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amok: no, this is false. All potetnail monetisation methods have a cost associated with them. What you should do is go after the methods that gives you most profit. Going after ALL methods, means you will have some that makes a profit and some where the cost is higher than the profit they make, i.e. a net loss for those methods. So maximising income means selctive methods. .

edit - this is actually one of the reasons why many startup fails. They spread themselves to thin to start with, instead of focusing their effort on one proftable stream.
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SargonAelther: Uh huh... Why does anyone bother with GOG at all then? If this was truly False, then Bethesda wouldn't have bothered releasing Skyrim for every platform imaginable.

There are even rumours going around now that Microsoft is about to release more of their games for the PlayStation. Taking 100% of the sales cut does not make up for the losses you make by avoiding other platforms, except maybe if you are CrapTendo, but even they are slowly expanding to mobile phones. Exclusivity is dumb and thankfully it is dying. Ubisoft is also not some small indie company that would "Stretch themselves too thin". They already have a presence on GOG too, they just need to expand it and I will NEVER stop asking.

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MysterD: Exactly. Why would I join Ubi's service for its library, if I already "own" this stuff say on GOG, Steam, Epic, Retail Disc, any/or anywhere else?
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SargonAelther: You wouldn't. But they are not stopping sales, are they?

And I already made this point myself.
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SargonAelther: Why would I subscribe if I already have everything I want from them purchased. The only way to get more money out of me is by publishing on GOG.
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SargonAelther: I already purchased everything I want from them on their own paltform years ago. I have zero reasons to subscribe. If the goal is to push subscription numbers, rather than maximise profit, then they are competing with themselves first of all, before we drag Steam, Epic and GOG into this. Of course I do not believe in the concept of "competing with oneself". Some people will prefer to buy and that is fine. Some people will prefer to subscribe and that is also fine. Appease both and you will maximise your profits.

The only way to extract more money from me for those same games is to release them on GOG.
Bethesda and Zenimax in particular had deals in place w/ GOG to bring their stuff here before Microsoft actually bought them out. I'd bet they all are still honoring those deals. Microsoft's sometimes lazy - I don't see them really interfering much yet, if sales seem to be good for Bethesda's stuff here - heck, Microsoft even let Arkane's Deathloop stay Playstation-platform timed-exclusive for a year (Arkane, Bethesda, and/or Zenimax made a deal w/ Sony, before Microsoft bought them out), even when they already bought-out Zenimax.

And I'm sure if Bethesda can say to Microsoft "Hey, you got more $ than God and we want to port our stuff everywhere - yeah, I don't think Microsoft's going to complain that much." At least right now, anyways. Microsoft seems to hit most of the important avenues (Steam, Xbox Game Pass and their Xbox App, etc) - except for GOG and Epic. I really don't see Fable games, Freelancer, Forza (that's gonna be harder due to car liceneses) here on GOG and Epic, you know?

You also forget that modern-games ain't the same as old ones. AC2 would need a re-work to get onto GOG or disable all of the Uplay/UbiSoft Connect stuff. Sure, it can be done - but if Ubi wanted to, they would've done this years ago, TBH. I'd still love to see it too, but I ain't expecting miracles. They want to push sales into their platforms mostly, laced with their client-app junk and any DRM they want to use - and Steam, Epic, and Xbox PC App allow their service also on the store (without the store-front section though). Plus, they seem to want gamers locked into their Achievement Systems and stuff of that sort, too - you know, for data collection and info-grabbing, to figure out what quests and stuff gamers do (and don't do), which they can use for future titles.

About more Ubi games to GOG - we all want this, of course. I want all games DRM-FREE and on GOG - but it likely ain't happening. For some gamers on consoles or PC that don't own certain titles - they might just sub to Uplay+, Game Pass, etc - and not really care much about owning titles since they plan to just keep paying the sub. These type of gamers ain't buying copies of games on GOG or any other service, for that matter.

I don't think Ubi wants to take the time, $, resources, employee-power, and etc. to port their modern-games to GOG and then GOG has to curate and check that all the DLC's and stuff work w/out Galaxy and without any DRM, without any Uplay client-app junk either. They (Ubi) don't seem to have the Sony attitude of port everything almost everywhere and include GOG too. When Sony is spending some crazy $315m to develop & market games like Spider-Man 2 (and this probably ain't the only one costing them fortunes to make & market) - yeah, it makes sense why Sony would port everything almost everywhere (except to Microsoft's console and/or digital PC service b/c them 2 still ain't on the same page yet).

