The discount classic PC gaming site Good Old Games (GOG.com) shut down unexpectedly this past weekend after suggestions that its DRM-free business model wasn't working, but it was revealed to be a marketing stunt and the site is relaunching Thursday.
The hoax began with the Sept. 17 tweet that "sometimes it's really hard being DRM-free... hard to keep things the way they are and keep management and publishers happy :(" - and then two days later, the ability to buy or redownload games was gone from the site. GOG.com promised existing customers would have the ability to redownload their purchases within the week and suggested the service would be reborn in some new form at a later date. Rumors about it being a hoax sprung up the same day (perhaps in part due to the promise of a free redownload offering - what's the business model in that?!) and customers began to lash out via social media about the apparent betrayal.
On the surface, you could see how a shutdown would inspire its customers to regret their postponed purchases from the service - and, in fact, initial tweets from fans over the "loss" communicated many wishes that they had bought all of those GOG.com games they had been contemplating. But when the truth became clear, that the site was simply coming out of an extended beta period, customers felt manipulated and angry.
GOG.com has issued an apology "to everyone who felt deceived or harmed in any way by the closedown of GOG.com. As a small company we don’t have a huge marketing budget and this why we could not miss a chance to generate some buzz." Assuming GOG.com continues to keep its prices low and games DRM-free and loaded with extras, that may suffice - at least for most fans of the downloadable games store.
But it's a valuable lesson for marketers on how quickly a viral misfire can sting a devoted customer base. If a temporary site shutdown was necessary to transition from the beta to the launch site, transparency and honesty would have delivered a less contentious outcome and might even have better primed demand for the online seller's expanded offering, which will include improved community features and the launch of the fan favorite RPG, Baldur's Gate...
I'm surprised that GOG didn't realize just how much gamers like to complain about things. How did they think this was going to pan out? Yes, the apparent shut down got around to gaming sites faster than a regular old press release, but it seems they don't get the difference between good attention and bad attention.
I was VERY disappointed to find out it was a hoax. Not at first, at first I was just so relieved. But then to find out that they thought it was a good idea to let us think they were gone for good that just kinda makes me a bit angry. As for how it will affect my business with them hard to say. I really love their model, and the game selection. There's not a lot of places I can find "Thinkin' Things 3" (a treasured game from my youth that my sister keeps bugging me for). The honest truth is that it's very likely I'll still buy it and other games from them. As Linkin Park put it 'In the end
It doesn't even matter"