Steam or GOG.com?

[a198x]

Wich one is better, STEAM or GOG. com (considering their games, prices and others, like communities, cloud saves and goodies)?

[littlebomb.]

mop

[Dr.Shadowds 🐉]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Gog has failed because they, like all other pretenders, don’t compete with steam

Steam is not a store

Steam is a middleware that happens to sell games

Steams business is not the store

If your business model is to compete with the store you have already failed

Do you have a moment to talk about Gaben our lord, and savior?

[Start_Running]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Gog has failed because they, like all other pretenders, don’t compete with steam

Steam is not a store

Steam is a middleware that happens to sell games

Steams business is not the store

If your business model is to compete with the store you have already failed

Give them credit for not makeing the witcher series exclusive to gog though.

[Satoru]

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

Give them credit for not makeing the witcher series exclusive to gog though.

I aruge that GOG absolutely totally botched the launch of the Witcher 3

GOG had people in the palm of their hand. Hell even scammers were stealing from GOG to sell Witcher 3 copies of the game on GOG. Outside of steam you could only get GOG keys for witcher 3. That meant tons of people were going to get the witcher 3 on GOG.

They had the opportunity to get millions of people onto GOG and hook them into their store

And what did they do?

Nothing

GOG Galaxy was a flop. It did literally nothing and did most things worse than steam. They should ahve been making GOG Galaxy a million times better than Steam. And that shouldn't be hard given the steam client hasnt had a make over in years. They could implment all the features steam users wanted on steam. They could have come out with a shiny easy to use client that would wow everyone. what did they do? They launched GOG Galaxy with an anemic client that had no features that would pull users from Steam. The client was garbage. It had no friends, no community stuff, no actual real features other than 'you can download your games'. The ONE TIME they had an audience of milions of people desperate for their game, and they wasted it.

[cinedine]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Gog has failed because [...]

Damn, I can only dream of ever failing so hard to be one of the most important entities in my field, second only to a natural force.

No store competes with Steam. The race is for the second place. *If* you can even call it like this. Blizzard Net or however it's called for example makes a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of money by only offering BlizzardActivision games and does more than fine. Has done for years.
Origins does pretty well by only sellin EA games. Both of the stores' main portfolio isn't even available at Steam.
itch.io has completely different target demographic for both - content creators and content consumers. Same as Big Fish, although you see more and more games being also released on Steam.
Or Kongregate. And that isn't even selling games.

Humble Store has a completely different appeal with their bundles and charity actions.
Indiegala is also more known for bundles and deep discounts and has a real chance to become the go-to address for indie games with Steam's discoverability problem.

Though all of them have one thing in common: none of them failed.
Steam is mainstream. It's the Amazon of video games. And it shares the same problems. Not everything is available. It's often high priced. And unless you know what you are looking for, it's probably better to shop around elsewhere. Yet it's the first stop for most people.

[AbedsBrother]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

Give them credit for not makeing the witcher series exclusive to gog though.

I aruge that GOG absolutely totally botched the launch of the Witcher 3

GOG had people in the palm of their hand. Hell even scammers were stealing from GOG to sell Witcher 3 copies of the game on GOG. Outside of steam you could only get GOG keys for witcher 3. That meant tons of people were going to get the witcher 3 on GOG.

They had the opportunity to get millions of people onto GOG and hook them into their store

And what did they do?

Nothing

GOG Galaxy was a flop. It did literally nothing and did most things worse than steam. They should ahve been making GOG Galaxy a million times better than Steam. And that shouldn't be hard given the steam client hasnt had a make over in years. They could implment all the features steam users wanted on steam. They could have come out with a shiny easy to use client that would wow everyone. what did they do? They launched GOG Galaxy with an anemic client that had no features that would pull users from Steam. The client was garbage. It had no friends, no community stuff, no actual real features other than 'you can download your games'. The ONE TIME they had an audience of milions of people desperate for their game, and they wasted it.

