Oh...well that's good, I owed him about 2 million Space Bucks myself. :D

If they really can get you any game you want for cheaper than GOG's usual prices, than those games are pirated. You think buying pirated products is moral, but charging regional prices isn't? LOL

That's a strange - one might even say conveniently flexible and self-serving - moral code you have there.

And no, I'm not impressed with your claims of only shopping at that one Spanish grocery chain that, going by your own statements, provides decent customer service and the best prices. You shop there because they provide decent customer service and the best prices. That's acting in your own best interests, not taking a moral stance.

I heard the temperatures globally are rising but lots of people don't believe it. I'm pretty sure Fox News says it isn't true. Maybe I saw that on The Daily Show. Jon has a great way of making us all laugh while telling us we are all going to die. :D

I remember quite clearly seeing an episode in Moonlightning as Bruce Willis suddenly moves off the set and tells us that is what they got of the script and he would proceed to entertain us with a monologue. But there is a difference, TV broadcasts continued, there were no NEW programs, but people watch reruns all the time (which does not work with sports, you see it once and that's it,, unless it is an historic game for your team). Now and then I lose electricity for a few days (Darn tornadoes) and I can tell you I start feeling like rioting >_<

Exactly.

The vast majority of the population are sheep, and they will continue to buy from companies that reverse their customer-friendly services.

I'm not a sheep. Never have been, never will be.

When a company no longer offers what they promised me they would offer, I stop buying from them and I also stop supporting them on my website.

Why on earth should I publicly support a company whose principles I no longer believe in and whose ethics have taken a massive dive?

All that does is allow that company, and other companies, to continue down the negative path they have chosen or will choose to go on.

Sorry. Not with my money or my support.

How does this even work? Surely you can sue anyone who on-sells the product? How/where would you even sue the original company?

The obvious extension of this is if India passed a law that made DRM mandatory on games and then sued GOG.

Man, 42 years is a lot in that field. I'm not too sure that GOG is one of those savvy companies, though. It looks like they're committed to this new approach at least until they release all the regionally priced games they've already negotiated for themselves, which probably is a few more than just the three mystery games we've heard of so far. If that's the case, the clearest message would be a drop in sales for that duration, otherwise they'll just realize that it was all talk and no walk.

In five years, traditional Windows PCs could on their way out like the last generations of Playstation and Xbox. Steam will have its own Linux console. Phones and tablets with proprietary stores will keep attracting money and development. A lot of things are changing rapidly, and soon enough there might not be such a thing as the PC game market we have now. I don't think GOG's actions in regards to pricing will have a major effect on those larger forces. At worst, they'll lose so many customers they can't keep going, but if they do keep going they'll eventually need to make much bigger changes to stay relevant to modern computing, or return to their roots providing older software to older machines and Linux on a smaller scale.

Steam can go off and do its own thing if necessary. Other stores don't have that option, whether they're tied to Steam or tied to PCs. I expect most of them realize that, but it's worth keeping in mind when considering their future.

I paid $3 for a digital copy of FlatOut 2 two months before GOG released it for $10.

I like GOG best, but GOG's standard prices are beaten by fairly often. Bloody may be exaggerating availability slightly, but I don't think the only explanation here is that she's buying pirated games.

No, the games I buy from my Thai supplier are not pirated (although he also sells pirated games if I wanted them). The physical copies of most legal games in Thailand are much cheaper than in the US (obviously you don't know that as you have never been to Thailand), particularly when you buy them a month or two after they've been released.

A boxed copy of a newly released legitimate game in Bangkok can often be bought for $10 when that same game is still selling in the US in its boxed version for $50. Why? Because the game companies know that the vast majority of Thais cannot afford to pay $50 for a game. Not on a daily average salary of less than $8. So games are sold here much cheaper. Same for movies. An average movie a month or two after release on DVD is $3-$5. Not a price you would ever get in the US or Europe. (Oh and the pirated version of the same movie is $2.50 but buy five movies and you get one free).

And how do I know that the game I buy is legitimate? Because when I'm asked to log onto Ubisoft's servers, or whichever company I've bought the game from, to register the game I do so. And it's accepted by the publisher.

And, btw, the game also has a sticker on it saying "Not for sale outside Thailand". Why? Because the publishers, who are still making a profit from this game, know that if that was allowed Thai buyers would be buying them here by the boatload and selling them on EBay to people outside Thailand, at reasonable prices for a legitimate product.

Maybe step foot outside America now and again, and you'd know these things? Just sayin.

And as for the Spanish supermarket, I'm beginning to think you have a reading comprehension problem?

One of the big reasons I shop there is because of the way they treat their employees. Higher salaries, better benefits, a permanent contract (unlike all the other supermarkets in Spain), as well as their low prices and good quality products. Yes. Moral.

Then again, you're one of those people who will continue to support GOG even though they just took one of the main reasons away why people buy here for most of the rest of the world that doesn't live in the US. So, no, not surprised by your response here at all.

On that note -- I'm off to shop at my local farmers market. Have a nice day.
Yep :)

I bought a boxed copy of Settlers: Heritage of Kings for the equivalent of 9 bucks in Bangkok about six months after it was released. A couple of years later, and it was released on GOG for $9.99. Needless to say, I didn't buy it as i already own a boxed copy with a physical manual, three DVDs and a couple of little box extras for 99 cents cheaper.

That same boxed copy is still available here in Bangkok at some game shops. Last time I saw it is was selling for about 6 bucks.

Isn't what you just described as superior prices another type of regional pricing?

Wait... so you are going to buy regionally priced games in Thailand because you are boycotting regional pricing on GOG?

Eh, depends on a lot of factors, and it's all a bit of a mess to deal with when we get into jurisdictions and which country's law governs.

What I can tell you is that if a country passed a law that made DRM mandatory, and then proceeded to sue GOG, that wouldn't fly. I can't think of a developed country that allows one to be guilty of a crime if they did it before it was illegal. Maybe there's one or two shitty ones that do, but uh... yeah.
Yes, because regional pricing is immoral.

That changes things. I know that in various other countries in that area of the world if it's cheaper it's probably pirated. You're right, I shouldn't have assumed that was true for Thailand.

Regarding the grocery store - their treatment of employees is one of the things you mentioned. After you mentioned lower prices and better customer service. I don't care what other reasons you have, shopping at a place that leaves you better off financially isn't something you do because of a moral stance. That this chain is also a good chain is great. But it sounds like Costco here in the States. Costco has low prices, good service, and treats employees well. People shop there because of the first two, mainly. That's a financial decision, not a moral one.
She's all in favor of regional pricing as soon as it favors her. Ironic, isn't it?

Not entirely sure I agree. Maybe it's because I've been hearing that for so many years now. Not that long ago, mobile phones were supposed to render dedicated gaming handhelds dead, but the 3DS is Nintendo's breadwinner and selling stupidly well. We're certainly doing more with non-traditional devices, but I'm not sure five years is enough time for a complete phase out, if it ever happens. MS could salvage the PR disaster that Windows 8 has been and really make Win 9 awesome, and all talk of there not being future consoles after this generation are hilarious fantasies cooked up by people with a vested interest in cloud and mobile gaming, the former of which is a wild fantasy for much of the world and the latter having been consigned to the ghetto of free-to-play and ad-based gaming.

No one knows what will happen in the future, but I feel pretty comfortable in saying that reports of the death of the PC and gaming console have been highly exaggerated.