For some gamers, having games that are free of DRM (Digital Rights Management) can be very important, and Good Old Games (GOG) is working on making things easier for consumers in that regard.
GOG has just launched GOG Connect, a new feature that will allow gamers to re-download DRM-free games from their Steam library.
GOG has partnered with Deep Silver, Harebrained Schemes, Jonathan Blow’s Number None, TaleWorlds, as well as other publishers to bring the following games to its cross-buy portfolio.
Unfortunately, these games, and future games that are to be added, will not stick around forever. This means that gamers will have to keep a close eye on which games pop up on GOG Connect.
The point of DRM in games is to prevent pirates from stealing them. The problem is that pirates usually find a way around it and it usually ends up hurting legitimate buyers. For example, The Sims 3 had a debacle in which legitimately purchased copies of the game could only be installed up to three times, even when on the same computer. Others claim that anti-piracy measures, like Denuvo DRM, hurt the performance of games like Batman: Arkham Knight, although Denuvo refutes this.
Regardless, the main pain point is that DRM also requires a constant internet connection, which can be difficult for some. GOG was initially launched as a platform to allow legacy video games to be played on modern hardware, minus DRM restrictions. It soon became a champion of anti-DRM, and all games released on the platform are like buying Xbox games from brick-and-mortar retail: once you buy it, you can do with it as you please.
GOG is great for consumers, and should help prevent gamers from having to buy a game twice just so that they can play it on a plane.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.