Slashdot Log In
DRM-Free Classic Games Store Opens To Public
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Oct 25, 2008 04:30 AM
from the give-the-people-what-they-want dept.
from the give-the-people-what-they-want dept.
arcticstoat writes "With all the controversy surrounding DRM in games at the moment, one games store has decided to buck the trend, proudly proclaiming that all its games are DRM-free. First announced back in July, Good Old Games is now in the public beta stage, which means that anyone can now access the site's archive of classic PC games, and you can do what you want with your game when you've bought it, too. 'You won't find any intrusive copy protection in our games; we hate draconian DRM schemes just as much as you do,' says the site. 'Once you download a game, you can install it on any PC and re-download it whenever you want, as many times as you need, and you can play it without an internet connection.'"
In related news, Stardock, the company responsible for the Gamer's Bill of Rights, is apparently working on a new copy-protection solution that will be friendlier to consumers than current schemes.
Related Stories
[+]
Game Distribution and the 'Idiocy' of DRM 271 comments
In light of the increased focus on the DRM controversy in recent days, Ars Technica did an interview with execs from CD Projekt's Good Old Games about where the problems are with current DRM implementation. "For me, the idiocy of those protection solutions shows how far from reality and from customers a lot of executives at big companies can be. You don't have to be a genius to check the internet and see all the pros and cons of those actions." Penny Arcade is also running a three-part series on DRM from game journalists Brian Crecente and Chris Remo. Crecente talks about how some companies are making progress in developing acceptable DRM, and some aren't. Remo recommends against a trend of overreaction to minor gripes.
[+]
Stardock Evaluates DRM Complaints, Updates Gamer's Bill of Rights 279 comments
Earlier this year, we discussed the Gamer's Bill of Rights, a document put forth by Stardock CEO Brad Wardell to address what he felt were the unacceptable characteristics of the gaming industry. ShackNews reports that Wardell has taken feedback from gamers, developers, and publishers, and updated the document accordingly. One particular area on which he focused was DRM. Stardock also published a customer report that examines the issue in greater detail (PDF). MTV's Multiplayer Blog fans the flames of the debate by asking if anyone is embarrassed about pirating video games.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Whoa (Score:5, Informative)
I'm pretty surprised that they managed to get all these out on the start. I expected one or two good games, but whoa, Descent? Earthworm Jim? Fallout? Gothic? MDK? Operation Flashpoint? Shogo?
It's like I died and got zombified in the better part of the 90's!
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Whoa (Score:4, Informative)
I just downloaded the Descent and Descent 2 package, and yes they do indeed use DOSBox.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
They apparently all run under XP and Vista:
http://www.gog.com/en/about_us/#4 [gog.com]
4. All games are Vista and XP compatible.
Thanks to our handsome programming team, the classics are now Windows Vista and Windows XP compatible. Now you can use your lightning-fast PC to unleash the full potential of those games you just couldnâ(TM)t play properly on that busted old 386.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
A good selection and a good price ($6 each). The one question remaining is, what platform do they require?
You mean: does it run on linux?
That's what I'd like to know too, actually.
Re:Whoa (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder who the money goes to, though... In the case of Fallout 1 and 2, certainly not the developer, since Black Isle is long gone. So.. whoever hold distribution rights now, is that sill Interplay or did they sell everything to Bethesda? My point being, if your rationale for paying for games is supporting the devs, then buying some of these classics may not do that at all.
Could be. Supporting the devs is probably best done by buying within a year of release. But by buying you might still give a signal that there's a demand for this kind of game.
Parent
Re:Whoa (Score:5, Insightful)
Since when did one need a rationale for paying for things that cost money?
It's pirates who have to go to extra lengths to justify their behaviour, not purchasers.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You'd rather pay $5 (plus shipping) and deal with ebay, paypal, and an unknown seller than pay $6 to download them?
Freespace FTW (Score:3, Informative)
I bought Freespace 1/2 off of GOG and played it on my Mac through FS2_Open, the open sourced FS engine... a kick ass game, in beautiful high res graphics. This is how all abandonware should work ;).
