I play wherever I can legally acquire a game the cheapest which in my country is almost always Steam thanks to regional pricing.
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In this regard GOG is actually better than steam, as they give some store credit for us in the EU if you buy something with an unfavourable regional price compared to the US
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GOG is only better than Steam in that regard if Steam don't have regional pricing. Plus you still have to pay full price and the credit is restricted to GOG, being able to buy a game cheaper doesn't necessarily mean you want to spend the difference on another game.
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How is GOG's system better in this regard if steam does not have regional pricing?
GOG's system is better IF there's regional pricing in play, not if one of them lacks regional pricing (if one lacks regional pricing, and the other has regional pricing, then the place without regional pricing is better).
Getting store credit is better than not getting store credit, and even if you don't want to spend the difference on games "now", it gets saved to your account, so if you decide to buy something half a year down the line, that saved store credit will lower the price on that purchase.
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Outside of a handful of places like Australia where games costs more regional pricing is usually used to refer to the lower prices found in places like Russia and South America. If you're in Russia then Steam with regional pricing will be cheaper than GOG without.
Getting store credit is better than not getting store credit
Generally speaking this is true but it's taking the choice out of your hands. I'd rather spend a little extra now and be free to shop where I please next time around.
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If you read my reply to heilurmes though, you'll see that I specifically mentioned when there's a price difference between EU & US. This is still regional pricing. I assumed that this was what you replied to me about, as that was what the conversation was about that you replied to.
Generally speaking this is true but it's taking the choice out of your hands. I'd rather spend a little extra now and be free to shop where I please next time around.
Why does it take the choice out of my hand? If I have 5€ in store credit from GOG for having bought a regional priced game, there's nothing that forces me to make my next few purchases there. I can't think of a single situation where I would rather not get store credits instead of getting store credits, all else being equal.
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there's nothing that forces me to make my next few purchases there.
Again, true, but you now have no choice but to go back there (even though you probably would be doing so anyway).
This is exactly how places like Gamestop can thrive. Someone goes in with a pile of stuff to trade-in and takes credit to get a more reasonable price for them, having credit they are then stuck with Gamestop. Gamestop knowing this are then free to charge their signature ridiculous prices.
I know publishers set the prices and GOG are making up the difference "out of their own pocket" but all this is is predatory marketing to lock users into GOG purchases and I'm saying that as a supporter of most of GOG's practices.
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Can you save credit at Gamestop? Last time I checked, which granted, was well over a decade ago, you could not, you had to spend the credit that you got right away from tradein, creating a really different dynamic compared to a place where each purchase gives a small amount of store credit. With Gamestop (as I know it at least), you were trading in a game to get an immediate "discount" on a title
I would not consider store credits to be predatory. It in the end benefits the customer, as it results in them having to spend less money to get what they want. The customer just needs to be aware of the fact that just because a store offers store credit does not mean that it will always be the best deal.
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GOG recently released Star Wars Episode I: Racer - game that was totally broken and unplayable on moders PCs, and at the same time was opne of my most beloved childhood games and to this very day remains my most favoritue racing game ever <3
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If you count games that are on Steam but are unplayable for technical reasons, while on GOG they made an effort and made them playable (by reverse-engineering and stuff, in some cases), then there are alot more games "exclusive" to GOG.
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From what I have on my accounts and played
Origin
Alice: Madness Returns™ (game removed from steam)
Medal of Honor™ Pacific Assault+Allied Assault
uplay
Might and Magic 1 to 6 Collection
its cheap on tremor (395 coins, but 2 Items Remaining :O)
http://www.tremorgames.com/index.php?action=showitem&itemid=148802
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GOG used to be each week like a candystore, what good oldie do they have now? Now they barely got good classics anymore, too much focus on newer games.
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Well they managed to get and fix several a week in the past too. ;) Well what geo says below, it's true the oldies are running out, atleast the rights to them, i mean plenty of abandonware, but if they can't get the rights.
Like with Sierra i am missing Manhunter still and Eco Quest, and they got Albion yet not the first game, Amberstar, and what about the first Wizardry games (they got them with Ultima and Might and Magic).
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Probably because they got a lot of them already. Those that are not in their store might as well be impossible to get.
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Uhm... Your reasoning is a bit weird here. They already have most of the classics they can get there. Is not like they can force copyright holders or create new classics out of thin air.
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Yup. They killed abandonware and then abandoned it. Thanks "Good Old Games" :x :x
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Undying was the first game I bought on GOG if I remember it correctly!
