GOG - Major facelift + now DRM Free Movies?

[wanderer27]

Might have some trouble getting in, but I just saw this :

http://www.gog.com/news/introducing_gogcom_drmfree_movies

Cause there's no business like show-business!
Our DRM-Free approach to digital distribution has been the foundation of GOG.com since day one and we're convinced it is now firmly rooted in the gaming industry landscape. More and more users start to expect and demand the digital content they paid for to be free from any kind of restrictive mechanisms that limit access to their collections and get in the way of enjoyment. We think this is a good time to take the next step in our quest to make digital entertainment better for everyone. Today we set out to spread our DRM-Free ideas across the movie industry! That's right: GOG.com now offers DRM-Free movies.
Our goal is to offer you cinema classics as well as some all-time favorite TV series with no DRM whatsoever, for you to download and keep on your hard drive or stream online whenever you feel like it. We talked to most of the big players in the movie industry and we often got a similar answer: "We love your ideas, but … we do not want to be the first ones. We will gladly follow, but until somebody else does it first, we do not want to take the risk". DRM-Free distribution is not a concept their lawyers would accept without hesitation. We kind of felt that would be the case and that it's gonna take patience and time to do it, to do it, to do it right. That's quite a journey ahead of us, but every gamer knows very well that great adventures start with one small step. So why not start with something that feels very familiar? We offer you a number of gaming and internet culture documentaries - all of them DRM-Free, very reasonably priced, and presenting some fascinating insight into topics close to a gamer's heart. Now, what do we have in store for you?
- There's a whole new Movie Catalog for you to browse!
- All the movies we sell are priced at $5.99 (that's a launch promo price for a few of them), and we aim to have that as the main price point for most of our future releases
- Two of the movies - The Art of Playing and TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard are available for FREE, so that you can test our new movie distribution features
- Most of our movies are in Full HD 1080p quality, some in 720p. With those of you with limited bandwidth or download quota in mind, we also supply much lighter 576p versions.
- Apart from downloading your movies you have the option to watch them streaming online, right here on GOG.com
- GOG.com is famous for its bonus goodies - each movie will come with as many of them as we can muster
- You can expect subsequent movie releases each week
That's it. GOG.com Movies is a go, time to get some popcorn!

.

 

[clok1966]

I really like GOG and its business model, but I cant see the movies part working. I took a quick look and most are available FREE already or on other streaming services. The #1 movie has been on the Net for free (legally) for months to a year, or was unless its been removed in the last couple months.

The good, they are all game related pretty much, so they tie in nicely with GOG games. Even with my negativity, i do wish um the best, they are doing Digital the way it should be done, DRM free and hassle free (no front ends on all the time).

 

[thedosbox]

I really like GOG and its business model, but I cant see the movies part working. I took a quick look and most are available FREE already or on other streaming services. The #1 movie has been on the Net for free (legally) for months to a year, or was unless its been removed in the last couple months.

One thing to remember is that the existing streaming services have varying geographic restrictions, so another option is always good - even if the initial content is underwhelming.

 

[darkewaffle]

I like the idea but I doubt their library will be any good. While I don't really care about DRM on games, I actually consider no DRM on movies (and music) to be a valuable proposition.

 

[clok1966]

One thing to remember is that the existing streaming services have varying geographic restrictions, so another option is always good - even if the initial content is underwhelming.

Agreed, one can get blinders on that what you have is not always so readily available in other parts of the world.

 

[Craig234]

My first reaction is not to like any of the interface changes yet. It looks a little shinier, and that's not a good thing.

gog.com has always seemed a bit fixated on growth for better or worse - understandably, as their customer base only needs to buy all the old games they want once, then what?

There are only so many new old games they can add.

 

[JamesV]

Not much of a selection on movies; seems like all indie game-based films, and overpriced imo at 40-50% off.

The real questions, are will they get big name films like The Shawshank Redemption, and what kind of quality? If they get big name films, this would be a game-changer; Amazon and Ebay would be hit pretty hard if you could just buy a high quality movie off GoG instead of a DVD or Blu Ray off Amazon or Ebay.

I bought the Last Days on Mars recently for $5 on Ebay; if I could have a good quality version and literally 'get it now' with no DRM, I'd definitely buy it off of GoG instead.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not much of a selection on movies; seems like all indie game-based films, and overpriced imo at 40-50% off.

The real questions, are will they get big name films like The Shawshank Redemption, and what kind of quality? If they get big name films, this would be a game-changer; Amazon and Ebay would be hit pretty hard if you could just buy a high quality movie off GoG instead of a DVD or Blu Ray off Amazon or Ebay.

I bought the Last Days on Mars recently for $5 on Ebay; if I could have a good quality version and literally 'get it now' with no DRM, I'd definitely buy it off of GoG instead.

It simply won't happen. Not any time soon anyway. They are still screaming piracy left and right, this would just make it THAT much easier.