Star Controller

Star Control 1 & 2 was released as part of GOG's "New wave of Atari games"

I just logged into my computer yesterday and saw various tweets and articles about how Star Control 1 and 2 were both available on GOG.com for $5.99. It was one heck of a surprise.

The extra items available after purchase include the manuals of both games, guides and maps for Star Control 2.  There is also a soundtrack which includes audio of the intro from the 3DO version of the second game.  Most of the stuff I glanced over, is available for free.  However, it’s nice to see everything in one spot without having to “google” everything.

I remember reading a forum thread about getting Star Control on GOG and I initially thought it wouldn’t happen due to the legal technicalities between Toys for Bob and Atari.  After all, Atari owns the title; TFB owns the most important part of any video game, the content itself.

I sent an e-mail to Paul and Fred about what they think about this addition to GOG.  They informed me that “Atari’s right to publish these games expired years ago” and they were not contacted before the game was added.  They’re not getting their share of the profits.  In addition, Paul said that he made an attempt to contact GOG about this and hopefully resolve this.

I bought the game to see what the extras were like.  I think GOG’s a great service; hundreds of games available for low prices, better compatibility, DRM-free and beautifully packaged.  I bought many games from them.  I feel a little guilty about buying the Star Control pack and I really hope that TFB can turn this around in their favor.

In conclusion, it’s nice to see that the news about Star Control on GOG is spreading around.  I think Matt Barton’s interview had some kind of influence.  I think this is an interesting coincidence; 9 days after Matt Barton’s final part of the interview with Paul Reiche and Fred Ford, GOG surprises us with Star Control.  I wasn’t sure if TFB was getting their cut of the profits and I was even more surprised that Atari didn’t even have the rights to publish this in the first place.

I wish TFB the best of luck and I hope this turns around in their favor.  I’d also like to thank the reviews on GOG that mention The Ur-Quan Masters; it really means a lot to the Star Control community.

Links
GOG.com - Star Control 1+2
Star-Control.com - Star Control 1 & 2 re-released on GOG.com
Shacknews - Star Control 1 & 2 re-released on GOG
The Ur-Quan Masters

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