This isn’t the norm but it does happen more often than people would think.
I mention this not because I’m writing a “tell all” of who’s cool to deal with and who isn’t; that’s not the point of this post whatsoever. This isn’t to focus on people we don’t like to deal with because we have more fun things to do. There are some companies out there that I feel really deserve some special recognition not only based on our own great experiences with them but because of how they really go above and beyond in taking care of the gaming community. So from time to time I’ll be sharing a game publisher that I feel really deserves extra consideration for your hard earned ducats.
First up is GMT Games!
The folks at GMT really care about the gaming community and their “Tough Economy” program is yet another example of that fact. If you aren’t familiar with the program, rest assured you should take a peek, because I can guarantee that you could count on one hand the number of game publishers who would even consider something like this let alone run the promo for the third straight year. Here’s the scoop on the Tough Economy program direct from the GMT website:
The “Tough Economy” Special Offer is Back!!
Many in the gaming community turn to games as a welcome respite from their day jobs, using money from those day jobs to buy the games. In these difficult times, some of our loyal customers have lost their day jobs. No jobs and no cash to buy games is a morale buster. Now, we can’t help in the new job department, but one thing we can do is at least help you continue to enjoy the games while you are job hunting.
So, if you did not participate in our Tough Economy Special offer in 2008 OR 2009 and have lost your job since November 30, 2008 and remain unemployed, if you will provide verification of such status to Tony ([email protected]) or the office folks by mail or phone or e-mail, we will send you TWO FREE IN-STOCK GAMES of your choice. Play them, Enjoy them, and know that we will keep this information private and wish you only the best for a quick recovery.
We hope you guys find this special helpful.
Overall, this was another terrific year for our P500 program, and all you guys who pre-order our games are the ones who make it work for us. So we just want to show our appreciation, as best we can, for your continuing support, even during some rough economic times. As we’ve said many times, P500 is the engine that allows us to produce games – without it and your support we would not have survived to celebrate 20 years producing games that you guys like! So thanks very much for your support – and we hope you enjoy these additional benefits of supporting our P500 program.
The people at GMT understand that times are still tough out there for a lot of folks and they want to do their part to at least help keep morale up. The job hunt grind can be a real bummer and I’m sure having the opportunity to unwind and blow off steam with a couple of free games is nearly priceless.
Even if GMT didn’t release awesome games or have stellar customer service, the Tough Economy program alone sets GMT head and shoulders above many of their brethren producing games.
And that makes them one of my favorite game companies!
Without a doubt, I have to agree about the comments about GMT Games. I have some pretty good games from other companies, but by far my best games are from GMT. Ever since I discovered that the gaming industry wasn’t just one or two companies, like I was led to believe in the 1990’s, I became an even more game enthusiast. In addition the women that work at GMT taking your orders and assisting customers are absolutely great.
I’m also a fan of GMT, they do get my vote for my favorite game company and I have met some of the principals at conventions. I’m curious to see what other companies get mentioned here, since the authors would have inside knowledge of personalities that most of us don’t. I would say however that I am happy with the products of many game companies, have listened to their principals give interviews, and most seem to genuinely care about the hobby. GMT gets my vote because of their superior communication with customers and the quality of their products. I also took advantage of their poor economy special back in 2008 and participate in their P500 program.