We've been covering the big Good Old Games (GOG) announcements since the site opened, so many of you already know about it. But for the uninitiated, GOG is a digital distribution service for PC games, with a focus on "classic" titles. Don't be led astray: there are games as new as 2007 on the site, but old timers can find many of those they grew up with, dating all the way back to the 80s.
There are several things which separate GOG from the pack, though, which is why we're always happy to cover the big announcements, like today's: the signing of publishing giant Activision (more on that in a bit).
First, the games are always updated to work on modern operating systems (Windows 7 testing in progress, though many work fine as is). Second, they're all dirt cheap ($6, $10 or even cheaper if you hop on the weekend promos or holiday sales). Third, many come with extras like soundtracks or behind the scenes videos, and lastly (this is the big one), they're free of digital rights management (DRM).
Correct, there's no need to authenticate your game online, no limited installs...nothing. Just download it in one neat file (or a few for the larger ones), and it's yours to keep -- on your virtual shelf and your hard drive -- and play forever. Of course, with such a radical approach, GOG (and ourselves) encourage the honor system, so no giving to friends or family -- gift instead!
I've been using the service myself for over a year now, and couldn't be more pleased with it. It gets that much better today with the new publisher deal, sure to bring many coveted classics to the library for all to enjoy. The first available are the dark adventure Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, an action RPG from the Fallout creators (trailers are on the following pages). Both games are going for six dollars each.
GOG mused to us, "This might help people realize that Activision does stuff other than Call of Duty and Guitar Hero." Many more titles are planned (the acclaimed spy shooter No One Lives Forever 2 is rumoured thanks to a clue from the team), though none announced -- you'll just have to wait and see in the weeks to come.
GOG's first major deal was Ubisoft, which came as a big surprise, but Activision hopping on board today is, dare we say it, absurd. GOG is seen -- with the most positive of connotations -- by the "classy community" as the underdog in many respects, and the team even refers to their service as a "revolution." So how does an entity like GOG come to partner with an often viciously corporate publisher like Activision? Baffled, we sat down to chat with GOG's PR & Marketing fella Lukasz Kukawski to find out just that. Read on, brother.
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