GOG vs Abandonware

[HSharp]

QUOTE (BackTrak @ May 13 2011, 07:13 PM) Back to my original point. When GoG takes over a game they actively get it removed from Abandonware sites moving it back into the retail space. The game is now contributing into the development economy as money is now changing hands. This will have the effect of boosting the value of all games in a similar state. Because of this, software houses should be able to get more money for the rights for those games when it becomes time to sell those rights.

...

If I am comprehending this correctly you are saying that GoG is good because it will give small software developers more money when they get bought out by the big companies?

In regards to the money changing hands sure it's good for the economy, more trade and all that jazz, but I don't see how it's better for the gaming industry and I don't see how it's better for the gamers to pay for a service that already existed.

Abandonware is a beautiful thing, it spreads the joys of those classic games which were unavailable and many contributors went to dig out the old games they own which aren't available to share the fun, then along comes GoG and muddies it by charging for it, if they did it before abandonware then it would have been fine, it would be filling in a niche but the niche was already filled and they just decided to make money of it, it just seems underhanded and hardly with the interests of gamers in mind.

Another issue really is that some of the games aren't really worth it, yes they don't charge lots of money for the games but these are games that would have been sold in bargain bins for $1 in retail stores. Granted though value is whatever people are willing to pay for so if they have people willing to pay $5 and $10 dollars then good for them but I don't feel any issues in pirating instead.

[BackTrak]

QUOTE (HSharp @ May 13 2011, 01:32 PM) ...

If I am comprehending this correctly you are saying that GoG is good because it will give small software developers more money when they get bought out by the big companies?

Yes, that's it in a nutshell. By having a large entity like GoG making money on legacy games that drives up the value of legacy games. When a small software developer goes to sell the rights to their game they will now adjust the price for the rights to the new value of the game over that games new extended life, thus giving them more money. So, while GoG doesn't pay any money to developers who have already sold rights off, their actions will drive up the prices of future sales.

QUOTE (HSharp @ May 13 2011, 01:32 PM) Abandonware is a beautiful thing, it spreads the joys of those classic games which were unavailable and many contributors went to dig out the old games they own which aren't available to share the fun, then along comes GoG and muddies it by charging for it, if they did it before abandonware then it would have been fine, it would be filling in a niche but the niche was already filled and they just decided to make money of it, it just seems underhanded and hardly with the interests of gamers in mind.

I disagree with you here. If the owner of the game rights didn't explicitly turn those rights over to the public, and they didn't release the rights to the abandonware site, then the abandonware site is hosting a pirated game. That game is not theirs to host. If someone makes modifications to code that they don't own rights to, they really don't have a leg to stand on when that work becomes invalidated when the game appears on Steam later on. They have made modifications to a game that is not theirs to modify.

QUOTE (HSharp @ May 13 2011, 01:32 PM) Another issue really is that some of the games aren't really worth it, yes they don't charge lots of money for the games but these are games that would have been sold in bargain bins for $1 in retail stores. Granted though value is whatever people are willing to pay for so if they have people willing to pay $5 and $10 dollars then good for them but I don't feel any issues in pirating instead.

It doesn't matter if a software developer typed the letter 'A' into a text file and then charged $100 for each copy. Nor does it matter if I disagree with the politics of a major software house and how they do business. The value I place on an item does not mean I can force a price for that item, even if I feel it should be free. It's up to the people who own that intellectual property to make the determination when and how to sell it.

[HSharp]

I feel we are both having difficulty changing opinions. I do appreciate your way of view that it's helping the economy and Intellectual Property rights should be preserved however I am looking at GoG in the hippie type of way of that before GoG the games were already available but then they decided to do the same but charge for it so it seems pretty mean, not that it's personal to GoG, I suppose eventually some other company would have done or Steam would have tried to get into it first.