What you are describing - using The Witcher 3 to "hook" people into using GOG - is contrary to the GOG "freedom of choice" mantra. There's no way they could have done what you describe without pissing off their primary user-base. And as we've seen with Origin and Uplay, gamers are very good at holding grudges against software clients they are forced to use.

The Witcher 3 launch was handled correctly imo. Yes, they could have made more money, but instead they got a lot of consumer goodwill (which is in short supply these days).

[Satoru]

Nguyên văn bởi AbedsBrother:

What you are describing - using The Witcher 3 to "hook" people into using GOG - is contrary to the GOG "freedom of choice" mantra.

That seems incredibly naive given that the only way to get the Witcher 3 when it was relaesed was

1) On steam directly
2) Go to GOG

Aka literally EVERYONE was loading up GOG to play the Witcher 3.

This is also nonsensical in that are you telling me anyone using GOG right now is manually extracting 20+ rar files and extracting them manually, then doing the install for the Witcher3? No. They're using GOG Galaxy because its INFINITELY easier to use.

Using the old style installers and using GOG Galaxy is like saying there's a choice of using a dixie cup to empty your pool or a pump. Yes both 'technically' work and you 'technically' have a choice, but no one is using the dixie cup.

There's no way they could have done what you describe without pissing off their primary user-base. And as we've seen with Origin and Uplay, gamers are very good at holding grudges against software clients they are forced to use.

Again this is kinda nonsensical. GOG forced GOG onto anyone and everyone who wanted the Witcher 3. If you wanted a 'choice' one functionally didn't exist.

The Witcher 3 launch was handled correctly imo. Yes, they could have made more money, but instead they got a lot of consumer goodwill (which is in short supply these days).

I"m not sure what 'good will' you're referring to. What is wrong with launching the Witcher 3 and then telling everyone "Hey we have this awesome client you can use to download and install the game. It works just like steam but its optional. OH and its a billion times better than steam". What part of this would all the fanboy 'drm free' fanatics have had an issue with? "OH gee I hate convenience"?

Again what part of this is going to make anyone angry. GOG Galaxy launches with huge fanfare and with a giant new userbase going "wow this is really good and a ton better than Steam". Again GOG Galaxy would function as it does today, all the idiotic nonsense they said it would have like 'being optional' and whatever. It just launched with ACTUAL FEATURES people cared about instead of "glorified download manager that makes the EA Downloader look good" that it did. They could have launched with what they have now which is a pathetic anemic version of their 'vision' that finally integrates things like a Friends list and profiles. It would still be sad and pathetic compared to steam but it would be better than what they showed users back when the Witcher 3 came out.

They had one single window to show a ton of people how awesome gog Galaxy could be an dhow much better it could be compared to steam

And they blew it.

And everything they've done in the 3 years since has been the same. Its obvious they don't care about GOG Galaxy or don't have the resources or the will to actually do anything with it. Barely anything they claimed in their 'vision' exists in GOG Galaxy at all 3 years on. They had YEARS to do something with it. And they squandered every second of that. The only thing GOG is doing better than Steam is, is Valve Time at this point.

GOG is a store. GOG is a business. ITs not your friend. They implemented regional pricing, despite all the people on forums screaming bloody murder. THey implemented DLC despite them insisting they were never going to allow DLC. They're going to keep breaking these imaginary promises you hold them to, because they can't afford to do so while the market around them leaves them behind.

[Start_Running]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

Give them credit for not makeing the witcher series exclusive to gog though.

I aruge that GOG absolutely totally botched the launch of the Witcher 3

GOG had people in the palm of their hand. Hell even scammers were stealing from GOG to sell Witcher 3 copies of the game on GOG. Outside of steam you could only get GOG keys for witcher 3. That meant tons of people were going to get the witcher 3 on GOG.

They had the opportunity to get millions of people onto GOG and hook them into their store

And what did they do?