IIRC, I think certain tiers of Uplay+ and EA's Subscription services are ALSO part of Xbox Game Pass - so many might just sub to Game Pass and play those titles through there too, as M$ Game Pass for Xbox and/or PC is very popular.

EDIT - About Microsoft stuff going to Playstation, that Playstation Market is a HUGE market. GOG is NOT a super-huge market, sadly. It makes sense to them for expensive to make and market games like Halo Infinite, Redfall, Fallout 76, Starfield and other games to hit that Sony Playstation market b/c those all cost a ton to make and market for them. Playstation's the #1 console out there, period - it's the same reason Microsoft brings all their stuff to Steam, too.

Yet, I don't see a lot of Microsoft's main stuff hitting GOG though that just ain't Zenimax-based. Where's StarLancer? Freelancer? Sea of Thieves? Microsoft Flight Sim? Fable TLC or Anniversary? Fable 3? Gears of War 1, 4, 5? Gears Tactics? Halo MMC? Halo infinite? Halo Wars games? Crackdown games? Killer Instinct Reboot? Sunset Overdrive? Hi-Fi Rush? Age of Empires games? BattleToads Reboot? Rise of Nations? Rise of Legends? Right, they ain't here on GOG sadly. They (Microsoft) gotta boost Microsoft Game Pass and/or their own store somehow, you know - and protect their own products w/ their own DRM and client-app junk.
Post edited February 07, 2024 by MysterD
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MysterD: <...>
I highly doubt that any deal GOG signs is that much forward-facing. I really don't think that Skyrim was signed on for GOG since before 2020. Skyrim and Fallout 4 were most likely signed post-Microsoft acquisition, but back then Microsoft was mostly hands off. That has changed since Redfall and Starfield. Microsoft has assumed more control over Zeniamx now. This may be bad news for GOG, we'll see.

You also forget that all Ubisoft's games have been "broken", if you get my meaning, so let's not act like removing the need for Ubisoft Connect is such a hard task. If "they" can do it then so can Ubisoft/GOG/General arcade. Ubisoft connect does not prevent "breaks" any more than Steam does, so it's a moot point. Both of them are a joke. Only Denuvo provides a challenge. All games require some work to remove DRM, but that work is not that difficult.

Look how long it took for GOG to get Dawn of War. It's never too late to remove DRM and release on GOG. I'm not expecting miracles either, but I won't give up asking. I do like achievements, but at this point I will take Ubisoft games without any achievement or cloud saves, as long as they are DRM-Free. Additionally, it;s not like AC2 ever had any achievements to begin with. Certainly not on PC. The earliest AC game with achievements for PC was Revelations.

Yes, we do not have a single Microsoft game here, besides Psychonauts 2 and, if you wish to count them, pre-acquisition games from Zenimax, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, etc. But that's why I'm not begging Microsoft, am I? I know that they are DRM-Obsessed and have never throw us a bone, certainly not from their own publishing side. Psychonauts 2 is here because of obligations made by the developers from before Microsoft acquired them.

I'm asking for Ubisoft games, who do have a significant presence on GOG.
Post edited February 07, 2024 by SargonAelther
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amok: no, this is false. All potetnail monetisation methods have a cost associated with them. What you should do is go after the methods that gives you most profit. Going after ALL methods, means you will have some that makes a profit and some where the cost is higher than the profit they make, i.e. a net loss for those methods. So maximising income means selctive methods. .

edit - this is actually one of the reasons why many startup fails. They spread themselves to thin to start with, instead of focusing their effort on one proftable stream.
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SargonAelther: Uh huh... Why does anyone bother with GOG at all then? If this was truly False, then Bethesda wouldn't have bothered releasing Skyrim for every platform imaginable.

