falsehood.

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

#474

Post by throwaway6977 »

embedding-shape wrote: post #468
musha68k wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people who don't know GN: https://youtu.be/cUrJVdF2me0?si=tlxLIufz8zah8xG6

(Human) summary of this almost one hour long video essay? Seems like the typical "random tech influencer is trying to fuel the fire/drama of today" because of the clickbait title of "NVIDIA: WTF?", so unsure if it fits to be linked here in the first place.

GN is a well established, popular and independent consumer hardware reviewer that has only a few peers on par with them in the space. Hardly some "random tech influencer".

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

#475

Post by BirAdam »

Completely anecdotal, but…

I spend quite a bit of time reading and writing tech history. I am not academic in this pursuit. I read old newspapers, magazines, websites, books, and interviews. Take some notes along the way, and then write an article. Usually, each article is a short history of a company that made significant contributions to the industry. For companies that still exist today, the end of these are articles are significantly more difficult to write (I usually write entirely in chronological order). Original sources are impossible to find, many news stories simply no longer exist, and I often find that I can only really rely on the company’s own quarterly or annual reports. This has only become worse over the few years I’ve been engaged in this hobby.

As my publication has grown, I’ve had the privilege of communicating directly with people present at the companies I cover, and this has been valuable. The problem is, many of these people are elderly and they won’t be around forever. For example, I wrote about PARC but was too late to interview Lynn Conway whose work is partially responsible for the entire world of processors we enjoy today.

Efforts like the archive and GOG are absolutely essential to the preservation of our history. I hope they manage to continue.

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

#476

Post by thewebguyd »

georgeecollins wrote: post #91
Fiveplus wrote: post #23

> Can I still download offline installers? Yes. This is the only line I was looking for. I stopped buying on Steam sometime ago because I realized I was just renting licenses. GOG is the only major storefront where I feel like I actually own the product. As long as offline installers remain a core tenet, I don't care who owns the company. That said, it helps that it's someone returning to their roots rather than a pr…

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…

Except we are at a point now where you almost do have to sell on Steam. If you aren't already huge, you aren't going to gain much traction, if any at all, for your game outside of Steam.

I remember when Steam launched, it was rightfully met with hostility. Somehow Valve managed to completely win over gamers, and they do good work, but lets not forget that they are quickly approaching monopoly status. Just because someone could sell on some other store doesn't mean it would be profitable to do so because of Steam's userbase.

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

#477

Post by embedding-shape »

throwaway6977 wrote: post #474
embedding-shape wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Human) summary of this almost one hour long video essay? Seems like the typical "random tech influencer is trying to fuel the fire/drama of today" because of the clickbait title of "NVIDIA: WTF?", so unsure if it fits to be linked here in the first place.

GN is a well established, popular and independent consumer hardware reviewer that has only a few peers on par with them in the space. Hardly some "random tech influencer".

Yeah, Paris Hilton and others are also established and popular, hardly makes them a source of authority. If you publish clickbait on YouTube to add fuel to drama, you're unfortunately digging your own hole and it shouldn't come as a surprise others consider you "random influencers who peddle drama".

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

#478

Post by freehorse »

Aurornis wrote: post #470
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’ve followed a couple indie game developers over the years who started with lofty ideas about selling DRM free games. As soon as they add an online component of any type (e.g. a leaderboard for ranks or high scores) they’re blown away by the number of connections coming in because the number of people playing the game is so much higher than they would have expected from sales alone. If you’re the kind of person who…

The question is, how many of the people who pirate a game would instead buy it if pirating is not an option? How many of the people who would try a new game by downloading a pirated copy will actually continue playing it, instead of just trying a bunch of different games, in which case they would prob have refunded anyway? The mere fact that X number of pirated copies are downloaded and executed does not mean that X number of sales would have happened.

Moreover, for offline games, there have always been ways to crack DRMs. I do not have data on that, but I have seen pirated versions of all these DRMed games and I doubt that DRM on its own actually inhibits pirating. Let's not forget that DRM precedes steam, and before it was usually about having to put the cd in order to launch the game. I have used cracks for games I actually owned because I did not want to use the cd, and often a damaged cd could mean being unable to play the game otherwise, even if all assets and files were installed on the hard drive. When a new kind of DRM came out, the only question was how long it would take for it to get cracked.

Pirating software comes with its own price/risks. The people who have less to lose are probably the ones that do not have the money to spend on all these games in the first place. In general going from number of pirated downloads to sales lost is far from straightforward. There is a lot of misunderstanding here about who and why downloads pirated games.

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

#479

Post by npodbielski »

NoahZuniga wrote: post #304
bcye wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they are just heavily reinvesting?

Reinvested money isn't a cost, so the amount of reinvesting doesn't impact the profit number in their report.

In what country? Of course I do not operate business with milions of income, but investing in Poland is usually a cost. In example buying hardware or paying for servers is an invoice so it is cost of you doing business. Of course it depends on accounting and your taxing method. But yes, your profit in Poland is more or less money you got from clients minus money you paid to someone.

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

#480

Post by immibis »

oriolid wrote: post #117
computerex wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People only pirate games because the publishers make it too painful to play games legally. I have pirated games that I own simply because it's easier to play. This pattern has been shown time and time again. When people pirate, it's usually due to a problem with the experience. People pay for convenience. Now a days a lot of people are pirating games because the quality of games has gone down the drain. Publishers ar…

I'm not completely convinced. When I was a teenager I pirated games because I didn't have money (and games were incredibly expensive back in the day). The people who I copied them from did it to show off their collection and connections, or just because they were my friends.

So basically your sources weren't lost sales because you don't show off your mad sk1llz by buying a game, and you weren't a lost sale because you had no way to buy it. But I'm sure you did talk about how cool the game was, including to some people who could buy it. This sounds fairly typical.
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