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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 25, 2014
A few hours sleep and a few hundred more posts!
Are we having fun yet? :)
Posted February 25, 2014
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GabiMoro: You are right, but somebody has to cut it's share to pay that VAT.
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Novotnus: EU can expect a nice love letter from me during this year's election :) I'll send them someone who really 'loves' them :)
Well, then you should check who actually makes decisions at EU level on tax matters : the Council, which is representing the Member States. In other words : on those matters, it's typically the national politicians that decide but find it more convenient to make the decision appear as taken at EU level. They destry Europe doing so but don't care as it allows them to keep their position a bit longer
Posted February 25, 2014
Have I misinterpreted some of the official stuff in this thread - wasn't one of the AAA announcements due today?
Post edited February 25, 2014 by Vainamoinen
Posted February 25, 2014
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Vainamoinen: wasn't one of the AAA announcements due today?
no it wasnt
Posted February 25, 2014
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Vainamoinen: Have I misinterpreted some of the official stuff in this thread - wasn't one of the AAA announcements due today?
Info on the whole thing from GOG higher-ups at some point today. No announcements for games aside from two being RPG, one strategy. That's it.
Posted February 25, 2014
To post this here too, since I see that people are looking for reasons today, which is of course just what they hoped will happen and why the announcement was posted a fair bit earlier than the change itself will hit:

Seems that if GOG decided to pull down their pants and bend over in front of certain publishers, many of you are more than willing to follow suit. That's what not boycotting now means, no matter how you justify it. You either fight this with the best weapon you have as a customer and are fully in that fight, regardless of whether we may win or not, or you don't and the message sent is that they can get away with anything. Which is of course the very reason why this happens.

As for we'll see in X minutes, when I assume the explanation will be posted, unless we get some more GOG monks and the message states either that it was another really bad publicity stunt and they just wanted to see people's reaction, they have no intention of actually adding regional pricing, or that they saw the error of their ways and gave up on the idea (at the very worst with the exception of the three stated games, for which contracts are already signed) and will put some sort of very firm guarantee that it will absolutely never even cross their minds again, I don't care.
Posted February 25, 2014
I'm pretty sure Witcher 3 is one of the 3 games, and for me it will make it or break it, depending how they handle their own game (same parent corporation).

And, about your "We want to increase out catalog for you" case and that being the good news... suuure. I'm positive you do want to increase your catalog so we can have more stuff to BUY (from you). Let's not get too much into ideologies, you already showed yours (according to GOG commercial we are going to get ripped off), just face it you are selling stuff and cut the "we care about you all" PR BS.

Please, just be fair traders and cut the "we care" crap (and regional pricing is not fair business, I highly doubt EA pays any tax to all those small european countries that have average salary below 300€ and get charged same as Germans or Brits (on the sidenote, more appropriate price would result in sales increase because those same countries are dens of piracy))
Posted February 25, 2014
Have to say, definitely interested in seeing what the gentleman has to say later on. Course, with the way the crowd's been, it'll probably be like throwing gasoline-soaked explosives in a fire unless they manage to say every single thing that every single person wants to hear, simultaneously.

It'll have to be one looooooooooooong letter.
Posted February 25, 2014
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GabiMoro: So you are saying that perhaps the seller (GOG in this case) charges VAT even for non EU countries (country which has no VAT) ?
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Phc7006: It won't charge EU vat for them, but might have to register , say in Russia, for the purpose of Russian VAT and then charge Russian VAT ( although for Russia, i'm pretty sure it's not yet the case. The EU was very proud to be the first place to introduce a taxation @ the place of consumer, and it will only enter into force as of 2015)
I thought this was already in force. Why whould Steam do it?

"Valve Corporation reports VAT declarations on a quarterly basis to HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, who then distributes to the various EU member countries."
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8360-WEJC-2625#taxes
Posted February 25, 2014
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Cavalary: Seems that if GOG decided to pull down their pants and bend over in front of certain publishers, many of you are more than willing to follow suit. That's what not boycotting now means, no matter how you justify it. You either fight this with the best weapon you have as a customer and are fully in that fight, regardless of whether we may win or not, or you don't and the message sent is that they can get away with anything. Which is of course the very reason why this happens.
Far more than just a bit of exaggeration, I think. Look at it this way: all gog.com has to distance itself from STEAMSTEAMSTEAM are its USPs. Give up the USPs and you can start selling Steam keys immediately. The gog guys know that, very much so. For them to give up one of the central USPs is not "bending over", it's a risky, a dangerous endeavor, and they're probably biting their nails already.

