But we just got to the erections...!

There's a saying that goes like "Don't try to teach your father to fuck.", or something like that.

You trying to tell GOG.com how they should run their business successfully is just that, you trying to teach your father to fuck. I am convinced they know much better how to run their business than you do. They have the real data what sells/works and what doesn't, you are merely guessing.

Ummmm, this thread just got weird. XD

Yes it is. I am only speaking for myself of course, just like you should be speaking only for yourself. Well, he actually suggested GOG should be even more like those other digital stores, more like Steam.

As long as GOG keeps pushing DRM-free releases (and supporting the games as DRM-free, and not becoming just another Steam key reseller like Humble Store), in my eyes GOG.com is not "just another digital store". Apparently you feel differently, so be it.

WTF? There's no such thing as a 'GOG version'. Games on GOG are DRM-free, if you find the same game DRM-free on another shop then it's the same thing as is sold here. Or are you complaining that GOG is the only place to get a DRM-free version of some games? That's none of GOG's business, it's up to the game dev/pub to release the game DRM-free in other places.

I believe he means that you can't buy keys for games on GOG on other sites, like you can with Steam games.

Maybe they really wanted to get that W40k game on humble?! O________o/

For a couple of games I own... I'm pissed off with GOG's handling of the matter.

One is missing its last fix from something like June this year. One is missing its DLC which adds a fair amount of content to the game (not talking Tropico). One is outdated by a few updates, however the developers say 'they thought it was updated on GOG' and have yet to add even another updated since then despite it receiving a complete engine overhaul a week ago. Another game which I'm sure you remember me whining about is the one that its DLC just is invisible without Galaxy installed.

This is where I'm annoyed with GOG. I always have the uncertain feeling over me that 'my game may not get updated or receive proper support (from GOG AND the developer). I shouldn't need to feel this way.

All I ask is for parity between the digital stores; is that too freakin' much to ask for??

Yes, but it is good to remember that AFAIK in those cases Steam (Valve) doesn't normally get any of the money. When you buy a Steam key Humble Bundle, you don't see Valve mentioned as one of the receivers of the money even though you are receiving Steam keys.

So why does Valve allow it then? Because they are in a dominant position and can afford to allow those, it helps to keep people in Steam and bring in new users to Steam, and also gives less incentive for the other stores to develop their own store and infrastructure, as can be seen with e.g. GamersGate, GreenManGaming and even Humble Store, which have increasingly become merely 3rd party key sellers while their own infrastructure has deteriorated.

It is tricky to suggest that GOG should allow other stores to sell GOG keys, without GOG getting part of the money. It has major risks, when you are the underdog. Up to GOG to decide whether that approach makes sense for them in their current situation.

Hey, I'm not the one you need to explain this to :D I was just translating.

gOg is a underdog? I had the impression it was something like the 3d or 4th largest DD store now...

But why would you want to? With Steam, there is such a thing as 'the Steam version' of many games because of the integration. GOG games are generic versions (for want of a better term) so there's no reason to care. What's the difference between buying a DRM-free version on ShinyLoot and buying a GOG key on ShinyLoot?

Well, speaking from personal experience, I've never had Steam throw up a pop up window that said something like "you must log in to play this game!". Whenever I start Steam for the first time I just choose "Start in Offline Mode" and it never bugs me to log in, even when I haven't logged in in weeks/over a month. In Offline Mode I can play all of my games with zero issues. That's even when I don't have an internet connection by the way. So yeah....

Well then I withdraw the argument. :D

Compared to Steam, every other digital PC store is an underdog by default. Some have already thrown in the towel and not even competing with Steam anymore, but getting the crumbs by selling mere Steam keys as cheaply as possible.

An analogy: Windows Phone OS may well be the third largest mobile OS at the moment (far surpassing Symbian, Tizen, Sailfish, BlackBerry OS, WebOS etc. etc .etc. etc.), but it is still an underdog especially compared to Android. So just because GOG.com may be more successful than e.g. Desura (RIP) or DotEmu, doesn't mean it can't be considered as an underdog for PC gaming digital stores.