There are even rumours going around now that Microsoft is about to release more of their games for the PlayStation. Taking 100% of the sales cut does not make up for the losses you make by avoiding other platforms, except maybe if you are CrapTendo, but even they are slowly expanding to mobile phones. Exclusivity is dumb and thankfully it is dying. Ubisoft is also not some small indie company that would "Stretch themselves too thin". They already have a presence on GOG too, they just need to expand it and I will NEVER stop asking.
is this an economy 101 course?

different companies have different costs associated with different revenue streams. the same costs do not aaply to all buisesses equally. what a buisess do as a cost-benefit analysis will differ depending on what they focus on, the size of the buisess and product they are selling. on top of a pure cost-benefit analysis of a revenue stream, you also other indirect values and costs that a company based on their idetity and values.

do you think is is a concience that most new games on gOg are from indies and smaller companies? do you think that an inide company will have differentcosts than a mutli-national conglomerate company or do you think that it would be the same?
Post edited February 07, 2024 by amok
Well, you are asking for Ubi stuff from this era, not the old era - that's a bit different than their older stuff. Old Ubi games might have a presence here on GOG - but not really anything newer from UbiSoft is here since AC2 (2009 or so), which is when the UPLAY thing really kicked into high gear. They ain't gonna just throw $, resources, and/or other stuff at getting ALL of these games onto GOG, when their real focus seems to be UPLAY+ Subs and selling games on big-name digital services like Epic, Steam, and especially their own UbiSoft Connect (fka Uplay).

Sure, you can mention SEGA about Dawn of War and some of their other titles - but, SEGA also do NOT have a client-app and monthly sub-service like EA, Microsoft, or Ubisoft do to also try to add value to. They are a publisher just putting their stuff anywhere and everywhere, these days. Microsoft only has their Zenimax stuff here on GOG - I don't see State of Decay and other really modern stuff from M$ here from G4WL Era, Xbox PC App Era, and/or newer really on GOG at all.

About "broken" games - well, that'd probably be up to Ubi or GOG to use, if they even want to go down that route and if they can. I dunno if someone say at Ubi even holds say Source Code and/or Master Copies of their games in its all updated version with all content included (DLC's, expansions, etc) and working w/out any DRM. But, the thing is - are these "broken" games the most up-to-date version of the game w/ all of its DLC's, expansions, features, etc? A lot of games get official updates - so they can make their version (often laced with DRM) more valuable and wanted than whatever "broken" stuff is out in the wild somewhere.

Like you said about Microsoft - they been often hands off with Bethesda and Zenimax. But after Redfall, F76, and Starfield whether it's financially flopping, critics not liking the game(s), gamer(s) not liking those games or whatever...and w/ all the structure changes - who know if they'll have other stuff allowed to be ported here to GOG - like what you were saying. And who knows what is in any contracts Bethesda signed with GOG, before M$ bought them out. Bethesda's stuff looks like it definitely was hitting GOG back in 2015, way before M$ bought them - https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/bethesda-comes-to-gog-classic-elder-scrolls-games-released-fallout-trilogy-returns.102405/

EDIT - Reason I mentioned Microsoft is b/c just like UbiSoft, they have sub-service that they are keeping value & adding value to. Anything from G4WL ain't on GOG here from Microsoft, just like nothing since AC2 is here on GOG from Ubi. Microsoft's own own 1st-party stuff from their own personal studios ain't here on GOG - just like Ubi.
Post edited February 07, 2024 by MysterD
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MysterD: Since I'm on Game-Pass topic: since Microsoft jumped it to $10 - and I un-subbed and threw Game Pass for now right in the trash bin. Give me another $1 per month or $5 month sale or charge those prices forever - and yeah, I'll gladly stick w/ PC Game Pass and not quit probably ever.
This is the problem related to the subscription business model. As the service become more popular and the catalog of titles grows, the subscription fee is going to increase. This is on purpose. It works that way, or the service utmost go bankrupt.
I think that there are a few categories of Ubi games from least to most likely candidates for a GOG release.

First in "certainly never" which are all of the Uplay/Ubisoft Connect/whatever launcher, with full MTX and all of the online functions. Most of the time also Denuvo, as Ubi is very loyal to it and doesn't remove it. Far Cry's from Primal onwards, AssCreeds from Unity onwards, all of that jazz.
I am not talking about always online ones like Divisions and the Crews (Crew 1 is being shut down at the end of March, so yay). These are no go zones.

Second is "almost certainly never" which are titles from the Uplay era, but which had their online functions shutdown. Ezio Trilogy, Far Cry 3, Splinter Cells Conviction and Blacklist - still bound to the launcher, but no multiplayer, in a few cases even no achievements, so the conversion would be smoother, if it ever would happen.

Third is "why did it never appear?!" which is the most baffling to me. Where's Rainbox Six Vegas 1/2, Raven Shield, even Lockdown, Rogue Spear and Black Thorn, where are Splinter Cells after 1 but before Conviction? Or Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1/2? Or even Prince of Persia 3D (quality aside...) and the classic versions, which were mentioned?

