Deleting digital games

[YoshiEgg25]

Except that Inazuma won't like any games that are on GOG. They aren't Japanese.

[Inazuma]

Except that Inazuma won't like any games that are on GOG. They aren't Japanese.

You guys know me too well. I went over to GoG's website and checked over their entire catalog of titles two times over. I also checked their entire list of developers. The end result is no Japanese games and practically no interest from me. I ended up not buying a single game.

Another problem with this is my preference for console games over PC. I have some interest in titles like Earthworm Jim and Moto Racer but I prefer them on consoles.

I still have a very high opinion of GoG and hope they grow and expand.

[Niode]

You expect companies to just release their games without any way of stopping people just copying it easily? It's not going to happen.

It (still) happens. As was mentioned GOG is a great example of how things CAN be done (and it is profitable). Also some (or even many) indie developers do that as well.

Niode, if I understand correctly you refuse to buy stuff on WiiWare because you can't transfer it to other machines because you do not like a situation where you have purchased the game, something happens and then you can not play it any more.

Inazuma refuses to buy digital games / stuff with strict DRM in general due to the worry that he won't be able to buy and play it later. It is not THAT different.

Frankly I can understand and relate here. It is true he is probably missing out on some stuff, but it his choice to not support the companies doing it in a way that he doesn't like. To Inazuma I can only suggest that he really supports GOG - they not only have a business plan you want to support, they actually are enabling many gamers today to play classics that can often be very tricky to run in modern machines. I think it is a perfect match for you.

Ivo.

The thing is that all of these digital distributors offer ways of transferring your licences to other systems and backup. Nintendo are the only company that doesn't (as far as I'm aware). I can't purchase from them because I can't redownload my content should my system go tits up. That just isn't acceptable no matter how you slice it. With XBLA, PSN, Steam, D2D etc I can do that.

Ever thought of the reason why GOG offers no DRM? Because if they didn't you wouldn't be getting a better deal than the pirates. All the games GOG sells are widely available from the internet for free. The only reason you would choose GOG over pirating is because they've been modified to work on modern systems and you're paying for that peace of mind.

[irixith]

Nintendo are the only company that doesn't (as far as I'm aware). I can't purchase from them because I can't redownload my content should my system go tits up. That just isn't acceptable no matter how you slice it.

Nintendo has a process in place for both DSiWare and WiiWare/VC. You have to send your old system and your new system to them, and they will do their magic and transfer the license to the new system.

Obviously this is completely ridiculous, but it does exist.

With the release of the 3DS update come May, they are supposed to offer an automated service that allows you to transfer your DSiWare to your 3DS. (..but who would want to, the scaling is brutal.) That's the first step Nintendo has ever taken in the digital space to make the process consumer friendly.

[jfrost]

Except that Inazuma won't like any games that are on GOG. They aren't Japanese.

You guys know me too well. I went over to GoG's website and checked over their entire catalog of titles two times over. I also checked their entire list of developers. The end result is no Japanese games and practically no interest from me. I ended up not buying a single game.

Another problem with this is my preference for console games over PC. I have some interest in titles like Earthworm Jim and Moto Racer but I prefer them on consoles.

I still have a very high opinion of GoG and hope they grow and expand.

They said they're trying to work a deal with Square Enix at least, even though that probably wouldn't mean there would be many Japanese games (I think that if SE worked out some agreement with GOG, the old catalog would consist mostly of Eidos games). At least we could get Final Fantasy VII or VIII, that did come out on PCs back in the day.

I wish they got a deal with Capcom, though. Capcom has a really good old catalog of PC games: Mega Man X-X8 (except X2), Dino Crisis 1 and 2, Resident Evil 1-3, SSFIIT, Puzzle Fighter, Street Fighter Alpha 1 and 2, X-men: Children of the Atom, Breath of Fire IV... Even the Ace Attorney games have Windows ports in Japan.

Oh, well, not likely anyway.

[MrPopo]

Except that Inazuma won't like any games that are on GOG. They aren't Japanese.

You guys know me too well. I went over to GoG's website and checked over their entire catalog of titles two times over. I also checked their entire list of developers. The end result is no Japanese games and practically no interest from me. I ended up not buying a single game.

Yeah, I've noticed that there just aren't that many Japanese developers for PC titles that aren't just console ports. Off the top of my head the only ones I can think of are Touhou project and Recettear, which, if you ever decide to end your Steam boycott, is amazing.

[MrHealthy]

(..but who would want to, the scaling is brutal.)

Holding select while starting DS games runs them in 1:1 mode, aka there native resolution. I assume that will work for DSiWare as well.

[irixith]

(..but who would want to, the scaling is brutal.)

Holding select while starting DS games runs them in 1:1 mode, aka there native resolution. I assume that will work for DSiWare as well.

..are you suggesting that's better?

[MrHealthy]

Better then being blurry. Its not like they are going to upscale well at such a small resolution anyways so playing in 1:1 is preferable yes. I mean, its how the game was programmed to display, so whats wrong with it?

[Ivo]

The thing is that all of these digital distributors offer ways of transferring your licences to other systems and backup. Nintendo are the only company that doesn't (as far as I'm aware). I can't purchase from them because I can't redownload my content should my system go tits up. That just isn't acceptable no matter how you slice it. With XBLA, PSN, Steam, D2D etc I can do that.

Ever thought of the reason why GOG offers no DRM? Because if they didn't you wouldn't be getting a better deal than the pirates. All the games GOG sells are widely available from the internet for free. The only reason you would choose GOG over pirating is because they've been modified to work on modern systems and you're paying for that peace of mind.

This is going to go a bit long.

With XBLA and PSN you can transfer them to other X360s and PS3s. As far as I'm aware you are not guaranteed to be able to pass them into future systems. I can understand how that wouldn't be acceptable to someone, just as I can understand how it isn't acceptable to you that you can't pass your WiiWare stuff into another Wii.

GOG sells the game with support so that ideally it is "ready to play". If they had DRM, the games would still be "ready to play". It would still be a different deal from what the pirated copies offer. Also, the GOG versions are pirated as well, so effectively the pirates are still offering the same thing for free.
And yet GOG apparently works - not because they offer a better deal but because they are offering the *SAME* version as the pirates instead of a worse version (which is what usually happens when there is DRM, the legit customer gets a worse version of the same product, and it costs more).
When the legit customers see that they are not getting gimped by paying for it, they will pay for it (the others wouldn't pay anyway so why bother).
I believe that many people really do believe in paying for products they like so that they support the continued development of stuff they like offered in the way they like.

The existence of DRM does scare away some would-be pirates into paying for the product because they don't want the extra hassle - but they will be resenting the company despite buying their game (erodes some brand loyalty).
But the existence of DRM also certainly also scares away some would-be legit users into not paying for a gimped version of the product (whether they pirate it or get a different game depends).
When some company gives legit customers the best version without over-the-top DRM, the legit users jump on board and appreciate it (creates some brand loyalty).
It is far from proven that the best decision business wise is to have over-the-top DRM that detracts from the game. I don't think it is. Blizzard and Steam have a decent idea - they have DRM, but implemented in a way that adds to the game.
And GOG also has a decent idea: no DRM at all, because they know those that don't want to pay for it are unlikely to pay for it and no DRM is unbreakable. So they don't spend money implementing DRM, and give their paying customers the best version they can give them, therefore encouraging them to pay for the convenience.

Ivo.