The Witcher 2 will be released DRM Free on gog.com

[J T]

In case you didn't know, CD-Projekt is the group that developed The Witcher and they are also the people behind gog.com. GOG usually exclusively sells old games and they keep them at a price point of $5.99 or $9.99.

That's about to change, at least for one new game. CD Projekt is about to release their latest title, The Witcher 2. I've been looking forward to this title because the trailers are great and the original was a damn fine RPG. What's cool about this being released on gog.com is that gog.com won't release a game with DRM, so this gog version of this game will not have any. They are also offering up a free game from gog and a pdf art book for ordering through them. This could be interesting because the game will also be offered on Steam, but Steam will have DRM and won't have these two bonuses.

This is going to be an interesting competition in my mind because it means we get to see how a new release fairs on a DRM-free platform that always offers up bonus content (gog.com) against a service that does have DRM, but provides convenient services in the form of a chat client, social networking, achievements, and auto-updating (Steam). Piracy should affect both sides equally, so it almost becomes a competition between teh DRM model VS the DRM-free model. Steam has the immediate advantage of having a larger install base, but I'm really interested to see how well gog will hold up in comparison to the Steamy giant. I love both companies, but I'm on the gog side. And though I don't usually buy full price releases, I will this time just to show my support of a DRM-free new release.


http://www.gog.com/en/page/tw2_preorder/

[CRTGAMER]

That is Phenomenal! I hope Gog's DRM-Free version has enough sales to keep this going for future new releases. A right direction for the consumer.

My Small Worlds Reply cursor keeps wanting to fall down the screen.

[Hatta]

Nice. Any word on system requirements? I googled a bit and could only find speculation.

I'm actually playing the first one when I feel like booting into windows. It's quite good. Don't care for the combat, but everything else is great.

[Niode]

I think I'd still rather buy through steam...

[J T]

Nice. Any word on system requirements?

On the Steam site, they have the following listed, but the game won't be out until May 2011, so I guess there could be a possibility of things changing:

OS: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or similar AMD
Memory: 1 GB for Win XP / 2 GB for Win Vista
Graphics: Nvidia GF 8800 512 VR or similar ATI
DirectX®:
Hard Drive: 8GB for game and 8GB bonus content
Sound:

[MrPopo]

I think I'd still rather buy through steam...

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning towards that as well, as none of the free games being offered interests me.

[BigTinz]

I think I'd still rather buy through steam...

Yeah, I'm kind of leaning towards that as well, as none of the free games being offered interests me.

Why would anyone rather get it on steam?

[CRTGAMER]

Okay gotta jump in, not trying to start a battle of which site is better, just curious?

Why not choose a DRM free version and also get that bonus PDF?
Is there an advantage of playing the controlled game thru Steam?

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

That is Phenomenal! I hope Gog's DRM-Free version has enough sales to keep this going for future new releases. A right direction for the consumer.

My Small Worlds Reply cursor keeps wanting to fall down the screen.

Small Worlds was awesome!

Personally I'd go for the GoG release, the extra game for free and artbook PDF would be nice.

[Niode]

I think it's more to do with having all my games in one place. Plus I like the steam overlay and steam achievements. Which is something that I won't get with a GOG release (yes I know you can get steam overlay in non-steam games, but it is unsupported).