It appears things aren't going overly well for game store GOG at the moment, under increasing competition they're starting to feel the heat.
First of all, in a report on Kotaku, GOG recently confirmed that they let go a bunch of staff. They claimed it was only "around a dozen of positions" while also bringing in new staff in other positions. Fair enough, that all sounds quite normal in the business world.
However, Kotaku spoke to an ex-staff member who basically said GOG haven't been doing so well financially. That seems to now be somewhat backed up a little, as GOG just announced today that they're ending their Fair Price Package program. This was the system that users could get wallet funds back on purchases, if the price of the game was more expensive in their country compared with North America.
What's also interesting in this announcement from GOG, is that they said they were able to cover the extra cost from it in the past and still turn a "small profit" which is no longer the case. As they say "With an increasing share paid to developers, our cut gets smaller.", so it sounds like they will at some point reduce their cut from developers (sound familiar?).
Their current plan for the Fair Price Package program is to continue it until 31st of March, so you have until then if you made use of it. Any funds you're given, will remain with you for 12 months so they won't vanish right away.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: ShmerlMost of the complaints about "GOG not supporting Linux" come from Steam users who think Linux support = updater client. GOG do support Linux by selling Linux games. Most of the Linux GOG users don't care about the client, let alone closed source one.
Problem isn't the client, but lack of some games caused by not supporting Galaxy infrastructure for Linux. But those who aren't using GOG (Steam only users) rarely get that, since... they aren't using GOG ;)
Being constrained with resources, I'm not surprised they aren't prioritizing Galaxy much. I get an impression that they tried to bite more than they could swallow with their current Galaxy effort. They should have started with something minimal (just updater) like itch.io. And once that was solid, move to more features and so on.
Anyway, it's sad that GOG seem to be struggling with being profitable. Hopefully they'll figure a way to get into the positive again.
Omg Shmerl , you're setting new lows every day when it is about GOG my dear Polish friend.
Things is :
Valve's Linux support : Client , games , developers, funding projects that you also use ( DXVK , working with CodeWeavers) with GOG games , drivers ( if it wasn't Valve no one would see Nvidia was fixing DXVK related problems or their RADV efforts ) etc. A veeery long list.
GOG's Linux support : Selling Linux compatible games , lack of client , port of Witcher 2
Now , i'm not expecting same kind of benefits that Valve gave us due to their scopes etc.
But saying Linux support = client updates , is just either being ignorant or trying to fool people.
Stop that.
Let people to praise Valve , which i do almost every time because they deserve it.
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Draconicrose Feb 27, 2019
GoG is like third on my list of stores to look at, mostly because of what a PITA it is to download and install games bought there. So Humble and Steam usually get my money.
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Quoting: robvvCan someone tell me what all the fuss about having GOG Galaxy on Linux is? Speaking personally, I couldn't care less whether there is a client for GOG or not. Whilst clients for storefronts can be useful, I'm interested in the availability of games for Linux.
If Galaxy was to be available for Linux then what real difference is there from Steam? After all, some games even come with Galaxy dependencies.
The issue is that galaxy is needed for some online/multi player games and if it's not on Linux then that game definitely doesn't get included on GOG. Plus there Linux catalogue sucks compared to other stores that sells Linux games. Steam, humble bundle and itch do a much better job.
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Regarding GoG's Linux support, I can't recall where I read it (it may have been during a conversation on Mastodon), but I've been told that they only have one person in charge of Linux updates, and they don't tend to respond to emails promptly. Which is a huge disadvantage for Linux devs since, as was noted on an article here on GoL, updates are sent to them via manual FTP and then manually applied at their end. So not exactly good service on their part.
Last edited by Nezchan on 27 February 2019 at 3:09 am UTC
Last edited by Nezchan on 27 February 2019 at 3:09 am UTC
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Quoting: DraconicroseGoG is like third on my list of stores to look at, mostly because of what a PITA it is to download and install games bought there. So Humble and Steam usually get my money.
I'm curious how GOG is any more of a PITA than Humble? Both pretty simple: go to website, log in, download.
If you're using lgogdownloader, it's even easier than Humble.
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Quoting: robvvCan someone tell me what all the fuss about having GOG Galaxy on Linux is? Speaking personally, I couldn't care less whether there is a client for GOG or not. Whilst clients for storefronts can be useful, I'm interested in the availability of games for Linux.
