gog.com shut down
polycounter lvl 17
http://www.gog.com/
(for those not in the know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Old_Games)
well shit, that was rather sudden.
real shame, this site was as good as it got. bought a lot of stuff on there, would have bought a lot more if it were still sticking around. I've got to give thanks for all they did to preserve some great history.
I'm really hoping there's a more in-depth explanation to why it was shut down. On a blindly optimistic note, I'm really hoping they're just pulling some sick joke for pulling out of Beta.
(for those not in the know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Old_Games)
well shit, that was rather sudden.
real shame, this site was as good as it got. bought a lot of stuff on there, would have bought a lot more if it were still sticking around. I've got to give thanks for all they did to preserve some great history.
I'm really hoping there's a more in-depth explanation to why it was shut down. On a blindly optimistic note, I'm really hoping they're just pulling some sick joke for pulling out of Beta.
Replies
There are some rumors that suggest exactly that (posts to financial forums warning them about the announcement beforehand). Which, if true, would make this an amazingly dick move. I mean, why punk your loyal customers like that?
It's a pretty stupid joke to pull though, but it could be a publicity stunt.
They might also be doing something drastic like changing the name of the service as well.
If it is a joke then I will seriously rethink buying anymore games from them.
It's a marketing stunt, as predicted.
The guy who came up with it should be fired.
Sure, it brings them a little attention, but remember they're competing for attention with a lot of other things that are positive in nature, and bigger, way bigger. All people will remember from this stunt is, "Hey? Didn't that crappy little service shut down? Well I'm not going to buy anything from them if they're going to disappear like that!" Then people will go and play the next new thing that's come out and promptly forget again.
Sure, any press is press, but sometimes the kind of press you get really matters. GTA and the like can get by on controversy, but that controversy didn't say the game was crap and broken.
You pay 5 or 10 bucks for a game, and your account gets unlimited access to a single .exe installer for that particular game with no DRM included, and pretty comprehensive support for any modern operating system.
I'd like to see exactly what the CEO had to say before I feel inclined to believe the NeoGAF post.
Anyway, new info is supposed to be up tomorrow so I suppose we just need to wait and see.
Good luck to em though,I hope they're not gone for too long. its a good service.
The whole thing is worded in such a way to make the point that they are moving forward with gog.com and taking the next step with their development (a bit like what we did with the new Polycount).
It was a spaz way of doing it and should have been handled differently, but there's no need to get your panties in a bunch.
The information they are giving isnt clear in any way shape or form.
When they do open the access for people to redownload the games they've bought, perhaps there is going to be lots of people downloading all their games. Maybe they wont have enough bandwith or enough time for everyone to get all their games. Maybe redownloading your games is going to come with certain caveats.
It just goes to show how much you cannot trust these digital company's. There are no laws,(there are but isnt clear where it lies or what protections consumers have). The company's think they can make an eula which says anything they like and everything in it is enforcable/legal.
The always have the clause in the eula saying, we are allowed to change anything we want at any time without any notice. When any proper company is not allowed to do that. Like my cable company if they are doing maintenance which means my internet service may go down, they must give adequate written notice. My bank must provide me with adequate written notice, when there is a change of terms.
With this I have no idea what is going to happen when or if it returns in what shape or form. Why would anyone not be bothered or worried about something like this?
you can't defend this, the wording is horrible, it reads just like every other complete shut down message I've ever seen.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23420772&postcount=385
Edit: Also, this is from GOG's official Twitter account:
Sounds like MP3.com's closure message, sure it didn't actually go away but it's relaunch was not mp3.com. My guess, higher prices, DRM... they got lawyered up by publishers wanting more money for their back catalog.
Possibly DRM.
anyone see the vid on youtube?
[ame]
Why is baldurs gate shown at the end? I didnt think they had that or id have bought it. Also the UI they show in the montage looks new. Im pretty sure this closure is bullshit.
"Welcome to GOG.com, your one-stop-shop for all your mortgage needs!"
"Returning customers get a %2 APR bonus, sign in now!"
stick around gog, we love you. Word has it Baldur's Gate is getting the royal treatment soon.
"First of all we would like to apologize everyone who felt deceived or harmed in any way by us closing down GOG.com without any warning and without giving access to your games. We apologize for that from the bottom of our hearts!
