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DRM-Free Classic Games Store Opens To Public
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.
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!
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams [...]."
You can probably download most of these games anyway. And it's not like DRM ever stopped pirates.
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.
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.
Yes, but how well will the pirated versions play on XP or Vista? They might do ok on XP, but it seems with each newer iteration of Windows, compatibility mode works less and less. With GOG, you don't have to worry about downloading a few programs just to get them to work. You can pay a small fee and just have the game work. That's the intent. A cheap classic without DRM that will be guaranteed to work on Vista? Yes please!
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.
Stardock != Starforce
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 other hand, the only way I know Valve's games have DRM is because I've been told it. I'd never have noticed otherwise, because buying from Steam has been completely hassle-free.
How about this rationale: By increasing the profit potential for really good games (even a decade after their original release!), we encourage game companies to make more really good games. Otherwise they'll just focus on short-term gains with yet another Sims expansion pack.
Cynicism, like dogmatism, can be an excuse for intellectual laziness. - Susan Shirk
Look harder. Linked from the front page and everything.
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
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.
Soylens viridis homines es
all those DRM'less digital download games are perfect for netbooks without optical drives. a jolly good idea that i will be supporting.
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.
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.