If Galaxy was to be available for Linux then what real difference is there from Steam? After all, some games even come with Galaxy dependencies.
The difference is in the simplification for Windows-minded people. Not many people are able to run the Linux installers from GoG, while having a UI that does everything on one click is what those kind of people require.
On my experience of introduce many people to Linux (mainly my girlfriend) I discovered a lot of things that I though that were so simple and "just better than on Windows" weren't as such for them.
Unfortunately for GoG, the work that has been doing Steam all this years has make me completely forget about their store...
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GOG Galaxy support is a big deal, if for no other reason because it is their flagship feature right now. They advertise like hell the thing, it is obviously important for them, but then they don't even release it as a beta for Linux users. It says a lot. But there are plenty of features associated with a client besides just downloading and updating games - multiplayer, access to betas, achievements and social features... All features Steam already has, mind you; even with Galaxy they aren't at feature parity yet.
Plus, something else that is very relevant is that games often have inferior/outdated/incomplete versions on GOG. Including, for example, a Linux version on Steam but not GOG (talking specifically about Age of Wonders 3). And that is not entirely their fault, I would blame it entirely on developers if it were not for a recent article about how their upload system is horrible and in particular for Linux, but still makes it a less attractive option.
The thing is that it is simply too hard for GOG to compete with Steam right now, or even with super-crap stores like Origin that have exclusives. Which sucks a lot, because they have strong selling points: besides the DRM freedom and old games they have some nice initiatives like GOG Connect and cool features like the lists of games. And I really like the interface they have for downloading "extras" for the games (such as soundtracks, manuals, etc), the wishlists, the client being optional (I like the client, but having it as an option is even better), etc. But network effects are too strong for this kind of online business - the bigger Steam is, the better it is to sell your game there (and less opportunity cost for not selling it somewhere else), the more games someone has there the more convenient to get games from there moving on, the more likely you hear about it or get your first game there... Steam doesn't even have to do anything bad to keep their dominance, because that's how the market is. And as for the big publishers, who can leverage their deep pockets to use noncompetitive practices, they might cause a minor inconvenience to Steam but can really hurt smaller stores like GOG and Humble and even itch. Which are the ones who could offer real, quality competition. Imagine if GOG and Steam were head-to-head, and Steam had to take a stand against DRM? But no, it is Steam against Origin and Uplay and Blizzard store and Epic store, and instead of competing against DRM-free Steam has to compete with exclusives. Ugh.
Plus, something else that is very relevant is that games often have inferior/outdated/incomplete versions on GOG. Including, for example, a Linux version on Steam but not GOG (talking specifically about Age of Wonders 3). And that is not entirely their fault, I would blame it entirely on developers if it were not for a recent article about how their upload system is horrible and in particular for Linux, but still makes it a less attractive option.
The thing is that it is simply too hard for GOG to compete with Steam right now, or even with super-crap stores like Origin that have exclusives. Which sucks a lot, because they have strong selling points: besides the DRM freedom and old games they have some nice initiatives like GOG Connect and cool features like the lists of games. And I really like the interface they have for downloading "extras" for the games (such as soundtracks, manuals, etc), the wishlists, the client being optional (I like the client, but having it as an option is even better), etc. But network effects are too strong for this kind of online business - the bigger Steam is, the better it is to sell your game there (and less opportunity cost for not selling it somewhere else), the more games someone has there the more convenient to get games from there moving on, the more likely you hear about it or get your first game there... Steam doesn't even have to do anything bad to keep their dominance, because that's how the market is. And as for the big publishers, who can leverage their deep pockets to use noncompetitive practices, they might cause a minor inconvenience to Steam but can really hurt smaller stores like GOG and Humble and even itch. Which are the ones who could offer real, quality competition. Imagine if GOG and Steam were head-to-head, and Steam had to take a stand against DRM? But no, it is Steam against Origin and Uplay and Blizzard store and Epic store, and instead of competing against DRM-free Steam has to compete with exclusives. Ugh.
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GustyGhost Feb 27, 2019
This year, I have spent more money on FOSS games than I had spent on proprietary games in the previous. Put your money where your mouth is.
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Quoting: Leopardyou're setting new lows
Quit trolling, no one is interested.
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Quoting: einherjarIt's some kind of "half hearted" Linux support.
For those who weren't around back then:
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/gogcom-dont-plan-on-introducing-linux-support-in-the-foreseeable-future-updated.2369/
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