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General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
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Posted February 21, 2014
The DRM-Free Revolution Continues with Big Pre-Orders and Launch Day Releases!

Good news! GOG.com is going to bring you more fantastic launch day releases, preorders, and other exciting new content from some of our favorite developers. We've lined up 3 big titles that we will be bringing to GOG.com in the next couple of months for sale or preorder that we think will be hits with all of our gamers; and we have more equally exciting games coming up soon.

If you've been a member of the site for a long time, you may recall that when we launched sales of The Witcher 2 on GOG.com, we had to add in regional pricing. The game cost different amounts in in the US, the UK, the European Union, and Australia. We're doing something like that once again in order to bring you new titles from fantastic bigger studios. Since we don't accept currencies other than USD on GOG.com right now, we'll be charging the equivalent of the local price in USD for these titles. We wish that we could offer these games at flat prices everywhere in the world, but the decision on pricing is always in our partners' hands, and regional pricing is becoming the standard around the globe. We're doing this because we believe that there's no better way to accomplish our overall goals for DRM-Free gaming and GOG.com. We need more games, devs, and publishers on board to make DRM-Free gaming something that's standard for all of the gaming world!

That brings with it more good news, though! As mentioned, we have three games we're launching soon with regional pricing--two RPGs and a strategy game--and while we can't tell you what they are yet because breaking an NDA has more severe penalties than just getting a noogie, we're confident that you'll be as excited about these games as we are. For a limited time, we will be offering anyone who pre-orders or buys one of them a free game from a selection as a gift from GOG.com, just like we did for The Witcher 2.

If you have any questions, hit us up in the comments below and we'll be happy to answer (to the best of our ability).

EDIT: Since we've answered a lot of the common questions already here (and lest you think that we've ignored you), it may be handy for you to check out the forum thread about this and search for staff answers by clicking this link here. (hat tip to user Eli who reminded us that the feature even exists. :)
Posted February 22, 2014
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patthefatrat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRdfYwvGTos
Pride comes before a fall.
Posted February 22, 2014
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F4LL0UT: I thought all the games that GOG is referring to in this announcement come from independent studios - or at least from small publishers. And even if it's publishers - it's still where people actually have to put the blame. It's them who didn't agree to one international price and GOG has probably done everything they could to convince those guys to do so.
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Wishbone: Yes, and when they couldn't convince them, their reply should have been "Then I'm afraid we won't sell your games", not "Well, then we'll just throw away the principles we've always stood for and do it your way".

GOG is to blame for allowing this to happen.
Principles should be respected in every possible way in every possible market...but sadly, sometimes that won´t help to mantain a company.

I´m totally with you, but if respecting their principles Gog would dissapear someday, I would be fine if they renounce some principles to stay alive.
Posted February 22, 2014
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Novotnus: Polish case:
Press article:
http://natemat.pl/46065,reklama-heyah-z-leninem-zostala-wstrzymana-przez-polska-telefonie-cyfrowa (you have to put it through a translator and those translators don't like Polish very much...)
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jorlin: The translator made an heroic effort, but the result was hardly more understandable than the original.
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Novotnus: The ad itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3o3TtEuy0s

German case:
Some insight into nazi symbols:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoSwastikas
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jorlin: Thanks!
The ad was not that funny, though it is good that the Polish agencies make creative use of the oppressive past.
About the German case, I thought that you had a German translation of the ad, oh well..
Swastika's can be very positive as well, they originally stood for progress and movement in general. A pity that they have been perverted by Goebbels and Himmler in the bad days of WW II.
I think Germany shoud move on.
Remembering the past is fine and all
but there is something wrong when you have that kinda hard cencorship due to something that have happened.
Thats my oppinion at least.
Posted February 22, 2014
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As a former Steam customer who took his business to GOG for reasons including the customer focussed orientation of GOG's business model (including a regional pricing free practice), this is hugely disappointing. I have seen various examples of websites and businesses who have sacrificed elements of their (at the time) core business values and tried to justify doing so in the face of obvious discontent from their core customer base. Of course, such organisations tend to slide down a slippery slope where the rest of their values are sacrificed over time.

We as gamers do not ask much; let the content we purchase work properly upon purchase, let us own the content we purchase without unnecessary hinderance to its use (i.e. no DRM), and for those of us whose native currency isn't the US dollar, do not penalise us with a higher price where there is absolutely no good reason to do so. GOG is (was?) a success because it understood and implemented fhose values.

However, by choosing to engage in regional pricing, GOG is now an active supporter of it and has eliminated a key reason for why many customers have been loyal to it. Whether it's the publisher or the developer's decision to price in such a fashion is irrelevent; GOG made the business choice to stock games under such rules, and as such they are solely to blame for allowing it to happen. Obviously how GOG chooses to conduct its business is up to them, however destroying a significant amount of goodwill from its loyal customer base for the sake of a few new games doesn't strike me as a good move. I hope this pricing strategy doesn't find itself spreading to other parts of GOG's catalogue, as I see some former loyal customers who would purchase GOG content without thought for price comparison thinking differently now.

My biggest disappointment is that GOG felt like a place where the owners emphasised with customers and thus developed a 'win-win' situation, with customers being pleased to support one of the last places where customers' wishes for simple business fairness and GOG conducting their business in such a manner. It was one of the very few gaming retailers to do so. I dare say that this may not be so much the case now.