Even though I use Steam for the most part, I really hope that GOG becomes equal or even better one day. They deserve it, and with their determination, I think that they will.
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I've been a GOG'er since the beginning. I prefer their sales model and how they put the customers (and dev's) first. GOG always has first dibs on my money, but not all games are found on GOG, and Steam's seniority often means I end up buying from Steam long before I can do so on GOG. I spend money on GOG because I want to do so. I spend it on Steam when I am forced to do so.
As for exclusives, I don't choose platforms based on exclusives. That means there are a lot of games I never get to see because I refuse to use their platforms, but I already have enough games to last me a lifetime.
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Many LucasArts classics are still absent from Steam:
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Afterlife
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Outlaws
and most notably Sam & Max Hit the Road
In general, regarding old games, GOG is still the best platform to use. There are some examples where an old game is broken on Steam while working perfectly on GOG. Unfortunately, there have been examples of the reverse with newer games because the developers forgot to patch/update their games on GOG. Sometimes for many years: https://www.gog.com/forum/sam_and_max_series/episode_1_culture_shock_sybil_missing
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Crusader, Nox and Dungeon Keeper at the very least are all available through Origin as well so don't fit your exclusive qualifier.
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Master of Magic is where it's at.
I played a crap-ton of Battle Realms on LAN way back in the day.
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Thank you for this post. Lots of good old games here. I think I might just visit GOG today
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Movac, out of sheer and honest curiosity: Which decisions do you mean? While I have enjoyed GOG for quite some time, I haven't been very active in following them and their decisions / development.
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Thanks for elaborating, Movac! Much appreciated.
I can understand some of the frustration, but since I have no idea how easy to implement some of the fixes actually are (and whether they might introduce new, unwanted behaviour for some games/OSs) I can't comment on the Windows 10 issue. It does sound like an arbitrary decision, though, although I would think they would implement the patches if they were easy to do and without side effects - if only to have more potential customers for their games.
As for the curation decisions: Personally, I am pretty happy that they are picky about the games they allow because I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount on Steam (and I get the impression the clear majority is trash). However, I agree that it is a system that has its flaws (Opus Magnum would be an obvious example, although credit to them for changing their decision - at least it shows the community has an influence on their games library).
Thanks again for clearing this up for me, I really wasn't aware of these things. Also thanks for the Reddit link, makes for some interesting reading.
For what it's worth: My main reason to like GOG is the DRM-free approach and the fact that you do not rely on their service to play your games, since you are able to download the installation files and actually own this instance of software that you bought. Doesn't only remind me of the "good old days" when you bought physical copies of the games, but it also seems the better long-term approach. I, for one, will be pretty pissed off if Steam folds and leaves me with a virtual portfolio of games I cannot access and play anymore.
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as to fixes the official line is they are sometimes restricted by their licences with publishers and developers to do whats needed to make the game run on a certain OS fluently (windows 10 being a specific example here).
they cant just apply a crack / updated exe / make one unless they have permission. if they dont they can only do so much. this has been a greater issue with win 10 than 7 or 8 were it seems.
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GOG has the original Sam & Max game so Steam is basically pointless! Although I wouldn't be suprised if it was brought over to Steam since Monkey Island 3 was released not too long ago.
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I still need to play live Barker's Undying - bought last year and barely started. D:
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I do not usually play on GOG nor buy since I am addicted to bundles BUT I am very happy with what they had done so far. No matter if its selection of Older games, DRM-Free, just download from Browser, playing without client, their store curation, their work behind in making older games play on modern machine where Steam do not even bother.
If they start selling bundles, i will not find myself hard to resist to use it more. Cheers~
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Kongregate!
Befriend me, my fellow Flash gamers! http://www.kongregate.com/accounts/Sparagnausen
XD
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Oh my, I haven't been there in ages.
Is it still crap, with hot new being filled by idles and poor rpgs?
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they keep on putting there awesome games every day, and you'll find hundreds of them NOT for free on Steam too, from tower defense games like infection, gemcraft, bloons and kingdom rush (on kongregate there are like 5 for every series, on steam only 1 and always not free) to puzzle/logic games and so on, plus epic battle fantasy, crystal story.. lots of awesome rpgs like mardek and world's end that no one knows but that are better than the 95% of the games hosted on Steam and sold for crazy amounts of $$$ xD
the enchanted cave 2 which is 100% free on kongregate is sold at 9$ on steam with the same content lol
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Yeah, but most of the games you've mentioned I have already played :/
Ah well, I'll probably go take a looksie for old times sake.
