Can't spend too much time writing about... oh shit... Carmageddon II for like a buck! Brb.

Okay, I believe they've done this a few times before, but if you don't know, the concept is that a limited number of a certain game goes up for a crazy discounted price. You see the copies getting bought, and when the availability of that game hits zero, it switches to a limited number of the next game, and so on. Apparently there will be some free ones too for those fast enough to snatch 'em before all those other jerks with a faster internet connection than you have do.

So... stop reading this and go to GOG right now!

It's a neat concept that keeps me tabbing back to the page, but there's nothing of interest popping up. And I'm afraid that if something I want does pop up I won't have the time to scramble for my credit card.

Man, a game goes up and then just goes down like 2 minutes later, it's a pretty crazy sale. I always find GOG's way of doing sales pretty clever.

Hey, Hotline Miami for two bucks! That's a steal for the seven people who don't already own it.

Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut for $1.49. My work here is done.

FUCK! I have no money right now! I don't get my paycheck until later today, and by that point, the sale will probably be done! DAMMIT!

Hopefully, a nice free game pops up that I don't already own.

*Flashbacks of Jack Keane 2*

I'm half convinced that there are bots out there auto snagging all the free games.

The whole "limited availability" thing is purely a marketing stunt, right?

@mb: Nope. Once those copies are gone, it immediately loads up the next game for sale.

I haven't seen a single free game go up yet, and I've been watching it all day long.

I think you may have misunderstood what MB was asking. It is a "marketing stunt" if you think they're being deceptive and pretending like there's no room left for all the ones and zeros in their warehouse, so they need to get rid of those 150 copies of SiN Gold and then they're all sold out. But that's not really the case.

The limited availability just refers to the amount of a specific title that they can afford to sell at these crazy discounts. All these games will still be sold on GOG, just back up at their regular prices. It's the discounts that are available for a limited time.

@joshwent: Even that part doesn't seem legit. We know first hand from developers that Steam sales are an absolute windfall for most titles compared to what they typically sell, why would GOG be any different? It's not like they buy a bunch of digital copies of games at a fixed price and then have to mark them up and sell them to make a profit. Just like on Steam, publishers are ultimately in control of the prices their games are sold at, even during sales. The whole notion of limited availability just seems a little ridiculous to me, but maybe I am totally missing something.

@mb: I think the "limited copies" aspect of the sale is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and because GOG likes to do weird, sort of gimmicky things when they have sales. Like throw in the entirely bonkers idea that digital games somehow come in limited quantities.

@jakob187: "While checking out, keep an eye peeled for a random chance to get a free game. Yes, this time there will be no more split second freebies so everyone has an equal chance :)"

Well, that explains why I haven't seen any free games either. I should learn to read.

Sort of, it's meant to spur action. Give a sense of urgency to drive a purchase a consumer might otherwise have the willpower to resist.

Basically it's a digital version of a Flash Sales. This is basically's videogame's version of Gilt.com or an Amazon flash sale. Or sending a video back to the "Disney Vault".

Obviously there's no physical supply constraints, but the psychological effect on consumers is real. The fear of missing out on a perceived special opportunity causes people to spend more than they otherwise might.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Although I'll add that in addition to the "fear of missing out", this kind of promotion evokes the triumph of being one of the few who get the great deal. Like all of those folks who camp out in front of a store on black friday. When you can see very clearly that there are only a certain number of people who will get these crazy discounts, you feel kind of special for getting to be one of them. It's really ingenious.

As to your question of why GOG should be any different than Steam MB, well first of all, Steam does a very similar thing with the "flash sales" that they do during their big seasonal promotions. It's just usually 7 hours instead of a limited amount that is gone in a few minutes. But deeper than that, most of the games on GOG are very niche. They do have more and more modern titles, but for the most part they still specialize in old games that are simply less desirable than what Steam can offer. So considering that, it makes sense that they do these unique sales to try and get people to throw down a few bucks for a game that they may have never considered buying at regular (or even regularly discounted) prices.

Excellent point, I should have included that! There is such a thing as a "shopper's high" and some people can get basically addicted to that endorphin rush of making the big score.

It really is a clever way to sell a product while simultaneously promoting it. The word of mouth and viral spread of these kinds of sales are incredible and very low cost. Especially, as you mentioned, for a place like GOG which is selling products that people have forgotten about, didn't realize were still available and are no longer being advertised, this is a very effective tool to do so.

@joshwent: That makes complete sense, thank you for the well thought out post and comparison to Steam! I'm definitely guilty of buying games on Steam just because they're on sale and never playing them, so it's not much of a reach to see how others would be more apt to buy something there are allegedly limited quantities of.

Whatever works, though. Hopefully GOG will be around for many years to come.

Reads: Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut for $1.49 -> Goes to the site -> "Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness $1.99" ->" Fuck you GOG!"

Most of these limited offers are gone in about a quarter hour. Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness definitely wins the 'takes the longest to sell out' price.

FTL Advanced Edition is going for $3.39 right now, about 400 copies left, is going pretty fast.

I'm hoping for Deadly Premonition to come back up!

I hope I'm paying attention when FTL comes back around for sale. But even if I miss it, at least I was able to nab The 11th Hour, which I'm sure will turn out to be the greatest game of all time.

I ended up buying Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, because it's pretty much the only game in the entire GOG library I don't already own, unless we count puzzle platformers and tower defense games. So far it's been my only purchase during the sale, and I didn't get a free game for it. :(

Just bumping my own thread for PSA purposes.

The games have cycled through a few times, but I just noticed they now say now say "Last Chance", so I assume the sale is ending soon and this is the last round of repeats.

Get 'em while you can!

That's what I was saying, just in a simpler fashion.

So far I've only bought Children of The Nile. I think its hilarious when a game appears and it takes forever to sell out.

Yeah It's fun watching for that, I can just imagine some poor developer watching the sale happen and see like Deadly Premonition go up and sell out within minutes or Alan Wake go up and sells out within like 10 minutes and get all excited but then their unknown or kind of crappy game goes up and takes an hour and a half to get rid of.

@iamterics said:

Frustrating is the word I would describe it. Deadly Premonition gone in blink of an eye, Time Commando lingered there for severalhours. I don't know how common it is, but if I see something that is sale for something like $2, that becomes price standard for that product and I can never imagine paying more than that for the product.

I love GOG's gimmicks for sales, but this is one they really shouldn't keep bringing back again and again. Every game is either: free, and vanishes instantaneously due to bots or whatever; a good deal, but goes up at 3am and disappears in a few minutes and annoys everyone who couldn't get there in time; or a crappy deal/game that just hangs there for the half hour you've put aside to watch the sale because absolutely no-one's biting.

They need to go back to the drawing board, I think.

WOOHOO got Divinity Dragon Commander for free! These sales are fun as hell.