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GoG & DRM Interview

[Sep 26, 2008, 2:59 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

Good Old Games and the "idiocy" of DRM on Ars Technica is an interview with Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director at Good Old Games. and Michal Kicinski. CEO of CD Projekt. about GOG.com, CD Projekt's online home of good old games. They discuss various aspects of this DRM-free marketplace, including the difficult time they've had convincing publishers of the benefits of offering their software without copy protection: "Just like most innovative projects, GOG.com needs to overcome some stereotypes and obstacles which exist in the gaming industry. It's very hard for us—entrepreneurs who work hard to make a profit—to understand the corporate approach. We are able to show publishers that selling DRM-free old games will bring them additional revenue without extra costs, and the best part is that we can handle the organizational stuff."

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14.	No subject	Sep 29, 2008, 13:58	danebramage
	I agree that these guys are doing it right. Everything about their site and service impresses me. Having been burned by Matrix Games in the past, I particularly like their "unlimited downloads of purchased games" policy (Matrix makes you pay extra, and even then limits the length of time you can download). Also, since I run Linux, the no-DRM thing is awesome. Windows CD checks don't work under Linux, so otherwise you have to use no-CD cracks. Last but not least, every game I've bought so far (four of them) run flawlessly under Linux, which isn't the case with the original programs. Linux isn't officially supported by GOG, but it seems it might as well be.

13.	Re: I love you guys at GOG	Sep 27, 2008, 11:42	ldonyo
	You can sign up and start buying games by going to gog.com/beta and using S2WVM63A as your invite code. I've picked up DRM-free versions of Fallout and Fallout 2 because Vista did not like the original game CDs.

12.	Re: Shareholders	Sep 27, 2008, 07:44	Jerykk
	So I'm not bashing CD Projekt because I love them, but I thought it might be good to give you and perhaps them -- if they read this -- another perspective of why EA continues to use DRM to their lasting injury. I think most of us know that it's all about pleasing investors. That doesn't make it any less lame. As a gamer, I really don't care about any of that. I just care about the games. If you make crappy games or add crappy protection that taints games, I couldn't care less about your financial motivations. As a customer, I care only about the product you provide and if it is unsatisfactory, the blame rests solely on you. If EA truly realizes how worthless DRM is, they should make efforts to remove it and explain why it is unnecessary to the parties concerned. It's very easy to provide evidence as to DRM's failures. A quick glance at the torrents shows that it doesn't stop pirates. A quick check of the torrent dates shows that it doesn't really slow them down either. A look at any gaming forum or Amazon user review shows that it pisses off current and potential customers.

11.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 27, 2008, 00:55	Ecthelion
	I recently re-installed Baldur's Gate 2 and GAH. 800x600 is fucking horrible. You do know BG2 supports resolutions higher than 800x600 natively, right? I played it at 1024x768 back when the game first came out. There is also this: http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/

10.	Shareholders	Sep 26, 2008, 23:05	kxmode
	Shareholders are the single largest threat to the video game industry. I'm sure there are a few shareholders that are avid video gamers but the majority are not. Shareholders place unrealistic expectations on corporate firms like EA to provide maximum ROI. To EA's benefit and detriment they place harsh, unethical copy-protection schemes in their products because this looks good to the shareholders. You can argue the real reason behind DRM is to squash the secondary market (e.g. used game sales), and this is true, but even this reason goes to the very heart of what a publicly traded corporation is supposed to do. EA's job, for all intents and purposes, is to provide the most profit to their shareholders by any means necessary. So even if EA decided SecuROM and DRM in general was bad for their customers, the fact is the moment Shareholders feel their investment is threatened they will either sell their shares or they'll hold their shares and not purchase additional stock in EA. And you know EA is not going to permit that to happen. CD Projekt has to look at this from a Wall Street perspective. Our friends at CD Projekt DON'T live in Wall Street so they're insulated from Shareholder wrath. The only things CD Projekt needs to worry about is making great products, turning a profit, and keeping the fans happy. This is a lot easier to do when you're independent and you have a healthy cash-flow; thanks to GOG and The Witcher. So I'm not bashing CD Projekt because I love them, but I thought it might be good to give you and perhaps them -- if they read this -- another perspective of why EA continues to use DRM to their lasting injury. ----- http://www.gamemusicjukebox.com/ Game p/reviewer for http://www.gameindustry.com/ DRM needs to die... now This message was edited at Sep 27, 00:27.




	end-of-line

9.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 22:57	Creston
	I would pay 50 bucks for Xwing, Tie Fighter and Alliance to be redone with a new engine What's wrong with the old engine? It was one of the few that actually made you feel like you were moving through space, rather than space was moving around your fixed little dot. Granted, it would need some higher resolutions. I recently re-installed Baldur's Gate 2 and GAH. 800x600 is fucking horrible. Dunno how you'd map all the engine/shield/weapons controls though unless you did them all through a toggle type system. Uhm, PC keyboards have about 108 keys? Creston

8.	I love you guys at GOG	Sep 26, 2008, 22:54	Creston
	Please stop with this beta nonsense and allow people to sign up and buy shit. Much obliged. Creston

7.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 21:05	Ecthelion
	They aren't 'totally separate'. They all moved into 1 big place so they all could share stuff among the groups. Maybe not "totally" separate then, but my point was that Lucas has very little to do with LucasArts beyond the name. He was the force behind modifying the original trilogy (they are his movies, after all), so without his input into the games, there wouldn't be a reason to "fix" everything. He cares about his movies, because they're like his children. I doubt he spends much time thinking about LucasArts Star Wars games. This message was edited at Sep 26, 21:06.

6.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 20:53	Dwarf_Snowninja
	I'd kill for a remade tie fighter :x. Loved the Missile Boat with the slam-afterburner thing. Dunno how you'd map all the engine/shield/weapons controls though unless you did them all through a toggle type system.

5.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 19:34	The Half Elf
	They aren't 'totally separate'. They all moved into 1 big place so they all could share stuff among the groups. I would pay 50 bucks for Xwing, Tie Fighter and Alliance to be redone with a new engine. Leave all the sounds/missions alone just a brand new 3d engine. Hell there is even enough buttons on a 360/PS3 controller to support it as well.

4.	Re: Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 17:34	Ecthelion
	LucasArts and LucasFilm are totally separate. Plus I doubt they would want to have to go back into DOS and Windows code to change their old games, since they've moved onto consoles pretty much exclusively.

3.	Lucasarts	Sep 26, 2008, 17:16	raVen
	my only fear about lucasarts is that they'd want to 'fix' everything and by fix I mean break it like they did with the original IV-VI...

2.	Re: No subject	Sep 26, 2008, 16:49	Ecthelion
	These people really get it. I am really impressed with GOG so far. I just hope more publishers start to see that they're a service worth putting their games on. Getting LucasArts would be a huge boost for GOG and get them even more well-deserved publicity.

1.	No subject	Sep 26, 2008, 16:14	nin
	Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Lucasarts! Quit fuckin around and get the ISOs on the way over to CD Projekt! ------------------------------------------------ http://theslip.nin.com/ "The Bellic boys! Taking over your town, assholes!"




	http://www.ninja2009.com/

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