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As much as I hate to say it... Steam. Favourite for its wide range of available games, community system (groups, chats, etc), but most importantly because most people I care about either are Steam users or in a Steam group chat I frequent.
Otherwise, I do greatly appreciate GOG for what it stands for/is even if I rarely use it and simply add the games I downloaded from them in Steam via adding non-Steam app - it only needs more time and maybe Valve shutting down before it'll be a "thing". :P
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Detective Grimoire was a pretty dark but extremely good flash game by the same developers, but also very different than their newer "reboot" approach to the game. I highly recommend it.
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Steam is a legit social media platform now, no joke. :o
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As ashamed as I am to say it, I've got to give it to Steam. But I do love GOG as well. I've been considering doubling up on certain games I own on Steam on there -- most notably all of my Falcom games from XSEED -- but I'm a little low on funds at the moment. Still, GOG's a really friendly site, especially with their occasional "GOG Connect" runs and how they'll advertise when they're giving away games for free.
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I love GOG's DRM-free concept. The fact that you can download the installation files to your PC means that you do not depend on online connection - or GOG for that matter. If GOG should go bust at some point in the future, you still own the games (IF you dowloaded and archived the installation files, of course). If Steam goes bust ... well ...
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You can also transfer your GOG account to another person -- be wary this is not allowed for Steam accounts -- and older games are patched to run on modern operating systems (you would have to fix it yourself on Steam, bugs me a lot).
Also, games bought on GOG have all the in-box goodies (in PDF) such as the manual, hintbook, lorebook, etc... sometimes including never-before-released bonus content (1-hour interview with game creator).
Thankfully, GOG removed the security questions on most DOS games, that would require you to read the manual -- in the heyday this was a means of curbing piracy, but nowadays whatever shall I do if the manual was not included with a (digital copy) game?
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I wasn't aware you were allowed to transfer your account. While it will very likely not be an issue for me, I think this is a great idea.
Oh yes, the security questions. Sometimes printed red on green so you couldn't properly copy the pages on copy machines... And then there was a short time when just about everyone who had security questions used those code wheels... :D
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steam, i don't need anything else.
and maybe a bit of blizzard just for diablo.
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I'll take everything on GoG if they're price competitive, I like not having the DRM. Will I pay more for a DRM-free copy from GoG? That largely depends on the game and the price premium. But given everything else being equal, I prefer GoG over others.
And for any old game, GoG 100%. I've been burned too many times by buying old games on Steam only to find out that they don't work on Windows 7/10. I don't have the time or inclination to figure out how to hack the Steam copy into working when the GoG version just works.
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IMO none of the clients are perfect. Steam has the best selection of games, the most users, and the best linux support (steam play, proton, steamOS). On the flipside, they allow invasive DRM and anticheat software such as VAC which scans your memory, sends back lists of websites you've visited, same with BattlEye etc, and the monstrosity that is Denuvo. I realize that a lot of this pressure comes from publishers who demand it to release on their playform, but it is really anti-consumer. Their support is awful, the regional gifting system is a mess, removing inventory gifts was a real bummer. Then you've got the deluge of shovelware, asset flips, forever early access titles, and completely broken ratings system.
Moving on to GOG, I love the concept of DRM free games.. but the selection is very limited. And, often times the sale price is not nearly as good as Steam. Still, I can't fault them entirely as much of this is up to the publisher. I will criticize them for not releasing a Linux client, though. As much as I like CD Projekt Red games, they have really dropped the ball when it comes to linux releases. I think a lot of that was due to Witcher 2, when they released a really poor linux port and suffered a lot of negative feedback for it. Instead of working on better ports, they just dropped support entirely.. so that's pretty lame. Despite that, I still try to buy games there when I can.
Then you've got the exclusive games on all the various obscure clients.. Diablo on Battle.net, Far Cry on uPlay, Battlefield on Origin, Fortnight UT4 on Epic Games, etc etc..not to mention the trash that is the Windows Store. Like I really want to have 20 different clients to play all my games.
I really like the idea of an open source game launcher like Playnite to launch all my games from one place. Unfortunately, in my experience it's just not there yet. Maybe in the future, once it has more polish it'll be the way to go.
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gog is good service and hopeful it will only get better, they are going into good way to compete steam, user profiles has been added.
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Never used GOG, only made account and used GOG connect when someone was pestering me about it. I don't have need to re-play games I already have on Steam. And I don't have nostalgia for older games, in fact I prefer to not re-play them after 10 / 15 years... it removes good memories I have about them.
What I would use GOG for - if they'd release Black & White 1 / 2. But I think it will never happen.
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