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Good Old Games is no more. Last time anyone said that, there were a lot more robes and hoods involved. This time, though, no one's gazing into the Internet's fiery maw and foretelling their own doom. Instead, this is more of a phoenix-rises-from-the-ashes-and-also-realizes-that-Machinarium-is-pretty-rad scenario – you know, just like in mythology. Newer big-budget games and indies will soon begin appearing on the rechristened service, with Trine 2 and The Whispered World already available and completely DRM-free. So then, why now? The short version, somewhat surprisingly, is Steam sales.
“I believe a huge majority of digital distribution platforms (from Apple’s App store to Valve’s Steam, and many others) have become gigantic black holes that sign hundreds of titles and run tons of promotional sales,” CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwinski told GameSpot. “Running so many discounts decreases the perceived value of our entire entertainment media. When you can buy a bundle of fantastic indie games for $1, it’s that much harder to convince someone to shell out $10 to try one indie game.”
“Of course you see a huge number of people buying games when they're on such incredible sale, but how many of them are enjoying the games they buy? Buying a dozen games, if you never play them, means that you're just a cow to be milked by the industry. I don't think this is good for the industry or the gamers who pay our salaries.”
The plan is to stock mainstream games sans DRM and bundle them with DLC to skyrocket their value even further. The catch, though, is that they'll appear on GOG a year or so after release, so as to put them back in the spotlight after their initial 15 seconds of fame has died down.
So really, it's now evolved into Good Not Quite As Old Games. Even so, GNQAOG is an acronym so hideous that bowls of alphabet soup have been known to emit a blood-curdling wail and spontaneously explode to avoid its unholy formation. So yeah, “GOG” is cool with us.
Comments are closed on this article
SuperTeams
April 04, 2012 at 5:39am
Now the trend is changing fast so the old games are replaced by the new ones. I appreciate your well written content. Thanks for the post.
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Wingzero_x
March 28, 2012 at 8:47pm
Hmmm, let's do the math I buy 10 games at $10, but only like one. Which could mean I paid $10 for that one game.Or I take a random choice of buying just one of those games and hope I don't waste my $10.
Scatter
March 28, 2012 at 12:16pm
I agree with something that he said. I'm a huge Steam fan but I admit that I'll wait until a Steam sale before I purchase a game. And I'm not even talking a 10%-25% off sale, I wait until a game is marked down to at least 50% to 75% off before I buy it. And you know why I do this? Because I know damn well that almost every game on Steam will eventually be on sale for up to 75% off.
And yeah, Steam trained me to do this.
But on the other hand, don't blame Steam for the Indy Bundles. These bundles aren't Steam specials even though most of the games that you get will be on Steam.
JohnP
March 28, 2012 at 11:55am
Shoot, at the prices some of the Steam games were going for during the holidays, it was worth buying the game even if I just watched the opening cinematics and played the tutorials. One game, hearts of iron 3, I just looked at the categories of the markers for a few hours (never even started the clock running). Amazing amount of detail. Yeah, I have a good dozen games that I have yet to even load up but a sale is a sale!
bling581
March 28, 2012 at 9:52am
“Of course you see a huge number of people buying games when they're on such incredible sale, but how many of them are enjoying the games they buy? Buying a dozen games, if you never play them, means that you're just a cow to be milked by the industry. I don't think this is good for the industry or the gamers who pay our salaries.”
If it weren't for the incredibly low prices during Steam sales I wouldn't have purchased a majority of the games I own period. There's always titles that seem interesting but I'm not about to pay $60 to find out how good or bad it is. Even $20 is borderline for "just trying it". Yeah, so I have a handful of games I got for $5 or less that I have barely (or not even) touched. At least they got some of my money. There aren't a lot of games that release demos anymore so if you aren't good at marketing don't cry if people don't buy your stuff. I really like it that you can play the full version of a game every weekend for free on Steam.
"When you can buy a bundle of fantastic indie games for $1, it’s that much harder to convince someone to shell out $10 to try one indie game.”
So if I pay $10 to "try" a game and I don't like it are you going to give me my money back? I seriously doubt it. There are dozens of games I'd like to try but I can't afford it at that price.
Conal_keaney
March 28, 2012 at 8:49am
I have to admit I have backlogs of games I have bought on steam due to bundle deals. But they're so good deals. I'll eventually have time to try them out. As much as I like Steam, it has it's faults not doubt but where else will I get good deals? I checked out GOG and I like it that it'll be my new small alternative for "good ol games". Nice alternative than that monstrosity called...Origin...
t.y.wan
March 28, 2012 at 7:46am
Bundling games that you just wouldn't play? Wait, isn't that the point of bundling them?
To be truly DRM-Free, just buy the game and apply a game fix... The last thing you want is playing singleplayer and got screwed by random steam or origin cut off... I just couldn't comprehend the reason behind storing all the singleplayer saves in "appdata" and steamcloud... What is wrong with just an ordinary folder in "My Documents"...
