I'm sure people have bought legacy games from them, though I don't understand what they are, exactly. Do they acquire the rights to the software, write the executable to work in a Windows environment, write support for modern hardware, sound cards, graphics cards? Are the games running in some kind of emulator shell? It seems like they would have to tinker with the software just to avoid problems with it running too fast with modern processors. Or has someone else already done the hard work, and they are just another retailer?

From what I understand, they ask the rights holders to distribute the software or license it or something like that; main thing is that they don't just sell what is considered "abandonware" - they ask and make sure it's above board.
As for wrapping old stuff to modern systems, DOSbox is usually what is used to make things work. There might well be some additional support required for older or some awkward games, but I don't know how they deal with those problems. There is a fair deal of crowd-sourcing problems as well, as they have an active set of forums for things including support and troubleshooting.

To give an example, I ran Master of Orion from a C:\ prompt on a 486 DX 33 MHz IBM clone when it came out; minimum specs now say Direct 7, Win XP, 1 GHz processor. I don't quite understand it, particularly that it seems that Win XP or Vista are required for the game- but no mention of DOSbox.

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/master_of_orion_1_2

they use a emulator or virtual box to run it. Those are the requirements for a virtual machine to run properly.

Ok, thanks. That might turn me off- I don't know if I want to mess around with config.sys and autoexec.bat files again, and I imagine it could still get worse from there with incompatible hardware.

Kontakt, you don't have to do any of that stuff, you just install and play like normal.
Or that's been my experience so far with the games from GoG.
The emulator is part of the software and requires no additional tweaking like the old DOS games do.

Hard to get my head around without configuring himem.sys.

They don't have them at GoG.com, but a couple of favorites:

Siege

http://www.mobygames.com/game/siege

Had units such as war chickens.

Cyber Empires

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cyber-empires

I purchased MOO1 and MOO2 from GOG and they both work fine in vista32 and win7-64 with no additional tweaking or work on my end. Install and run.

I'm partial to eatin' grits on route 66, havn't played that in a looooong time, I liked the humour in the Redneck Rampage series.

You are aware that CD Projekt RED, the studio that programmed The Witcher 1 and 2, are behind GOG.com?

I'd think as a traditional software developer they should know their stuff.

And yes, it's made to be simple, no tweaking required. What turns me off more is when Steam sells these same old games and users have to tweak them themselves or find out they're unable to use them etc.
GOG offer a pretty good service overall as far as I can tell.

+1

Never had an issue with any GOG games. Whether they run in Dosbox or not is irrelevant, they are pre-configured and run great, as is. And yes, if you've ever had to try and run Steam's broken versions of Commandos or Commandos 2, running GOG games will seem like a walk in the park. It's a great service.

GoG is good. I've bought 16 games so far and almost all of them run without problems on my Win7 64 bit system. The only problem so far is B-17 II which just doesn't like my modern controller setup.

No, That's why I ask. I don't know what any of that is.

The only horrible thing about GOG are the sales !!!!!

Last time they had an Origin sale, I bought Ultima 4+5+6, Ultima 7, both Ultima Underworld games, Wing Commander 4 and Wing Commander Privateer.........


FT

ps I concur with the other comments : the experience is totally painless - the installer simply puts an icon on your desktop; you don't even realize the game is running in a virtual box.

Well, this certainly has been helpful for me. Have any of you recommended games that you want to see?

System Shock 2
Grim Fandango
Homeworld
Blade Runner
No One Lives Forever
Vampires: Bloodlines