Nothing

I'll give them credit for that. Maybe it was a mistake that they kick themselves for but I'll give them that.

GOG Galaxy was a flop. It did literally nothing and did most things worse than steam. They should ahve been making GOG Galaxy a million times better than Steam. And that shouldn't be hard given the steam client hasnt had a make over in years.

Aesthetics aside. what would the gain be? I mean GoG's problems are that they assumed drm free would be a bigger thing. Unfortunately it turned out to be less of an issue and in truth a deterrant to some publishers.

That and STeam's DRM is so transparent that it hardly bothers anyone who isn't trying to do something shady.

The ONE TIME they had an audience of milions of people desperate for their game, and they wasted it.

They didn't sell bottled tap water during a drought.

[AbedsBrother]

@Satoru I had a long detailed response, but decided I'm not really interested in a flame-war.

A few things:

- Witcher 3 was for sale on Steam, Origin, and GOG at launch.

- Users do not have to extract 20+ rar files to install a game that was downloaded from GOG without the Galaxy client. Just run the installer. Extra content (like wallpapers and soundtracks) is frequently in a compressed format that requires extraction, but this isn't unusual nor is GOG the only platform that does this.

- The "goodwill" I was referring to was the positive feelings towards GOG for offering their new, "hot" game drm-free - said feelings which would not have existed in such a large quantity had users been forced to use their client. I thought this was clear in my initial post, but apparently it wasn't.

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

GOG forced GOG onto anyone and everyone who wanted the Witcher 3. If you wanted a 'choice' one functionally didn't exist.

Tthis phrase gave me pause, because it is completely untrue of the Witcher 3's launch.

The hyperbolic "they had one chance and they blew it" is absurd. GOG is not about platform exclusivity, they're about being able to play games with people regardless of which client is being used. That is what their "cross-play" rhetoric in the GOG Galaxy promises / principles refers to.

If I had to guess, you at one time viewed GOG Galaxy as the messiah that was going to save the digital game marketplace from the stagnation it has suffered under Steam's dominance, and are incredibly disappointed that did not prove to be the case. If I'm wrong, then I really don't understand your negativity. Personally, I'd rather GOG take their time with Galaxy and build it into a reliable piece of software, instead of rushing it out the door when it isn't ready so they could tie its release with that of a major game.

[Start_Running]

I don't think anyone expected much from GoG Galaxy. Because everyone saw it as just trying to copy STeam. It also misread their market because the very people that Gog spoecifically appeal to The drm-free thiung) are the very group that don't want the hassle of having one more launcher cluttering their system tray.

Once of Gog's strengths was and still is you can just install it and run it like any other prog. The people who like that aren't going to go with GAlaxy and the people who weren' interested in that, probably don't see the point since they already have maybe 2 others launchers in their systray and would rather not have a third. I know that many people just add their installed Gog games to the STeam Launcher (which is one thing the steam launcher can do that the GoG Galaxy cannot.

[Jamebonds1]

Old game GOG, new game steam.

[Satoru]

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

I don't think anyone expected much from GoG Galaxy. Because everyone saw it as just trying to copy STeam. It also misread their market because the very people that Gog spoecifically appeal to The drm-free thiung) are the very group that don't want the hassle of having one more launcher cluttering their system tray.

Well they sure tried to market it like it was the second coming of christ

And 4 years on its pretty much a very bad version of the steam client

If you were hard core into GOG it was nice because you no longer had ot download half a dozen installer files, then run the installer. But beyond that benefit to people deep into GOG, it didn't really provide much incentive for anyone to switch or even dip their toes into GOG. GOG Galaxy was for years almost indistiguishable from a minor reskin of their GOG downloader feature wise

It basically did what Origin did. Launched to much fanfare, claimed they were gonna do all this great stuff, then for years basically did nothing.

[Start_Running]

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

I don't think anyone expected much from GoG Galaxy. Because everyone saw it as just trying to copy STeam. It also misread their market because the very people that Gog spoecifically appeal to The drm-free thiung) are the very group that don't want the hassle of having one more launcher cluttering their system tray.