I mean, OK - Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is nowhere digitally, seems there were massive technical issues harming the game (that didn't stop Double Agent's awful PC port to be sold to this day though...), but even Chaos Theory would be an absolute delight to see here. And yet nothing.

For a company that has the most bestselling game on this site to be this... oblivious? Ignorant? - regarding the potential of their back catalogue? It's a shame really.

The "not owning the games" comments only make it less likely for anything to be progressed in the directions of more GOG releases.

For the first publisher to sign in on GOG (source - NoClip documentary) it is quite disheartening.

I think their last releases were actually Brothers in Arms games, that was over 5 years ago. So yeah - chances are slim. If anything would be appearing, that would be the pre-Uplay stuff, and I am absolutely flabbergasted why nothing appeared till now.
I'm only buying Ubisoft games if they're DRM-free.
Post edited February 08, 2024 by DoomSooth
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MysterD: I don't think Ubi wants to take the time, $, resources, employee-power, and etc. to port their modern-games to GOG and then GOG has to curate and check that all the DLC's and stuff work w/out Galaxy and without any DRM, without any Uplay client-app junk either. They (Ubi) don't seem to have the Sony attitude of port everything almost everywhere and include GOG too. When Sony is spending some crazy $315m to develop & market games like Spider-Man 2 (and this probably ain't the only one costing them fortunes to make & market) - yeah, it makes sense why Sony would port everything almost everywhere (except to Microsoft's console and/or digital PC service b/c them 2 still ain't on the same page yet).
I really doubt getting a development version of a game and scrap it of all online dependencies is that hard or time-consuming. In fact, I believe it already works without these components or testing and debugging would be a development hell.
Anyway, there is no harm to ask. Unless we wish to imply there is no demand for it. In this business, nothing is written in stone. Things can change quickly, depending on the market setting and companies health. As Ubisoft leadership have proven countless times over these last years.
Post edited February 08, 2024 by Mad_Cat_Mk_II
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amok: do you think is is a concience that most new games on gOg are from indies and smaller companies?
Very interesting indeed, considering your previous advice to small companies was to stick to one profit stream, rather than spread themselves thin.
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amok: this is actually one of the reasons why many startup fails. They spread themselves to thin to start with, instead of focusing their effort on one proftable stream.
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MysterD: Anything from G4WL ain't on GOG here from Microsoft, just like nothing since AC2 is here on GOG from Ubi. Microsoft's own own 1st-party stuff from their own personal studios ain't here on GOG - just like Ubi.
But we do have plenty of games from Ubisoft, some even Post-uPlay, such as Rayman Origins. On the other hand we have absolutely nothing from Xbox Game Studios, because they love DRM and DO NOT CARE about game preservation whatsoever, regardless of what Phil Spencer says. GFWL games aren't being sold ANYWHERE, not just GOG, because Microsoft doesn't care about preserving them. It's a company that cares so little they have allowed gaps in series such as Fable (Fable 2), Halo (Halo 5), Gears of War (Gears of War 2 & 3), etc on PC. You should compare Microsoft to Rockstar, not Ubisoft.

I will not delve into the details of "Broken" games, as I do not want this thread closed. I'm sure you understand. The point is that if some basement dweller can do it, then so can multi-million dollar corporations, especially since one of them made the games in question. And if they can't, then they can always do what Rockstar did with some of their Steam releases lol.

You and Amok may be very glass half empty, but I prefer to be glass half full when it comes to Ubisoft. I still think they can be convinced and I will not stop.

We may not have many AAA publishers on here, but we still have some, such as Sony, Sega, 2k, etc. I will keep trying as much as I can as a consumer to drag Ubisoft back.

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Martinx92: Third is "why did it never appear?!" which is the most baffling to me. Where's Rainbox Six Vegas 1/2, Raven Shield, even Lockdown, Rogue Spear and Black Thorn, where are Splinter Cells after 1 but before Conviction? Or Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1/2? Or even Prince of Persia 3D (quality aside...) and the classic versions, which were mentioned?
You could throw South Park: The Stick of Truth (Steam build) and Avatar The Game in there too.