Anyways, the GOG website doesn't seem to have what I want and steam is just expensive... when they are not on sale... It is usually quite a bit cheaper to buy from amazon.co.uk = =" or obtain russian keys from some websites...
bling581
March 28, 2012 at 10:00am
"I just couldn't comprehend the reason behind storing all the singleplayer saves in "appdata" and steamcloud... What is wrong with just an ordinary folder in "My Documents"..."
I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that I have Steam games that place the saves in My Documents. I constantly backup my Skyrim saves and I believe those and my Mass Effect saves are in My Documents.
Scatter
March 28, 2012 at 12:07pm
I play Skyrim and Civilization V regularly and both of their save games are in my documents\my games\*.* folders.
lostcause64
March 28, 2012 at 7:21am
Honestly, I don't look at GOG and Steam as competitors. I see them as outlets that will sell me games I actually want to play, as in old or older games that I enjoy more than most modern titles, without the stupid pricing to go with them. Though, I do love the lack of DRM and not needing an internet connection once I've downloaded to make use of my games from GOG...
georgey
March 28, 2012 at 6:33am
Even if GOG remains more expensive than Steam, I'll always purchase from GOG first because their games are DRM free.
stradric
March 28, 2012 at 5:56am
Of course the numbers tell a different story. Cheap games result in more profits and a larger audience to enjoy the game. Everyone wins.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/24/less-is-more-gabe-newell-on-game-pricing/Another counterpoint to this "devaluing games" argument is that such a mindset ignores the actual market forces at play. $50 or $60 for a game is an arbitrary number set by gaming execs that doesn't take into account quality, quantity, polish, etc. One person might think Modern Warfare 10 is worth $60 while another might think it's a piece of shit not worth $5. By selling games at a discount (months after the release of the game), both types of consumer can be satisfied.
Additionally, the "first adopters" concept is alive in video games. The Skyrim first adopters, for example, paid $60+ and received a very buggy game. The more careful consumers waited and got a patched version of Skyrim on Steam in the holiday sale for $40. If anything, those people cherished the game more because they received such a great value. And Valve and Bethesda made out like bandits. Everyone is happy, save for the first adopters who may have had some buyer's remorse playing their buggy version of Skyrim.
The point is, value for a game is subjective and these arbitrary price tags set by publishers don't reflect what a game is worth to the individual consumer.
someuid
March 28, 2012 at 7:50am
I'd like to highlight stradric's statement:
"The point is, value for a game is subjective and these arbitrary price tags set by publishers don't reflect what a game is worth to the individual consumer."
This goes for more than just video games. This goes for economics in general. A healthy market is one where prices are allowed to rise and fall and quality is allowed to rise and fall. Those levels must be 'discovered' by doing business, allowing both sellers and buyers to chose whether to meet those price or quality points, or not meet them.
Anytime someone comes along and tries to force those price or quality points irregardless of what market participants want, will be doomed to fail eventually. Might take a few months or a few years, but it will fail.
Yoda9864
March 28, 2012 at 6:48am
I completely agree. The industry can't just place a game at $60 indefinitely and expect everyone who might possibly play the game to pony up that cash. Steam allows entry to those people who don't want to pay that much for the game and all parties still make a decent margin on the sale.
And FYI, I have no buyers remorse for buying Skyrim at the full $60 on opening night. I easily could have paid over $100 and still have had no remorse. :D
bling581
March 28, 2012 at 9:57am
"And FYI, I have no buyers remorse for buying Skyrim at the full $60 on opening night. I easily could have paid over $100 and still have had no remorse."
Exactly. I would have gladly paid more for Skyrim, but don't tell Bethesda that!
Console ports, and just bad games in general, are becoming more common so I have become more cautious in my purchases.
Suijen
March 28, 2012 at 4:01am
I don't think Trine 2 is on sale. Trine is, but it's priced quite high at $10. Overall, it's quite difficult for GOG to compete when Steam sale prices are quite low, and the sales tend to follow a rotation anyways.
Steam beats gog.com on price alone, but I prefer GOG for sales that are the same price. It's just cleaner, and Steam does mess up sometimes (at least for me).
Word of note, sometimes the Steam 75% sales are not that dramatic. The next time you see a game at 75% off, check the game on Amazon and you'll find it priced quite similarly also. Steam probably relies just on sales sales, because their regular price games are expensive.
GOG.com does have a point in that sales kind of pressure you to buy games that you'll never play. My backlog is huge.
pplrcrybabies
March 28, 2012 at 7:42am
There is no pressure, some people give in to temptation easily. I have gone through many of Steam's big sales not buying anything even though games were marked way down.
Yoda9864
March 28, 2012 at 7:02am
I will admit that I have about 70 games in my Steam library that I have never installed or played (dang bundles are so tempting! :P). But I certainly don't regret buying any of them. Usually it goes something like this: "Oooo, there's a game I want that's pretty cheap. Will I ever have time to play it? Possibly... Oooo, if I spend an extra $10, I will get it in this bundle with 5 other games. Sold!"
This has also allowed me to purchase games that I played in the past through not-so-legitimate means. Eases my conscience a bit :)