Now it's time we put an end to all the speculations once and for all. Its true that we decided that we couldn't keep GOG.com the way it was so we wont. As you probably know by now, GOG.com is entering its new era with an end of the two-years beta stage and we're launching a brand new GOG.com with new, huge releases.
The new GOG.com will launch at 8.00 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. CET). Later today we'll provide you here 4 videos where you'll find all needed information on current events, as well as news on the new GOG.com, the upcoming big releases and the summary of the last two years."
www.gog.com
I like how they say they did it because their is not enough lite heartedness. Its like they dont even get it at all. Whatever you do you dont fuck with your customers, if you want those customers to continue being so. The joked that you wouldnt be able to access the games you bought any more, the one thing I used it for, thats not fucking cricket.
enthusiast gamers are a way sensitive bunch these days. besides the misinformation you heard about not being able to download your games again, (the original statement read, "we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games.") there was no harm done.
we're not neogaf. no point getting all hot and bothered over something like this. : ) all due respect
I'm angry at a business that decided to throw out all sense and common business practice for some shits and giggles.
The harm they did was making me not trust a service I thought I could trust. I thought the whole point of it was similar to steam where you buy the products and then they are kept with your account so you can download them when you want, that I didnt have to keep them stored on my pc or a blank disc somewhere, but, now I know.
This.
Maybe not the 'best' way to go about it, but consider the alternative, from their perspective.
'Hey! You know that site that some gamers don't even know about? The one that sells games that even fewer gamers are old enough to remember, or care about? Well, we're relaunching! Isn't that awesome?'
So, a few people got upset. No real harm done. Let's all take a deep breath, and go play outside.
Why would you not trust it anymore? I really don't get that.
They olny took it down for a couple of days to get the new site up and running, and even then they said a solution was going to a be in place in order to let people continue download all the games they had already bought for as many times as they wanted, so I really don't get it how it stoped being a trustworthy service. All they did was when they took it down, they played a little gag. I have bought games there and was pretty happy to know it was all a joke, and will be able to continue buy new games. Besides, the fact that they are coming out of Beta proves that the service is being successfull and is trustworthy.
And I _will_ do that comparison because gog.com is serious shit for alot of people in the way they're bringing back very old and awesome games.
Because they just pissed on loyal customers, people whom pay money to them. When things come down to money its not a game or a laugh. You buy a service you expect a certain service(they defined what their service would be)then without any warning they reneged on that service. Thought it would be funny to lie to people and withhold that service.
Frankly I dont see how anyone can find this reasonable or acceptable. No real business would do something like this, this joke hits at the root of their service. Even with their apology, they are laughing at the customers.
If you word it and present it like some overnight shutdown, people will panic. It's not unheard of. Your userbase will miss your service that they've used and have been happy with. They will panic that the games they've bought won't be accessible in the future.
Funnily enough, they will feel wronged when you shittily slap them in the face, spring out of a shit-covered cake, and shout a shitty "Hah! Just shitting kidding!".
I really don't see, from any angle, why they've pulled this crappy stunt.
The internet is full of drama queens -- that's what makes it fun -- so this is just business as usual. Everyone who is 'pissed off' will forget about it as soon as another 'scandal' hits, which shouldn't take much more than a couple of hours.
Super smart.
Would you feel more comfortable if the news were true?
Even better, what if this prank was pulled on the 1st of April? A lot of people would still believe it was true for longer than that day, and then forgive them and take it all lightly. so what's the difference?
The thing is, it just seems to me that people tend to only read half the news, usually the half that lets them be angry and pissed at everything. They always said they were going to keep the service one way or another, and they always said they would guarantee that all the games people had already bought would still be available for download as before, and the regular service would just be down for a couple of days. Seriously guys, lighten up.
Well, it's not like we've never been lied to by a games company :P
the new vids posted on gog.com clear it all up. looks great
I bought 6 games from them previously but they have completely lost my business from this retarded stunt. I dont like to give my money to companies that are willing to lie to me out right in order to get a little online media buzz.
*checks the new games section*
baldurs gate..
yay...
http://www.gog.com/en/news/the_launch_slightly_delayed/0
"we're having 20 times the biggest traffic we have ever had in our history!"