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Martinx92: I mean, OK - Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is nowhere digitally, seems there were massive technical issues harming the game (that didn't stop Double Agent's awful PC port to be sold to this day though...), but even Chaos Theory would be an absolute delight to see here. And yet nothing.
I actually wish that everyone would stop thinking that way, especially Ubisoft and / or GOG. I have it on CD and I have replayed it last year on a 3080Ti on Windows 10 just fine. ALL issues can be easily resolved.
[url=https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Tom_Clancy%27s_Splinter_Cell:_Pandora_Tomorrow#Rendering_issues_on_modern_PCs]https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Tom_Clancy%27s_Splinter_Cell:_Pandora_Tomorrow#Rendering_issues_on_modern_PCs[/url]

(HTML handling by GOG's forums sucks real bad sometimes). Just copy and paste the whole URL.

GOG used to include such fixes by default in the past. Getting Pandora Tomorrow to run is ridiculously easy and it absolutely belongs on GOG.

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Martinx92: For the first publisher to sign in on GOG (source - NoClip documentary) it is quite disheartening.
It is very sad indeed.
Post edited February 08, 2024 by SargonAelther
We might have Sony, Sega, 2K here on GOG - but not all of those guys really have robust service client-app's like Uplay or Microsoft. These companies seem happy w/ their games on other stores like Epic's 12%-cut store, Steam's 30%-cut store and GOG's cut store (I think it's 30% here?).

And again, both of those companies (UbiSoft and Microsoft) have monthly sub-services, which is what they really want to support and make bank from - 2K and Sega don't have robust services w/ client-apps of their own; they're fine w/ putting their games on Steam, GOG, etc. Sony's a bit different - they got PSN, but still want to make $ off selling games almost anywhere...except any store where Microsoft gets a cut (i.e Xbox PC or console digital stores). They really don't want the $70-120 fee and you're done w/ the game - naw, they want you to pay for their sub and to keep paying forever for whatever they feel like giving you library-access to.

Could it change? Sure, maybe a few insane flops or they feel like they need more $ to make shareholders happy, then they'll do so - but they ain't brought much of anything after their services hit the market to GOG and it's even been worse with getting Ubi and Microsoft games on GOG b/c they want to make their 100% $-made avenue service be the place to get their recent & expensive games from. They don't want you to buy their games from GOG - they want you to buy it from them directly or better yet pay the monthly fee and never quit.
Post edited February 08, 2024 by MysterD
Regarding what Sargon said regarding Pandora Tomorrow:

Funny thing - I don't actually condone the fact that Pandora Tomorrow is not available on GOG or anywhere else, which is why I've mentioned the atrocious Double Agent port, which is still sold, and in my opinion, has even more bugs and glitches that CAN'T be resolved like the ones in PT.

Pandora has graphical glitches mostly, from what I've seen on YT. Double Agent has bugs which make it impossible to 100 % the game, as some objectives are not solvable, and also the gadget unlocking doesn't seem to be working, which is a major bug. Truth be told, something like this should have been patched in 2006, when the game came out. But it wasn't.

So the fact that one game with solvable issues is not sold, while the one with bugs that have not been solved (and IMO far more questionable gameplay) is still up is a mystery to me. And yeah, GOG's MO was always to bring games up to date, and again, PT is far more fixable then DA.
Post edited February 12, 2024 by Martinx92
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MysterD: We might have Sony, Sega, 2K here on GOG - but not all of those guys really have robust service client-app's like Uplay or Microsoft.

<...>

And again, both of those companies (UbiSoft and Microsoft) have monthly sub-services
Well today a new Xbox Game Studios Title has been silently announced for GOG. Nothing is impossible when there's a desire to do it.
I Wish that Ubisoft first relases the missing DLC for Ghost recond which they are already available on the other platforms.
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MysterD: We might have Sony, Sega, 2K here on GOG - but not all of those guys really have robust service client-app's like Uplay or Microsoft.

<...>

And again, both of those companies (UbiSoft and Microsoft) have monthly sub-services
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SargonAelther: Well today a new Xbox Game Studios Title has been silently announced for GOG. Nothing is impossible when there's a desire to do it.
So we got Psychonauts 2 currently on there and eventually As Dusk Falls.
That's only 2 titles from Xbox Game Studios - and this isn't even AAA either.
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MysterD: So we got Psychonauts 2 currently on there and eventually As Dusk Falls.
That's only 2 titles from Xbox Game Studios - and this isn't even AAA either.
Maybe they don't want to stay too behind PlayStation Studios, or are just testing how the selling goes here. At the end, they just care about the numbers.
Sometime ago, I would have doubt Sony would release God of War on GOG, and here we are.
GOG is not Steam but still a profitable storefront. The same can't be said about Epic. We should not overestimate its importance, but we should not underestimate either.