Like I said before, I´ll wait to see what´s Gog cooking so far with these three titles and how could affect to the rest of their catalogue.

I´m not really fine with the "annoucement" and deleting the video so far like nobody has see it before; that´s like "We are going that way, you like or not"

But in the brighter side (IMO) it´s a better way than HBstore annoucement, or Steam no-annoucement years ago. (those don´t offer a free game for purchase at least)

Somebody said "Gog, that made you different from the rest" and that´s a real problem too, since if every online seller has locked region prices...why a publisher would choose gog to sell a game?

I think we have lost a lot of games so far just for that, and I´m more focused in old games than newer ones, but since publishers still has rights, I totally believe they dont want to sell rights (for example, Grim Fandango) if they won´t have some region lock.

It sucks, I know, but I think people is totally idealistic with principles,etc.

Gog and other sellers arent a polical party or a charity company, they are just trying to grow. Like I said, I didn´t like both decisions (region lock and deleting the video) but If I need to compare with the customer support that I have received in retail-online stores so far...Gog it´s the best one (and second, Humble Bundle store)

I totally understand if you aren´t at the same league than me (everybody has its own opinion and they are totally respectable) but I think the real problem come with the publisher,not Gog.

(Since publishers could say "we aren´t not going to sell here, since we could sell in steam and even hating regiopn locked, people still buy there")

How fight that? Not buying regional locked prices, but not only in Gog, I mean NOT buying them in every digital store!

(Funny how much people are complaining about this,and they want to get their new games on steam, which it´s the shop that have helped to create this region lock monster =_=)
Steam made that change time ago and never heard about people complaining... I understand your dissapointing, but if I need to compare who cares more about people opinions, Gog would be the one,not steam.

And the idea of only telling me there's a change in my account to x game, and then going to that game sub-forum and looking for a sticky thread where a GOG rep has posted a description of what was done seems insufficient to me.

They could have a section of the site for game updates info. They could link you to the page for specific game from your shelf when an update comes, or you could just go to the site page anytime and browse through it, where you can see the full history of changes made to that game or any other game in the catalog. Maybe you could even download it as a text file or some other format.

It's just an idea. It doesn't have to be exactly like that.

Regional pricing is why I have stayed loyal to GOG and never bought a single game on Steam, no matter how tempting.

Yeah i hope they come up with something acceptable for everyone because lets face it not everyone looks at the forums.

Retail is dead for digital goods in countries with a high broadband coverage, they just don't know it yet.
Having a broadband Internet connection:
Why would I pay for:
1) a plastic box with a plastic disk containing a game that will be outdated immediately after release.
2) contributing to pollution during production and delivering the physical goods
3) Taking up space in my cupboard when the contents of thousands of those antiquated goods can fit on two hard disks (one for main storage, another one for backup)

Ah, yes, some reasons against it:
1) Jobs will be lost in the shops.
2) The friendly talk with the retailer and the recommendations you will get through those conversations for other games that you have never heard of, but fit your taste in games.
3) the paper manual which can be convenient for a game with complex controls
4) Extra's that are hard or impossible to deliver digitally
5) The cool factor of being able to easily show it to your friends.

Of those, I will miss number 2) the most. Number 1) is a sad consequence of the times we live in, but there are enough goods left that have an added value if you buy them in a retail shop.
Most shops do not allow you to try out a game to see if you will like it, as pretty much every physical game bought today is sold shrink wrapped.

And resell value if you're a collector. Or just for the purposes of collecting without intending to resell.

Part of me doesn't want to see boxed retail disappear...

That all sounds good if one can assume that physical retail is still a very significant source of revenue for computer game publishers. I'd like to see some credible data that proves physical retail is still this big for computer games.

Where I live in the United States, physical retail is nearly dead and on life support basically. In fact the only retailer anywhere near me in Massachusetts with a very limited selection I might add, carrying PC games is Best Buy. And I notice when going there to buy a WoW time card that they sell Blizzard and Steam store cash cards up to 100 bucks a pop. I get the impression that these guys (nor Steam) are not any fools and see the writing on the wall so they too are happy to sell "steam keys" if you will.

I may be wrong but I think it is safe to say that most people in my nation at least who play computer games are well aware of Steam if not other digital retailers such as GOG and would be increasingly unlikely to pay the ridiculous prices asked at retail for computer games which is probably why nobody at retail is selling them anymore.

Again, I can only go by what I see around here but based on what i see around here your justification of the continuing existence of regional pricing falls apart. Maybe physical retail is far more popular elsewhere in the world? I'd like to see the numbers on that from a credible source before I buy into that though.

Although I wonder to what extent GOG "needed" to do this versus simply chose to do this for money I will concede that without working there that there is no real way to know that. Last I knew though, GOG was doing pretty well for themselves and not in any financial difficulty. I guess one could argue that this move is simply course correction to keep things that way. Unfortunately though all discussion of that here is nothing more than speculation. We do not have the data.

When I think about this some more I guess it just comes down to this:

Once upon a time we heard a whole lot of stuff about caring for human beings, etc. and wrapped up in that stuff was regional pricing is wrong and we won't do it.

But now they are doing it. So all that stuff about caring about human beings is kind of hard to take seriously when the company deliberately decides to toss some number of them under the bus so to speak for money. And let's make no mistake about this. These new games are being taken on with these terms for one reason and one reason only - to make more money.