On regards to the piracy for value is whole different argument, but a main cause of piracy is the lack of value (or demo's in some cases)

[Adept]

QUOTE (Icky @ May 11 2011, 02:14 AM) I like abandonware a LOT. It reminds me of when I was a younger man, playing really awesome classics like Ultima Underworld, System Shock, etc.

Icky has great taste. Looking Glass studios ftw.

The question is harder. I also love abandonware, but without Steam only a few people would ever find and try classics like the original UFO: Enemy Unknown and it's X-Com apocalypse sequel.

In the balance, I guess I prefer them being sold cheaply over Steam to just fading away completely.

[HSharp]

QUOTE (Adept @ May 14 2011, 12:23 PM) The question is harder. I also love abandonware, but without Steam only a few people would ever find and try classics like the original UFO: Enemy Unknown and it's X-Com apocalypse sequel.

In the balance, I guess I prefer them being sold cheaply over Steam to just fading away completely.

I dunno about that. Can't find any steam metrics on how many downloads UFO:EU had, can't find any on Abandonia either but I can say on Abandonia that it is the number 2 in their top downloads of all time and it's not been available to download for a few years which can only say good things about it's popularity on Abandonia.

I would advise anyone with an interest in old gaming to head over to http://www.abandonia.com because you can still find classic games there which aren't on GoG or Steam (yet) like Fragile Allegiance, Cannon Fodder, Lemmings and much more.

Oh this leads me to another problem with GoG and Steam, they don't have all the good old games (in your face gog!) but by taking more and more of them it becomes less incentive to have an abandonware site as less people will donate and ad revenue goes down so the servers becomes too much to maintain and then you will have old games fading away completely into obscurity. GoG won't spend time on an old game which is unpopular but Abandonia makes no difference, I am sure there are games on abandonia which have download numbers <100 but they are still there, it is an archive of abandoned games so they can continue to live on.

Abandonia is the animal shelter taking care of the abandoned and giving them to new owners while GoG only takes the good looking animals and sells the animals. So ask yourself this, will you be happy when the abandonware websites go defunct and old those abandoned animals get put down, species lost forever! And I thought you were an environmentalist Adept! You make me sick!

[aem]

Personally I like GOG. They give old classics good exposure and everything they sell is DRM free. Prices are pretty reasonable at least when on sale and sales are frequent.

Although I enjoy an EA game occasionally, they have ruined way too many franchises. Gaming would be better today if EA was not around (and Activision). They are all about making a quick buck and their products are unpolished and take a lot of shortcuts.

Command & Conquer was never the same after EA got the rights. Most of their releases were decent but no where near the level of the older games. C&C4 was a disaster. Westwood was going a little downhill when they were acquired by EA though so it might not have made a huge difference.

The EA monopoly on football has left us no good options. I don't know why anyone would spend $60 on Madden or NCAA Football. I've given up on them ever making another good football game. If only 2K Football was still around...

Of course Dragon Age II is one of the best examples on what EA does to a franchise they acquire. There is a huge list of games they have ruined. They still do put out some good games (FIFA, NHL, some of the Need for Speed games), but EA sucks.

The real truth is that gaming overall is just getting worse and worse. Companies focus on graphics and marketing and not nearly enough effort is put into gameplay, story, and depth/replay value. There are hardly any games from the current generation that are really memorable. While on older systems there are countless games I thoroughly enjoyed and would love to go back and replay. I've spent way more money on older games (SNES, PS2, Xbox, even GBA) recently than current gen games.

[Broodwich]

QUOTE (Grimmwolf_GB @ May 10 2011, 11:24 PM) I actually like the idea of GoG. They might sell the game, but the also advertise the good old games to a new generation of players that would just live on without knowing the games. Also, the prices are quite low and there is no DRM implemented. I think it is a good way of obtaining legal games running on new computers without hassle.

i agree with this. steam typically puts those old games up for advertisement as maybe part of a pack or something and make it much more visible than they would be where otherwise you would never know about it/where to find it unless you were specifically looking for that game. And like bt says, sooner or later that money is going to get back to devs