Posted May 06, 2024
BreOl72: I guess, that's common for most of GOG's customers (or at the very least: for those customers, (mostly) interested in old games).
The first few years here, you spend with buying up all the old "must-have" games, that you previously thought, would have been "lost forever", due to changes in tech, etc.
As long as you're in that period, GOG is awesome.
After that first thirst is quenched, you spend some more time waiting for the "not-necessary-must-haves" to be available at an acceptable (for you) price point.
That time is less exciting than the first period, but GOG is still awesome for offering you all those (not-quite-as-shiny) treasures.
From now on, it's always the same sales, which always include the same games, which you have bought years ago already...meh.
Unfortunately, that's something, GOG has only very little influence upon - if any.
Acquiring the distributing rights for old games gets harder and harder, once "the pool 'of easy to catch prey' has been fished dry".
And acquiring the distributing rights to new (AAA) games gets hindered by GOG's main requirement (DRM-free releases).
The saddest thing about all this is: GOG can't really win.
At the beginning of "the relationship", people consider GOG to be "great" and "the best thing to happen to them, ever!" - and then (when that hot first phase of "the relationship" is over), the same people start to consider GOG as "lame" etc
Yep, GOG are destined to eventually fail unless they can diversify enough. The first few years here, you spend with buying up all the old "must-have" games, that you previously thought, would have been "lost forever", due to changes in tech, etc.
As long as you're in that period, GOG is awesome.
After that first thirst is quenched, you spend some more time waiting for the "not-necessary-must-haves" to be available at an acceptable (for you) price point.
That time is less exciting than the first period, but GOG is still awesome for offering you all those (not-quite-as-shiny) treasures.
From now on, it's always the same sales, which always include the same games, which you have bought years ago already...meh.
Unfortunately, that's something, GOG has only very little influence upon - if any.
Acquiring the distributing rights for old games gets harder and harder, once "the pool 'of easy to catch prey' has been fished dry".
And acquiring the distributing rights to new (AAA) games gets hindered by GOG's main requirement (DRM-free releases).
The saddest thing about all this is: GOG can't really win.
At the beginning of "the relationship", people consider GOG to be "great" and "the best thing to happen to them, ever!" - and then (when that hot first phase of "the relationship" is over), the same people start to consider GOG as "lame" etc
In the beginning they had a lot to offer and a lot to keep drawing on. After over 15 years that would have dwindled a lot, and so we get fewer moments of great releases, even though the number of old games increase each year.
In a way they have effectively caught up, and now it is a slow measured thing.
GOG would rely on a constant influx of new customers, who will be excited like we were as new customers.
And keeping us older customers happy, would be quite a challenge now.
And Galaxy is one of those measures, though what it offers does not appeal to all of us. It also attracts those who don't care so much about DRM-Free, but are more interested in services etc.
In the end though, I cannot help but feel that GOG are in an ultimate no win scenario, at least as far as keeping everyone satisfied, especially customers that came for old games and DRM-Free. But the type of customer at GOG has changed a lot now, with probably the majority buying from other stores as well as GOG, so not as concerned or caring about the situation as much, and probably prepared to pay higher prices for what they want.
I kind of get the feeling that GOG has been transitioning for a while now, to more expensive games on average.
And we should always remember, that most game providers are not releasing their games at GOG because they have to, to survive. Profits from sales at GOG, would be like extra pocket change for most of them. Sure, there would be smaller concerns who don't make enough from Steam alone, that rely on every cent they can get, but they are not the ones likely to keep GOG afloat ... though no doubt every bit helps.
I suspect, that smaller game providers, are possibly more prominent at GOG too, rather than lost in the huge wash at Steam.