GOG DRM FREE OPTION CONFIRMED

[Jozape]

Why would you guys want beta access for a game like this anyway? Hurray I get to play the game in a bug filled state and spoil myself on all the story aspects before release!

 

Hey, it's worth it to some people. And the spoiler factor does depend on how finished the plot is. Not my thing either though.

[Tale]

Why would you guys want beta access for a game like this anyway? Hurray I get to play the game in a bug filled state and spoil myself on all the story aspects before release!

I don't personally believe that spoilers damage enjoyment.

 

But not to get into that, I like bug testing games. Half the fun I had with Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights 2, and Mask of the Betrayer was finding bugs, figuring out workarounds, and and delving into the toolset for fixes. Though I don't think they'll let me fix their bugs here.

[Luckmann]

Makes me almost ecstatic to hear. I was very worried for a moment that I wouldn't be able to get my hands on a legit copy of Project Eternity.

[Ausir]

Would be nice if GOG.com posted it as a news item on their site, to drive more people to buy the game.

[Malcador]

Why would you guys want beta access for a game like this anyway? Hurray I get to play the game in a bug filled state and spoil myself on all the story aspects before release!

 

Well, saves them having a separate Kickstarter to fund a QA department.

[Undecaf]

Someone message them asap, good advertising for both GOG and PE.

[Ausir]

Open beta will never fully replace professional QA anyway, though.

[Hornet85]

Open beta will never fully replace professional QA anyway, though.

That's true, but I doubt even with 2 or 3 million, there's enough money to hire many professional QA. So any help the fans can give is good.

 

Besides, other games do have public beta test too just to test it by sheer brute force and hopefully some obscure bug will show itself up. So while game balance would be difficult to test, technical test like bug searching can benefit more from having a large number of people playing the game.

[Nonek]

Much appreciated, thank you Obsidian.

[SqueakyCat]

Thank you so much Obsidian!

 

I will choose GOG. I already had an account established and don't want to invest in a subscription.

 

I won't be using my beta access, though. I don't know why, but, for this game, I want to wait for the release. I could always change my mind, though.

[Malcador]

Open beta will never fully replace professional QA anyway, though.

 

Of course, as testers in these things never really actively test things, likewise with closed ones.

[Monte Carlo]

I think I'm seeing a micro-spike of about $10,000. Would be interesting to see where and when that came from. Maybe Europe.

[Badprenup]

Still going to be going Steam here. Wish I had the money to back for Beta testing, it would be nice, as my temporary stint as a QA tester for Activision is coming to a close soon.

[C2B]

I think I'm seeing a micro-spike of about $10,000. Would be interesting to see where and when that came from. Maybe Europe.

 

DRM Free announcement

[Monte Carlo]

Maybe publishers will wake up to the whole DRM thing.

[Hornet85]

Maybe publishers will wake up to the whole DRM thing.

I doubt so.

 

6 million people bought Diablo 3 on the first week knowing pretty well that you need their server to play a single player game. One may say the chances of Diablo 3 server staying up is lesser than Steam because its specific to one particular game, and once Diablo 4 comes out, well... But the reality is, most gamers don't care about DRM. Most people are more than happy to buy a game, play it and move on to other games.

 

And these are the group of gamers AAA publishers target. So nothing is going to change really.

[Ausir]

Yeah, but that's Blizzard, their games will sell no matter what. The restrictive DRM did hurt Ubisoft and they ended up scrapping the always-online thing.

[Luckmann]

Maybe publishers will wake up to the whole DRM thing.

I doubt so.

 

6 million people bought Diablo 3 on the first week knowing pretty well that you need their server to play a single player game. One may say the chances of Diablo 3 server staying up is lesser than Steam because its specific to one particular game, and once Diablo 4 comes out, well... But the reality is, most gamers don't care about DRM. Most people are more than happy to buy a game, play it and move on to other games.

 

And these are the group of gamers AAA publishers target. So nothing is going to change really.

They did lose a considerably amount of sales, though. They may not notice it as much, because the gamer market keeps growing, but just as an example, I know at least ~15 sales they lost, personally - entirely because of the server/no-lan/always-online things.

 

That may not sound much at all, but virtually all of those sales are from long-term friends of mine that were near-fanatical about Diablo 2. I'd expect that a lot of people would have similar stories to tell. So maybe they 6 millions on the first week. But it could've been 8 millions.

[Ink Blot]

This is fantastic news. THANK YOU, Obsidian. My monies... they're yours.

[Enclave]

Still going to be going Steam here. Wish I had the money to back for Beta testing, it would be nice, as my temporary stint as a QA tester for Activision is coming to a close soon.

 

If you don't mind me asking, why exactly would you still go for the Steam version when there is a DRM free option?

[Arundor]

Hell yeah, thank you Obsidian.

 

Thanks to this news I just put in my $250 pledge and I'm strongly considering upping it to $500.

[WDeranged]

Thanks Obsidian

[LordCrash]

Still going to be going Steam here. Wish I had the money to back for Beta testing, it would be nice, as my temporary stint as a QA tester for Activision is coming to a close soon.

 

If you don't mind me asking, why exactly would you still go for the Steam version when there is a DRM free option?

They want to give the people different options which is a good think if you ask me. First they prefered Steam because some people like it because of its achievement and cloud save systems and because it's already very popular and many people have nearly their complete game collection on Steam.

 

Personally I like the idea of having 2 digital copies. One on steam with achievements and cloud saves for the first playthrough and a backup one from gog.com which I can play even in 10 years or later and which I can install on my laptop without internet access.

Edited September 19, 2012 by LordCrash

[Monte Carlo]

Looking at the stats, I'm fairly sure this news has created a proper income spike.

 

Edit: I've looked at it again, it's more of a levelling off where today is as good as yesterday (time zones permitting), which is still good. Will have another look (GMT) tomorrow.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Monte Carlo

[Ink Blot]

Still going to be going Steam here. Wish I had the money to back for Beta testing, it would be nice, as my temporary stint as a QA tester for Activision is coming to a close soon.

 

If you don't mind me asking, why exactly would you still go for the Steam version when there is a DRM free option?

 

As Lord noted, some people enjoy achievements and the services Steam offers. I know tons of people also like cloud saves and having their collection of games all in one nice tidy bundle.

 

For me personally, having DRM free games so I can back them up myself and install whenever, wherever, and on whatever I want without restriction is more important. But to each their own.

 

Now it's a win/win, as Steam fans get that option and DRM-free proponents get their option.