And it sure as hell beat the X-Wing / Tie-Fighter series out of the water in terms of innovative mission design.
Plus, their site is really slick, clean and easy to use.
a little high for some of these old games... (Score:2)
The price is a bit on the high side for some of the old games. Battle chess for $6?
Now that the canadian dollar has tanked again, that's closer to $20.
I might be a little more interested in buying some of the really old games for something more in the neighbourhood of $3.
You can get a sale on steam sometimes for some new indie games around $6-$8.
Re:a little high for some of these old games... (Score:4, Insightful)
And how would they make a profit from that price? I imagine the publisher / developer needs to get a slice of the pie too. And then there's the cost of the servers, etc... That $3 would be eaten up fast with likely little to not profit being made.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
its a 44 mb file.. storage is trivial, bandwidth is trivial on that. The other more recent games (games as recent as 2004 and actually worth $10). I imagine that the publisher/developer takes a percentage and not a fixed fee per game. You make it up in volume that is how business works. You don't make the same profit on every single item in your store.
Some items you sell few of but are high margin, other items are low margin but you move in high volume. At $3 battle chess is an impulse buy with some other g
Needs more (Score:3, Insightful)
Looks good so far, but their library is still a little limited. I still have copies of most of the games I'd want to buy.
Now if they get access to Sierra and LucasArts' back catalogue, then we're in business.
this site is tops (Score:4, Informative)
I signed up and bought Hostile Waters on Thursday.
GoG.com is easily the best online buying experience I have ever had.
The selection is quite good but currently limited (I already own 20 of the 40+ titles). Most titles are $6, with a few more recent ones at $10.
The site design itself is excellent, with a global wishlist, ratings, reviews, and forums. Buying was totally painless.
Games are DRM-free downloads, pre-patched, XP/Vista compatible, come with installers, have extra download materials (like manuals), and get game-specific support sections and forums.
I'll definitely be shopping there again.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
You're Missing A Point (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:You're Missing A Point (Score:5, Interesting)
for the sake of $6-$10 I'd just pay it. If that is more money going to the original creators, or even just stores that explicitly sell their games as DRM free, then I think it's a good thing.
Anyone could get virtually any game, movie, album or TV program for free if they wanted. It's just that not everybody is a dick.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
So? What's your point? How long will those torrents or FTP servers stay up? GOG has a longer chance of being active than either of those two options. So essentially GOG is still easier to use than the alternatives. Everything is done for you. You pay a small fee.
The time you spent trolling on here, you could've spent that time earning $6.
Re:No DRM? (Score:5, Insightful)
No DRM? Good news for pirates!
No, good news for honest buyers.
Let's divide people into three groups: those who buy, those who make the pirated (DRM-free) version, and those who pirate.
Those who buy will now get a better product.
Those who pirate never see the DRM in the first place.
Those who make the pirated version will have an easier time; this benefits the pirates ever so slightly, but DRM is often defeated faster than you can say Yo-Ho, so the benefit is ever so slight.
The real winners, whenever DRM is removed, are the honest consumers.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That really does depend on the DRM, though. I quite agree that the best option is no DRM, but that's not to say that all DRM is equally bad.
The DRM in Mass Effect was a right pain. Forget the limited-activations issue -- it nearly prevented me from activating the game once, thanks to a locale-related bug that suggests that the underlying code is incredibly poorly written. I shall never play another game that uses SecuROM, period.
On the
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Stardock != Starforce
That took me a whole 2 minutes. (Score:4, Informative)
Look harder. [gog.com] Linked from the front page and everything.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Yup, you just like to bitch.
The fact is, 99% of the people using GOG aren't going to care about DOSBOX. The only thing they care about is that they have a hassle free way of getting their favorite classics to run on their newer PC. That little thanks that you expect on every single page will just clutter the layout
Besides, their thanks page isn't hidden. Using hyperbole to drive home your bitchiness doesn't make it your point any more valid.