Well they sure tried to market it like it was the second coming of christ

EVerything is marketed like the second coming of christ.

And 4 years on its pretty much a very bad version of the steam client

Wouldn't know. I never really used the thing. Installed it waaayt back to fillout a checklist for their sale event so I could get a free game but that was it.

If you were hard core into GOG it was nice because you no longer had ot download half a dozen installer files, then run the installer.

But remember that's what was the core selling points of GoG. That you could download the installer and keep them on a thumbdrive to use as you saw fit without any restrictions of the man.

But beyond that benefit to people deep into GOG, it didn't really provide much incentive for anyone to switch or even dip their toes into GOG. GOG Galaxy was for years almost indistiguishable from a minor reskin of their GOG downloader feature wise

THeir other attempt was twhen they offered to give you a free gog copy of certain games if you had them on steam. Are they still doing that by the way? Never took them up on it since a.. I don't need two versions of the same gasme, and b) I'm paranoid about linking my steam account.

It basically did what Origin did. Launched to much fanfare, claimed they were gonna do all this great stuff, then for years basically did nothing.

Origin too did that On the house thing where once ever 4-6 months they'd put up an old game for free. It took me much less time to buy all the Origin stuff I wanted than it did GoG., The only thing that was worth it to me on Origin was the C&C COllection.

I'm just saying that GoG would have done much better if they'd launched GAlaxy as a multiplayer matchmaking appo like hamatchi.

[76561198001062896]

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

Nguyên văn bởi Satoru:

Well they sure tried to market it like it was the second coming of christ

EVerything is marketed like the second coming of christ.

And 4 years on its pretty much a very bad version of the steam client

Wouldn't know. I never really used the thing. Installed it waaayt back to fillout a checklist for their sale event so I could get a free game but that was it.

If you were hard core into GOG it was nice because you no longer had ot download half a dozen installer files, then run the installer.

But remember that's what was the core selling points of GoG. That you could download the installer and keep them on a thumbdrive to use as you saw fit without any restrictions of the man.

But beyond that benefit to people deep into GOG, it didn't really provide much incentive for anyone to switch or even dip their toes into GOG. GOG Galaxy was for years almost indistiguishable from a minor reskin of their GOG downloader feature wise

THeir other attempt was twhen they offered to give you a free gog copy of certain games if you had them on steam. Are they still doing that by the way? Never took them up on it since a.. I don't need two versions of the same gasme, and b) I'm paranoid about linking my steam account.

It basically did what Origin did. Launched to much fanfare, claimed they were gonna do all this great stuff, then for years basically did nothing.

Origin too did that On the house thing where once ever 4-6 months they'd put up an old game for free. It took me much less time to buy all the Origin stuff I wanted than it did GoG., The only thing that was worth it to me on Origin was the C&C COllection.

I'm just saying that GoG would have done much better if they'd launched GAlaxy as a multiplayer matchmaking appo like hamatchi.

they still have occasional gog connect games but frankly i only use it to have a second backup of those games

i can count on my thumb how many times did i opened the gog galaxy on my pc compared to steam

[Satoru]

Nguyên văn bởi Start_Running:

THeir other attempt was twhen they offered to give you a free gog copy of certain games if you had them on steam. Are they still doing that by the way? Never took them up on it since a.. I don't need two versions of the same gasme, and b) I'm paranoid about linking my steam account.

They still have GOG Connect going. The thing is I dont even have to launch GOG Galaxy to do that so sure I'll spend 10 seconds to get a bunch of free games on GOG. I'm not one to turn down free games. But its not like I play them. Since they're already on steam by definition. Same on Origin. I 'really abused' a weird coupon thing Origin had a few years ago where you coudl basically get any game under $15 for free. But besides that haven't really used Origin for much.

But the only thing on GOG I even bother actually playing is Alpha Centauri.