If you thought GOG was “not like the other stores,” think again. I say this in general reverence; their plan to get The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in their preservation program was an inspired decision, for instance. Unfortunately, even GOG is hardly impervious to the (apparent) allure of trading in real art for AI-generated slop.
Indeed, the digital PC games platform’s ongoing New Year sale sports a grimly bad bit of AI nonsense for its banner. It’s terrible. And, even if it wasn’t, it’s a rough message that Good Old Games will cut corners for no good reason at all.
Did That SNES Get Blast-Processed, Or…?
As a Redditor caught, and Gaming on Linux subsequently reported, the “artwork” is dire. So, the guy’s sitting down staring outside at fireworks—which is the generous read. It’s not impossible that the slop misinterpreted the input’s intent for him to be looking at his TV, which forms one half of the numbers in the “2026 Sale” portion of the piece.
Also, there’s that ugly smear everywhere. If AI-generated imagery had a kink, vasoline would be part of it. (Am I allowed to write that?) But the kicker, of course, is the Super Nintendo. What in the name of heck is going on here? The console has merged with, uh… whatever it is that’s presumably holding it up. (It’s possibly just hanging sideways out of the television stand. I’m honestly not sure, and neither is the AI.)
The Original Kingdom Come: Deliverance Is Getting An Enhanced Version On PS5
Oh.
You know, the Sega Genesis had blast processing. Maybe the poor SNES is the victim of Sega’s dangerously cool tech? Has the Super Famicom failed to stabilize? In an age long before security updates, one can hardly blame its misfortune. At least it makes sense that there aren’t any controllers plugged in; the ports are fused into plastic soup.
A GOG employee, KosmicznaPluskwa, has written a brave forum post effectively decrying the grossness. It’s worth a read, but here’s an excerpt:
“When I buy a new cool figure I like to keep the box around if it’s pretty – this is kind of the same, but on digital level. More cool art to see on top of buying art (video games in our case here) is always more cool art in the world and this is what I’m happy to have. So with everyone also feeling strongly in this thread – I’m with you. And continue speaking up – in the face of future we don’t like to see, complacency is not the way.”
I get you, Kosmiczna, and I’ll add that it’s just really neat when corporations actually value human efforts over the easy (and often miserably ugly) way out.
Bloober Team Is Teasing A Game Reveal, And Fans Are Convinced It’s Rule Of Rose
Either way, something’s coming.
