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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
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Fesin: So how is that letter coming along?
First they have to play poker with the publishers in order to find out what the new regional pricings will be. Currently US seems to win but as a surprise move GOG revealed that Poland is actually not yet a federal state. Now there is talk about a 50 cent rebate on eastern europeans as part of the GOG legacy. Alternatively a free Jack Keane for everyone who feels depressed because of this or because of something else.
Post edited February 25, 2014 by Trilarion
Posted February 25, 2014
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Fesin: So how is that letter coming along?
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Trilarion: First they have to play poker with the publishers in order to find out what the new regional pricings will be.
I think that shouldn't take long at least for EU.

EU price = Remove $ add €, add highest Vat applicable in EU (24% i think), convert back to $ by worst conversion you can find. Then add another 10% to 20% just to be sure.

That should be about right for the publishers side.
Post edited February 25, 2014 by Reaper9988
Posted February 25, 2014
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Trilarion: First they have to play poker with the publishers in order to find out what the new regional pricings will be.
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Reaper9988: I think that shouldn't take long at least for EU.

EU price = Remove $ add €, add highest Vat applicable in EU (24% i think), convert back to $ by worst conversion you can find. Then add another 10% to 20% just to be sure.

That should be about right for the publishers side.
Sounds pretty much spot on... But you forgot rounding up to nearest 4.99 or 9.99
Posted February 25, 2014
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Trilarion: First they have to play poker with the publishers in order to find out what the new regional pricings will be.
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Reaper9988: I think that shouldn't take long at least for EU.

EU price = Remove $ add €, add highest Vat applicable in EU (24% i think), convert back to $ by worst conversion you can find. Then add another 10% to 20% just to be sure.

That should be about right for the publishers side.
27%, Hungary.
Posted February 25, 2014
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GabiMoro: GOG told me this:
"Our main policy is one price disregarding where user is from, it means that because of the inside country regulations about Vat our income from the same title will be higher or lower depending where from user is buying it as we have to cover a proper amount for country of residence. Answering simpler - yes all additional costs are covered by us and send the user country (it more depends from the IP address however then from the chosen location during registration)."
So it seems they charged different cuts of VAT (or none at all).
I had read that. It's as consistent with a EU/ non EU divide as with a country divide. That's their problem anyway
Posted February 25, 2014
Regional pricing might very well be what makes me stop buying games from GoG. No DRM, flat price structure etc. are exactly the reasons you have succeeded in the first place. I think you're doing a huge mistake here. I will not buy a single game from you which has regional pricing. That's a promise. You also lost a good portion of goodwill, and I'm not as tempted to recommend you to others anymore.
Posted February 25, 2014
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adamhm: <snip>
Your post was both well informed and informative.
Thank You
Posted February 25, 2014
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Leroux: It's unclear how actively they are pursueing this. There was some news a while back about Valve trying to dissuade people from circumventing the regional prices...
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AstralWanderer: It is now explicitly forbidden in the Steam Subscriber Agreement (at the end of section 3A):

"You agree that you will not use IP proxying or other methods to disguise the place of your residence, whether to circumvent geographical restrictions on game content, to purchase at pricing not applicable to your geography, or for any other purpose. If you do this, we may terminate your access to your Account."
But what does this say about users from one region gifting games to users from another region (possibly in exchange for money)? That would be neither IP proxying nor disguising the users' place of residence. It might be done for the same purposes they list, but the quote explicitly forbids only two means to reach those purposes and not the purposes themselves, so it's still a little vague.
Post edited February 25, 2014 by Leroux
Posted February 25, 2014
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JohnnyDollar: Someone from the UK or W Europe answer something for me.

How is the regional pricing done on other online digital content like music and movies where you live?

Is it currency exchange + add applicable taxes and fees = price you're charged?
Nope.
I actually buy my CD's in bulk from the US (well a Canadian store actually) I chose 5-10 CD's then buy them because when you guys get a new CD from NIN for say $10 over here they are charging £15. Just buying a hand full of CD's at time negates the postage costs and I am better off, unfortunately MP3 sales are done under the same banner as everything else. So I tend not to buy too many MP3's as they are such a rip off.
Same for DVD's a new release sits somewhere between £10 - £20
Posted February 25, 2014
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Leroux: But what does this say about users from one region gifting games to users from another region (possibly in exchange for money)? That would neither be IP proxying nor disguising the users' place of residence. It might be done for the same purposes they list, but the quote explicitly forbids only two means to reach those purposes and not the purposes themselves, so it's still a little vague.
Lockdown on cross-region gifts. "This game cannot be gifted within/outside of your region."

In case of Dishonored (seems Zenimax/Bethesda always pioneers this shit), the block worked BOTH ways. If you bought more expensive stuff for the international (EFIGS) version you couldn't activate it in eastern EU (don't know if you still can't, I eventually ended up rebuying everything as GOTY edition, when the said edition got a massive discount sale).
Posted February 25, 2014
So it can end in situation where I buy game as a gift but I don't own it because of regional restriction? They still control some aspect of it...
Posted February 25, 2014
Mostly they will think there is not interest in game and not that it is ignored by large because of their business model.
So, in the end we will be expected to cash-out +30% higher price or wait some sale.
I mean, why would we actually want to play some new game when it comes out.
(Maybe that is good as first few months most of them are beta anyway).
Posted February 25, 2014
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silentbob1138: They are under NDA and can't legally announce the games.
It was a very stupid decision to announce regional pricing with some unknown games, though. If the games are truly so great that we won't dislike regional pricing (which I doubt), it would have been better to announce the policy change when the first game gets released.
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HypersomniacLive: No, because there would always be a mass of GOG users that would oppose it no matter what the games are (there're plenty of posts in this very thread supporting this); they then would have a similar discussion in the Release Thread - and that would have damaged day-1 sales far more.

Dropping the bomb this early and on a Friday evening was carefully planned.
It's a known tactic called the Friday News Dump. Quite popular with politicians here in the States.
Posted February 25, 2014
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Ekaros: So it can end in situation where I buy game as a gift but I don't own it because of regional restriction? They still control some aspect of it...
In any case its bullshit.
Since you bougth a product you are entitled to do whatever you want with it.
Be it selling it, gifting it or trading it, even destroying it so long you dont break any legal restrictions.
Its not like its impossible to implement some kind of used market place for digital goods.
Valve already have a kind of user to user store in place so they only have to take a fee and share that fee with the devs whenever users trade, sell, etc and make some kind of signature in the goods.
Post edited February 25, 2014 by Lodium
Posted February 25, 2014
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JohnnyDollar: Someone from the UK or W Europe answer something for me.

How is the regional pricing done on other online digital content like music and movies where you live?

Is it currency exchange + add applicable taxes and fees = price you're charged?
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011284mm: Nope.
I actually buy my CD's in bulk from the US (well a Canadian store actually) I chose 5-10 CD's then buy them because when you guys get a new CD from NIN for say $10 over here they are charging £15. Just buying a hand full of CD's at time negates the postage costs and I am better off, unfortunately MP3 sales are done under the same banner as everything else. So I tend not to buy too many MP3's as they are such a rip off.
Same for DVD's a new release sits somewhere between £10 - £20
Thanks for the response. I haven't bought music in ages. Besides occasionally on the radio or online, I never listen to it. There was a time when I could listen to the radio and tell you the band and the name of the song with about 4 out of every 5 that played in that era. I can listen to the current era for 20 songs in a row and most likely can't give you the name for a single one. :D
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Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)