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GOG.com

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GOG Ltd
File:Screenshot of GOG.com homepage.jpg
Screenshot of GOG.com's homepage
Type of businessLimited company (subsidiary of CD Projekt RED)
Type of site
Digital distribution
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
Larnaca
,
Cyprus
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleGuillaume Rambourg (Managing director)
IndustryInternet, Computer and video games
ParentCD Projekt RED S.A.
URLGOG.com
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedAugust 1, 2008 (2008-08-01)[1]
Current statusActive

GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a computer game sale and distribution service operated by GOG Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt RED based in Larnaca, Cyprus.[3] GOG delivers "classic" video games through its DRM-free digital platform for Windows and Mac OS X. In March, 2012, it began selling more recent titles such as The Witcher 2, Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, among many others.[4][5]

Features

The games can be purchased and downloaded online, and they are distributed without digital rights management. The prices of products typically range from about $5 to $10 for older games, along with special offers held occasionally. Newer games may have different price points.

In order to ensure compatibility with newer versions of Microsoft Windows, some games are pre-patched or bundled with Open Source emulation and compatibility software, such as ScummVM and DOSBox. Unlike some other services, the games do not use digital rights management[6] and the user does not have to install special client software to download or run the games,[7] although an optional download manager is available. After downloading, the games and their extras are not restricted to the customer's GOG.com account and the user is free to archive them on any personal storage media forever.

Along with purchasing the games, customers are also able to download numerous extra material relating to the game they purchased. Often these extras include the game's soundtrack, wallpapers, avatars, and manuals. GOG also offers full customer support for all purchases.

Promotions are organized regularly. The style of these promotions varies from a discount for products that are bought in bundles, to thematic competitions like riddles, “guess a game from a picture” contests or “best time on a specific level”. Also, GOG gives away promotion codes for a game with review contests.

History

File:Gog 20081023 1280x1024.png
GOG.com's homepage as it appeared in beta

On March 26, 2009, GOG announced it had signed a deal with Ubisoft to publish games from their back catalogue; this was the first deal with a major publisher to offer DRM-free downloads. The deal to publish through GOG also included games that were not available through any other online distribution channel.

During a period of days from September 19 to 22, 2010, the GOG website was disabled leaving behind messages on the web site and their Twitter accounts that the site had been closed.[8] A spokesperson for Good Old Games reiterated that the site is not being shut down, and confirmed news would be forthcoming about changes to the service.[9] A clarification posted on the site on September 20, 2010, said they had to shut down the site temporarily "due to business and technical reasons", with industry journalists believing the shutdown may be related to the nature of DRM-free strategy, based on Twitter messages from the company.[10]

However, on September 22, 2010, GOG revealed that this shutdown was a marketing hoax as part of the site coming out of beta.[11][12] The site's management, aware of the reactions to the fake closure, stated: "First of all we’d like to apologize to everyone who felt deceived or harmed in any way by the closedown of GOG.com. As a small company we don’t have a huge marketing budget and this is why we could not miss a chance to generate some buzz around an event as big as launching a brand new version of our website and even more important, bringing back Baldur’s Gate to life!"[11]

The site returned on September 23, 2010, with an improved storefront and additional benefits, as outlined during a webcast presentation.[13] During the presentation, GOG's co-founder Marcin Iwinski and managing director Guillaume Rambourg had dressed as monks to atone for their sins.[14] The relaunch of the site was considered by Rambourg to have been successful, having brought new customers that were previously unaware of GOG.[15]

As promised after its relaunch, GOG was able to offer several Black Isle Studios games such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale which have previously been unreleased through any download service due to legal issues between the ownership of Dungeons & Dragons-related games between Atari, Hasbro, and other companies.[16][17]

On March 27, 2012, GOG announced that it was branching out to feature "AAA" and independent titles in addition to older games. The site was rebranded to GOG.com.[18]

In October 2012, GOG.com was announced to be bringing DRM-free games to the Mac. This included the previously Steam exclusive (Mac version) The Witcher and The Witcher 2, both made by CD Projekt RED.

Available games

As of May 23, 2013, there are 565 games available on GOG.[19] More games are made available on the service regularly. GOG.com has signed deals with a number of publishers, including:

3

References

  1. ^ Callaham, John (July 10, 2010). "GOG (Good Old Games) to offer classic PC DRM-free games for download". Big Download. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  2. ^ "Gog.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Web Site Terms and Conditions of Use". GOG.com. May 30, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (2012-03-24). "GoG.com to become "bigger, fresher, newer" on March 27". VG24/7. Retrieved 20123-01-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Vilches, Jose (October 19, 2012). "Good Old Games brings all-time classics to the Mac". TechSpot. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  6. ^ Caron, Frank (September 25, 2008). "Good Old Games and the 'idiocy' of DRM". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  7. ^ Caron, Frank (September 9, 2008). "First look: GOG revives classic PC games for download age". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  8. ^ Good, Owen (September 19, 2010). "What's Happening With Good Old Games?". Kotaku. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  9. ^ Pereira, Chris (September 20, 2010). "Good Old Games Undergoing Changes But Not Shutting Down". 1UP.com. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  10. ^ Graft, Kris (September 20, 2010). "Reboot For DRM-Free PC Game Download Service GOG.com?". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Graham (September 22, 2010). "GOG hoax: "we could not miss a chance to generate some buzz"". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  12. ^ Martin, Joe (September 22, 2010). "GOG relaunches, admits closure was a hoax". bitgamer.net.
  13. ^ Walker, John (September 22, 2010). "Good Old Games Gets New, Relaunches". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  14. ^ Graft, Kris (September 22, 2010). "'Monks' Confirm Good Old Games PR Stunt, Site Relaunch". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  15. ^ Graft, Kris (September 24, 2010). "In-Depth: GOG's Monk Fiasco And The Fight For Publicity". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  16. ^ Graft, Kris (December 19, 2009). "Hasbro Files Suit Against Atari Over Dungeons & Dragons Deal". Gamasutra. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  17. ^ Purchase, Robert (September 28, 2010). "Planescape: Torment re-released at last". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  18. ^ "Bigger. Fresher. Newer. See what's new on GOG.com". GOG.com. March 27, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  19. ^ "Games Catalogue". GOG.com.

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