Humble Jumbo Bundle 2 Shafts Linux Gamers

[shmerl]

A perfect thing would be that GoG also allows to redeem on Steam and the opposite would be great too.

I think it's actually bad for GOG to promote Steam in any way like HB does, and I don't like it about HB at all. They basically became a Steam reseller lately, with some DRM-free games appearing rarely in between. GOG should not promote DRMed services and I don't think they plan to, since unlike HB they aren't Steam reseller and Steam is their direct competitor. Why would they give away free games at their competitors' service, if they pay their own percentage from sales to developers of those games? That would be really bad for business.

[Creak]

I think it's actually bad for GOG to promote Steam in any way like HB does, and I don't like it about HB at all. They basically became a Steam reseller lately, with some DRM-free games appearing rarely in between. GOG should not promote DRMed services and I don't think they plan to, since unlike HB they aren't Steam reseller and Steam is their direct competitor. Why would they give away free games at their competitors' service, if they pay their own percentage from sales to developers of those games? That would be really bad for business.

Well the answer is quite simple: I like DRM-free games, but it's way easier to manage you game library with Steam. Being able to redeem my games on Steam allows me to have both. On the opposite, if I can't redeem on Steam through GoG, I'll end up buying on HB or Steam, since they don't offer me that possibility.

[shmerl]

Well the answer is quite simple: I like DRM-free games, but it's way easier to manage you game library with Steam. Being able to redeem my games on Steam allows me to have both. On the opposite, if I can't redeem on Steam through GoG, I'll end up buying on HB or Steam, since they don't offer me that possibility.

Even leaving aside the DRM aspect of this, you can realize that such step is completely out of place for GOG. When you offer some service, would you also serve as a free promoter of the competing service? It's bizarre from any business standpoint.

The bottom line, if you want games on Steam - buy them on Steam. GOG offer DRM-free games, they aren't Steam resellers.

[ssokolow]

Well the answer is quite simple: I like DRM-free games, but it's way easier to manage you game library with Steam. Being able to redeem my games on Steam allows me to have both. On the opposite, if I can't redeem on Steam through GoG, I'll end up buying on HB or Steam, since they don't offer me that possibility.

The problem with that approach is that the DRM-free and Steam versions are different builds.

If I were following your approach, I'd never have known that my DRM-free DVD+R backup of Strike Suit Zero for Linux was worthless. (The Steam version works. The DRM-free version never starts and provides no useful error messages.)

[RealNC]

Valve is one of the most loved companies in gaming for how great they support their fans and customers.

You're joking, right? They have the worst support in the history of ever.

The game you bought doesn't even work? Tough. No returns.

We think that you violated our TOS? Tough, we block all your 700 games that cost you a fortune and we keep your money. That's borderline robbery.

Hey, here's a new game, released 2014, buy it. Oh yeah, it's actually from 1998, but we'll lie to you and claim it's a new game. You bought it? Tough. No returns.

A user violated copyright law by making a weapon skin for the Steam Workshop that used a picture of a parrot that he doesn't own. Tough, we'll ban that user for life. A publisher did the same thing, but actually much worse by stealing copyrighted assets from others and selling them on our store? No, that's totally fine. We won't ban them. We only ban our users.

The only reason people love them is because of the Half-Life mythos and the cheap game sales. That's ALL. Otherwise, Valve is a joke when it comes to supporting their idio... I mean fans.

[Creak]

Even leaving aside the DRM aspect of this, you can realize that such step is completely out of place for GOG. When you offer some service, would you also serve as a free promoter of the competing service? It's bizarre from any business standpoint.

The bottom line, if you want games on Steam - buy them on Steam. GOG offer DRM-free games, they aren't Steam resellers.

It's not that bizarre, it's even a perfectly known economic rule: why do you think all the restaurants are gathered in the same streets, or why computer shops are all together? Following your idea, they should be as far as possible to each other because they are competing, so it should be bad for their business to have some competition around? Be in reality, it's not. They all gathered together because it attract the consumers with, then, can choose.

I'll try to get you the name of this economic theory.
You could argue that because it's dematerialized, it's different. Well, I don't think so. GoG won't gain consumers by locking themselves away.

[Lysius]

I'm wondering why this bundle is mentioned on Phoronix. Humble Bundle is no longer any different to the numerous other "every week a new bundle" sites that also have their occasional one or two linux games in the bundle.
Humble Bundle might once have been the main driving force for Linux gaming, but this role has been taken over by Valve. And you might dislike Steam, but you have to face the fact that Steam on Linux either has to become a success, or Linux gaming is dead. When Valve fails, I don't think anybody will ever try again.

[shmerl]

It's not that bizarre, it's even a perfectly known economic rule: why do you think all the restaurants are gathered in the same streets, or why computer shops are all together? Following your idea, they should be as far as possible to each other because they are competing, so it should be bad for their business to have some competition around? Be in reality, it's not. They all gathered together because it attract the consumers with, then, can choose.

Having competitor around is not the same as promoting other competitors. Coming to some restaurant, do you see them saying "hey, buying this dish you also get a free meal at our competitors next door!". Really? I've never seen anything of that sort.

Don't compare HB to GOG. HB don't lose anything by giving away Steam keys, they probably don't pay anything to Steam, may be on the contrary Steam pays them to do that as an advertisement of Steam. Since HB is more increasingly becoming a Steam reseller, it's not unnatural to expect. GOG aren't resellers of other distributors, GOG deal with developers/publishers directly and pay them a cut from each sale. Why would they advertise Steam in the process? It makes zero sense.

[KaoDome]

OK, I agree it's not an ideal bundle given that it's an Steam oriented bundle, I would have preferred another one of the cross-platform indie bundles; but for me it was the perfect opportunity to pay for a game I used to play when I was younger.

Age of Empires II was one of my favorite games back in the day but at the time all I had was a copy of it that I didn't quite own. Seeing the remastered version in the bundle I could adequately pay back for all those moments of joy.

[Creak]

Having competitor around is not the same as promoting other competitors. Coming to some restaurant, do you see them saying "hey, buying this dish you also get a free meal at our competitors next door!". Really? I've never seen anything of that sort.

Don't compare HB to GOG. HB don't lose anything by giving away Steam keys, they probably don't pay anything to Steam, may be on the contrary Steam pays them to do that as an advertisement of Steam. Since HB is more increasingly becoming a Steam reseller, it's not unnatural to expect. GOG aren't resellers of other distributors, GOG deal with developers/publishers directly and pay them a cut from each sale. Why would they advertise Steam in the process? It makes zero sense.

I'm sorry I can't be clearer, maybe you'll understand me later, maybe not.
Anyway, economically speaking, showing openness is *never* a bad thing.