Good Old Games Interview
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Ars: Has convincing publishers to accept the DRM policy been tough?
Michal Kicinski: Yep. Actually that was one of the toughest issues we faced during the creation of GOG.com. Just like most innovative projects, GOG.com needs to overcome some stereotypes and obstacles which exist in the gaming industry. It's very hard for us entrepreneurs who work hard to make a profit to understand the corporate approach. We are able to show publishers that selling DRM-free old games will bring them additional revenue without extra costs, and the best part is that we can handle the organizational stuff.
In this situation it's very hard for us to understand why we would receive a negative reply to our offer. It's just something that is outside of our business approach, and sometimes it can be very frustrating. It appears that sometimes it's not so easy to get through some mental obstacles and internal politics, and even if we're talking business, it's not always the business factors that are the most important. But we're very determined and stubborn in this matter.
It's all or nothing for GOG.com; if we manage to convince publishers to join our service, we'll succeed. If not, then we have to halt the project. But there are companies and people who stay true to their roots, and their products will be available at GOG.com. Now these companies are Interplay and Codemasters, but more are sure to join soon.
It would be fantastic if GOG.com would be the first thing to trigger the avalanche. We don't believe it would completely remove the usage of DRM schemes, but it could lead to restoring the appropriate relation between customers and publishers. Today this relation is far away from the motto of "customer always knows best," which might be old, but in my opinion, should still be the basis of the relationship between the seller and customer.
