GOG.com shutting down? <-- Nope

[Say_my_name]

Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.

We're very grateful for all support we've received from all of you in the past two years. Working on GOG.com was a great adventure for all of us and an unforgettable journey to the past, through the long and wonderful history of PC gaming.

This doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.

On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games. Stay tuned to this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

All the best,
GOG.com Team

http://www.gog.com/

Well, this really came out of nowhere. Let's just hope that this is just some kind of sick publicity stunt to announce a new site or something.

 

[Oruc]

Yeah this sucks, I just bought 2 games off them yesterday and didn't have a chance to download them.
Hopefully it is some publicity.

 

[Till]

What? Damn that really would be a shame.
GOG is an awesome service.

I was looking forward to finally having a chance to buy a copy of Age of Wonders: Shadowmagic in the coming weeks.

Edit:

Good Old Games (GOG.com) has had to shut down for now. The site, which allowed players to download games that were old and good from a large variety of publishers (sometimes for free) was a great place to pick up some of the classics that you couldn't find anywhere else.

If you head over to their page you'll find a slightly confusing message that states, "We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form."

The site is a bit of doom and gloom, but it appears that GOG.com isn't gone at all according to PR guy, Tom Ohle, who responded to Destructoid with, "As the message on the site says, this doesn't mean GOG is gone . We'll have more to share in the coming days."

So, no reason to panic. GOG.com will return in some way and you'll be able to re-download any games you've already bought as well. The only issue is that according to GOG.com's Twitter DRM-free games were becoming an issue. Could we be seeing DRM coming to GOG.com or simply a different business scheme?

That would be quite aggravating, if true. Have publishers no sense at all?

Sometimes it's really hard being DRM-free... hard to keep things the way they are and keep management and publishers happy

 

[Maniacal]

I'm going with publicity stunt.

Still preparing my CDs, this is a really cruel and mean stunt and hurts not only their but my PR because I've told everyone I know who's interested about the site.

"Rumors are floating about this is actually a cleverly worded (and cruel) PR stunt for announcing the site going out of beta, which was due anytime now."

 

[Rub'Rum]

Um.... Stunt or no, this is plain dumb.

 

[tycoonist]

At least the unofficial GOG TF2 server is still open for business.

 

[Maniacal]

One thing my friend brought up when i mentioned this to him, if GoG were to be shut down and abandoned by companies because of its no DRM policiy, then (almost/usually) the only other option to get these games is to, ironically, pirate them.

 

[kill fire]

One thing my friend brought up when i mentioned this to him, if GoG were to be shut down and abandoned by companies because of its no DRM policiy, then (almost/usually) the only other option to get these games is to, ironically, pirate them.

That's the funny thing about DRM. It's meant to keep out pirates, but usually it just makes games so unbelievably hard to actually use that ultimately you HAVE to pirate them, except then you end up with a buggy version of the game that recieves no support so ultimately either way you end of with a crappy game that doesn't work.

 

[tycoonist]

Pirated games are normally of similar if not identical quality to originals... Spore being a case in point, over-zealous DRM led to mass-piracy.

 

[Say_my_name]

Update:

First of all, we apologize everyone for the whole situation and closing GOG.com. We do understand the timing for taking down the site caused confusion and many users didn't manage to download all their games. Unfortunately we had to close the service due to business and technical reasons.

At the same time we guarantee that every user who bought any game on GOG.com will be able to download all their games with bonus materials, DRM-free and as many times as they need starting this Thursday.

The official statement from GOG.com's management concerning the ongoing events is planned on Wednesday. If you want to receive further information about GOG.com, please send an email to update_media@gog.com if you're a media representative or to update_users@gog.com if you're a user without a GOG account.

www.gog.com

Bolding by me. There's some speculation around the net that a, as yet unknown, competitor bought a big share of CD Projekt, and that this new shareholder has something to do with the shutdown.

 

[Maniacal]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

EDIT: More speculation:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=23420772&postcount=385

 

[Say_my_name]

Okay, something fishy is going on. Apparently there was a new video posted on gog.com's youtube channel, which was quickly removed afterwards. One user however took a screenshot of it, and the gog people responded that "it will be visible&#65279; here soon."
And here's the picture:


I'm not sure if this is good or bad, considering that EA owns Bioware, who in turn hold the rights to BG. Or it's just a photoshop and means nothing.

 

[Maniacal]

They had games from a number of publishers, and I hope EA did not buy it (I doubt it) this is likely one of the new games to be offered after this change. I hope.

 

[Say_my_name]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDRvuKjissQ

Here's the video, and yes, that frame from earlier is in there. It's still completely vague and doesn't say anything.

 

[Kharum]

Yeah, let's make a Youtube video with epic music and hidden picture of one of the best RPG's, that we don't sell (yet) and also a picture of this new feature "GoGmix" that we haven't implemented (yet), in order to celebrate the bitter end of our company.

It's pretty annoying PR-stunt, but can't deny that it most likely is very effective advertising and only makes them more trustworthy in my eyes, to be honest.

 

[Say_my_name]

I don't see how suddenly shutting down without a warning makes them any more trustworthy.

There's going to be an official statement on 6 P.M. CET today (finally.).

 

[Till]

If this is a PR stunt, they better have a very good reason for me to remain customer. BG won't cut it - i already own it.

 

[Say_my_name]

And it was all just a hoax. No takeover, no change in policy towards DRM or pricing. They just wanted to come out of beta with a bang. A really stupid bang.
http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/09/22/gog-com-apologise-for-hoax-closure/

Worst PR stunt ever, if you ask me.

Edit: Okay, they ARE getting a new design.

Spoiler :

 

[Maniacal]

Like Till, I still have my disks for Baldur's Gate II.

 

[Say_my_name]

Well, they only announced BG1 for now, but the site implies that there is more to come, possibly in tandem with the relaunch tomorrow.