*Edited for spelling
Post edited February 22, 2014 by Professor_Cake
Posted February 22, 2014
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zlep: As a customer, when I see a new item labelled "Big Pre-Orders And Launch Day Releases" I shouldn't have to wonder what disagreeable policy change you may have snuck into the middle paragraph. That should be under an announcement titled "Major Policy Changes" explaining that you've chosen to make a break from one of your main principles to further another. You clearly made this change for reasons you believe are good, and for reasons many of your customers would find reasonable. Why didn't you pay us the respect to tell us outright , instead of sneaking it in under a "Yay! New Games!" banner?
This. That GOG is trying its best to sign new games is something we know, so it is hardly news. Not without specific names anyway. The news you're announcing today are the removal of a so-called core principle of the site. And that's not good news.
Posted February 22, 2014
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Drerhu: Principles should be respected in every possible way in every possible market...but sadly, sometimes that won´t help to mantain a company.

I´m totally with you, but if respecting their principles Gog would dissapear someday, I would be fine if they renounce some principles to stay alive.
And what if someday they'd disappear for not respecting their principles? ;)
Posted February 22, 2014
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Palloka: Using my expert hacking skills, I managed to visit the GOG.com site in 2016, and this is what I have found among the news:
...
(Is it a fact? Is it a joke? Is it a dream? Is it a prophecy? Is it just a slippery slope fallacy? I don’t know, consider for yourself.)
Bril-li-ant-ly written! And, unfortunately, quite possible, as I still remember GOG's promises of never pricing a game above $9.99 (first The Witcher 2 was meant to be the one and only exception and then it silently went up in smoke) or GOG's principle of never bloody ever introducing a game with regional pricing.
By the way - just in case you're not doing that already, you shouldn't be losing your time writing spoof press releases - you should do some copywriting or creative writing of your own. Yes, you're that good.
Post edited February 22, 2014 by Wottie
Posted February 22, 2014
Will we be told what games have regional pricing on and be able to see the price difference we pay for living in a certain country? Or will we have to ask Internet friends to verify how much it costs over on their side of the pond in order to compare the prices to other outlets and ultimately decide where to buy the games?
Posted February 22, 2014
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Russonc: also, I thought that game censorship in some countries (like Germany) was controlled by the government of those countries....no??
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Leroux: No, the governments don't censor games, the publishers self-censor their games in order to have an easier time marketing and selling them in the target countries to a wide audience.

Governmental institutions may control age restrictions, by deeming a game harmful to the psyche of children and young teenagers, for example, so you can't sell the game to minors. And if you can't sell the game to minors, you can't advertise it to minors either, so you have a hard time getting much publicity for it and you have to fear that you won't make as much money as you hoped for. In reaction to this, the publishers have their games cut so they can advertise and sell it to an all-age audience (more or less, of course it's not quite as black and white).
Thanks for telling me this....now it seems really dumb for a publisher to self-censor (I notice this seems big in Germany...maybe it's the morale thing to do??! ) I am all for age restrictions but I enjoy some make-believe violence in my games once in a while... hehe..
Posted February 22, 2014
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Palloka: snip
I am quite afraid of this scenario. I hope that gog will go the other way, that they keep only titles they will be able to ofer comlete (no missing DLCs), for a flat price and most importantly, without DRM.
Posted February 22, 2014
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Russonc: I agree with those who say wait and see, if you like what comes out each day/week/year then make a purchase; if not, don't. GOG can't stay in business at all just selling the best 100 old games for $4.99 forever and has to find ways to add product to their catalog...I mean really, don't most of the long time GOGites (or whatever we are called) already have all the good old stuff?? I like that they support some of the new indies stuff, and always look at what comes in new....doesn't mean I'll always buy them, but I like a choice. I've gotten old games on steam that don't work on newer computers, that GOG thankfully gets working for me.

Just not sure why all the "this is the end" type talk....I hope this will strengthen GOG's ability to remain viable in the marketplace.
That´s what I thought. Since we have been watching so many new sales etc, I have the "feeling" Gog´s are trying to overcome their bills and trying to keep doing his wonderful job (for me,it´s the very best place to buy something just for the customer support I have received so far)

It would be great if they could maintain the no-regional pricing (I´m European,and games are mostly less expensive for me here than Steam) but If they could grow and not dissappear in years coming, I would respect this new decission.
Posted February 22, 2014
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Silverhawk170485: What would speak against a kind of refund for people who pay more than the average because of regional pricing. GOG could make an account in credit on their site and re credit the money which was payed too much. This can be spent in any other games in the game catalogue. So that the situation is as if the users who payed more than the average would have bought the game plus other lowpriced games out from an other country.
Nice idea, but that would all come out of GOG's bottom line....not good for business if they can't make money, they won't stay around.
Posted February 22, 2014
Ah, the votes are coming along nicely:
http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/ban_all_regional_pricing_from_gog_stick_with_your_principles
Posted February 22, 2014
Just to clarify my position, I do not really care about regional pricing on three titles. It is not the end of the world. However it used to be core principle of gog and now in the future every publisher negotiating with gog will point and say "these were able to have regional pricing, we want to do the same". You will never ever be able to say that you kept this promise. It may be a good thing for near future (more DRM-free) games, but the long term outcome might be negative and it will be very hard to get back to fair price.
Posted February 22, 2014
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Kronner: ..and GoG.com is about to die.

It was a good run. But with this change, I see no reason to stay at GoG .. Steam now offers the same prices AND much better gaming platform.
Sure, trading cards and badges.

seriously, this kind of things aren´t helpul =_=
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Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)