Once you toss your credibility out the window by saying one thing and later doing another it pretty much makes any further promises made during the damage control phase meaningless. For example, when DRM comes here you will not see TET eat his or any other hat. I feel sorry for the guy actually. He is left now to defend the indefensible. A promise made has been broken. Excuses do not undo this. Justifications do not undo this. Various defenses by the faithful do not undo this. Watch the linked videos. It is what it is.

No wonder people are bullshit. Somebody above lamented this not being more of a "discussion." No, it isn't more of a discussion. It is people venting who have reason to be bullshit. I was more forgiving in my previous post but then I never believed in GOG the way I think some people have. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I am so used to companies screwing consumers in the United States that I trust none of them, not even ones I like. They don't care about me. Not one of them. It's all about the money. The rest is just marketing spin and bullshit - every fucking time.

It is nothing against TET personally or any GOG employee as human beings. They are just folks working at a job like the rest of people, doing the best they can there. But how can you believe a fucking thing they say now? I never did to begin with to be honest. I am well used to being screwed.

Despite all advantages of digital distribution I would say the same.. It is like with books. You can have it in your digital reader but you cannot smell the paper or put it underneath of your table leg :)

Wanting to acquire more of those games is a major factor in why GOG is willing to run with regional pricing on a select few items. Disney is not going to let you get away with whatever terms you want, for example. They have billions and billions and billions of dollars in their pocket (along with the entirety of the Lucasarts back catalog that I see someone clamoring for EVERY SINGLE DAY here), and when GOG The Little Engine That Could shows up to request permission to sell the old games in their own method, Disney is going to look at the lack of power and tell them that they can take their principles and go to hell. Unless, of course, GOG makes enough deals with enough big names to get the big companies to pay serious attention.
Also, abandonware is like antique theft for software. It's a BS term made up by people who didn't want to say or feel that they were just pirates with an age fetish. Sounds nicer than piracy, but still piracy.
And I imagine the reason why Good Old Games was renamed into GOG was because they realized that they needed to expand in order to stay relevant and viable. Kinda like what they're doing now by taking this step with a whopping three games.
Also, didn't GOG do this with Witcher 2? Have seen numerous people in this thread mention that, and the universe didn't implode while GOG staff members all grew moustaches to twirl in a dastardly manner while taking region-free/DRM-free away from every title past, present and future. (Like I've seen a number of people saying they're on the verge of doing.) Right now, we have no concrete info aside from their own statement (which is fine, GOG breaking NDA's would probably make them industry pariahs in a nanosecond). Is it really time for the sky to start falling already? Sometimes you have to prioritize shit. If you can't get more people on-board, DRM-free isn't going to count for a whole lot when the competition gets all the games and puts you out of business. And that's exactly what's happening. Steam is getting more old games and directly challenging GOG's niche section of the market. (The indie side of things is a multi-overlap free-for-all, little bit of gold versus an ocean of crap on all sides.)
If GOG is equal with others in one department, getting their core catalog exclusivity gnawed away at, and being annihilated on new releases, what'll be left? Unless we can all convince TheEnigmaticT to start up a Youtube channel for Let's Plays, they'll probably start losing money. Not to mention, we're all contributing to the expiration of the shelf life of the current games as it is. Gods know I've gone 42 flavors of internet glutton nuts chewing through every 75, 85, 90 percent sale possible. Customers have a maximum usefulness point. Once they're saturated, you either need new customers or new items. Simple as that.

Just passing by quickly; I didn't really follow the recent discussion, so my apologies if I'm way off, but isn't this exactly why there's regional pricing and e.g. US customers pay less than Germans? Because in Germany the retail market still seems to be alive (even though it's far from being anywhere near where it was a decade ago), and German publishers use that as an excuse for the higher prices and region locks, so the digital market doesn't undermine the retail market.

On the other hand, many retail offers are just packaged keys from Steam or other stores ...

Meh, I don't believe physical retail is going to completely disappear. Though, I can easily see companies do more "Limited" runs at release. Collectors are willing to put out too much dough for that 35cent plastic bobble head for companies to just eliminate physical runs entirely.

The only solution I see would be GOG+
New games, new releases, DRM free. By integrating region pricing to your store, it will affect other games that are not yet affected by region pricing. It's also a slap in the face for the publishers who DID want to spread the DRM free revolution with flat prices worldwide. They have also given their trust and now they see that GOG makes an exception for other publishers. I guess they will also feel cheated.

Now all we need is a localized website and even more localized games, especially the old ones with no existing localizations!

I disagree.

How is retail protected in any form, when the prices of digital games [during a sale] simply crush them?

I dont think I have ever seen a phycial copy for as low a price / cheaper than a digital game on sale.
[at least when it comes to relatively new games - not classics - with a heavy discount eg. 75% off]

So yeah, it is really a BS argument. Wanna protect the retail? Stop the sales then.

I also love the smell and feel of paper with books. Still, when I can buy a e-book online which has either no or DRM that can be easily removed, I go for that version instead for new purchases. sure it hurts to see a paper version go, but the space I will save with that action and the possibility to carry my whole library along with me while having several backup copies is certainly appealing to me.
Some notable exceptions for now are books which have to have a big form factor, such as art books, or for instance the pop-up books which have interactivity that simply cannot be reproduced digitally right now without loosing the haptic feedback.

I will welcome the day that technology will come as far as to merge the tablet computer and e-reader into one device with an e-ink screen with good response times and a battery life lasting for weeks even when used every day.

That said, I still love to browse in second hand bookstores.

Anyway, I digress, let's get back to the actual topic.