This is not a "fight", no glorious battle of the customer against the vendor, and peaceful protest can only go one way. I'll see how this plays out.
Posted February 25, 2014
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Ekaros: BTW.

If you are going to do new releases are you also going restrict them based on region specific launch dates?

Just to be "fair" for customers in other shops?
What ever the developer/publisher wants. GOG has no further say in the matter.
Posted February 25, 2014
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Ekaros: BTW.

If you are going to do new releases are you also going restrict them based on region specific launch dates?

Just to be "fair" for customers in other shops?
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Petrell: What ever the developer/publisher wants. GOG has no further say in the matter.
And when it comes to DRM eventually... ;D
Posted February 25, 2014
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Cavalary: Seems that if GOG decided to pull down their pants and bend over in front of certain publishers, many of you are more than willing to follow suit. That's what not boycotting now means, no matter how you justify it. You either fight this with the best weapon you have as a customer and are fully in that fight, regardless of whether we may win or not, or you don't and the message sent is that they can get away with anything. Which is of course the very reason why this happens.
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Vainamoinen: Far more than just a bit of exaggeration, I think. Look at it this way: all gog.com has to distance itself from STEAMSTEAMSTEAM are its USPs. Give up the USPs and you can start selling Steam keys immediately. The gog guys know that, very much so. For them to give up one of the central USPs is not "bending over", it's a risky, a dangerous endeavor, and they're probably biting their nails already.

This is not a "fight", no glorious battle of the customer against the vendor, and peaceful protest can only go one way. I'll see how this plays out.
(I seem to be copying posts in two threads now...)
What's there to see? They had two clear, firm principles. They announced deciding to give up on one of them. That's the end of the story. It doesn't matter what sort of shiny bribe they did it for, be it in terms of new games added or anything else, and it doesn't, at this point, matter whether it will be a slippery slope or not (though I'll remind you that TET admitted it may lead to region locks and existing games regionally priced in the future as well, when they'll come up for renegotiation). It's the fact itself that's more than enough.
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CarrionCrow: Have to say, definitely interested in seeing what the gentleman has to say later on. Course, with the way the crowd's been, it'll probably be like throwing gasoline-soaked explosives in a fire unless they manage to say every single thing that every single person wants to hear, simultaneously.

It'll have to be one looooooooooooong letter.
Hey, all I want to see is "Sorry, we were wrong to try this, we promise there won't be any regional prices." Short enough. And anything else will just add said gasoline as far as I'm concerned.
Posted February 25, 2014
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Phc7006: It won't charge EU vat for them, but might have to register , say in Russia, for the purpose of Russian VAT and then charge Russian VAT ( although for Russia, i'm pretty sure it's not yet the case. The EU was very proud to be the first place to introduce a taxation @ the place of consumer, and it will only enter into force as of 2015)
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GabiMoro: I thought this was already in force. Why whould Steam do it?

"Valve Corporation reports VAT declarations on a quarterly basis to HM Revenue & Customs in the UK, who then distributes to the various EU member countries."
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8360-WEJC-2625#taxes
Please note I was discussing the case of an EU portal, like GOG.

Valve is a non EU company ( thta's what "special scheme means") that opted to be represented in the UK , so they already apply Directive 2008/8.

As the Commission says : "From 1st January 2015, Directive 2008/8/EC (...) provides that VAT on telecommunications, broadcastingand electronic services supplied by a supplier established within the EU to non-taxable persons established within the EU will also be charged in the Member State where the customer belongs. For this purpose, EU and non-EU businesses will use a web portal in the Member State in which they are identified to declare the VAT due in the Member State of their customer."
Posted February 25, 2014
I am very anxious to reading this letter.
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Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)