It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)
Pages:
1
50
100
150
200
250
256
257
258
259
260
270
This is my favourite topic
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
So is this letter / statement still being written? If so, could we have a revised ETA?
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
Senteria: Where can I find TET's statement?
Click the link in the edited part of Gog's original post in this thread.
Posted February 25, 2014
Letter is up http://www.gog.com/forum/general/letter_from_the_md_about_regional_pricing
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
HGiles: GOG marketed themselves as the anti-Steam. Buy games without needing to worry about regional prices, digging up an old copy of the manual, technical problems or DRM. It was the No BS marketing that brought me here, and many other people. A deliberate strategic choice that gathered a different target market than Steam.

GOG chipped away at that until only the DRM-free remains. I can buy DRM-free many other places, including Amazon, GMG, Desura, GamersGate. Even some Steam games are DRM free, if you can tolerate the malware that is the Steam client. There's little reason to prioritize GOG over other stores now.

GOG's business model didn't seem to have any problems. The published numbers showed excellent growth, and that matched my experience as a customer here. If anything, I would have said GOG's biggest problem was growing pains. They should slow down and fix long-standing technical issues. There seems to be no reason to make such a huge change, which makes me wonder what major problems GOG is hiding from users.

Change for change's sake is foolish. So far, it seems like GOG has sacrificed a unique selling point and significant part of their business model for a game that only a small part of their customers are interested in. The possibilities for the other 2 games we know of are equally unexciting. It seems like a very poor decision to toss a business model that works quite well for the uncertainty of 'maybe we'll get more games'.

If they had major studios lined up, that would be one thing. But TeT's comments in this thread make it clear that they aren't even in talks with major studios. That's bad business decision-making. At least have groundwork before fundamentally changing your business model.
Don't forget that if all you want is DRM free there's no need to actually buy the game. Everything's DRM free via, er, alternate channels. And the goodies would probably be found there too. It's a prerequisite to having a fair business model when it comes to selling games, but it needs something else to make people want to pay, to want to support you. And of course the first reason to want to buy a game is because you want to support the developer, but the intermediaries, which are the publisher and the shop, count for a whole lot as well. And with publishers usually being the bad guys, the shop should compensate.
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
Lodium: Net profit woudnt that be after the cost have been paid?
avatar
HGiles: Not necessarily. It's typically after some costs but doesn't include others. Depends on how things are taxed and regulated where the business operates. Businesses also choose how to account for costs and profits, so there's some variation even in legal systems.

For an international business, net profit of $900,000 is not great. With that kind of situation, it's not surprising at all that GOG is trying hard to expand.
The $0.9 million was for just one fiscal quarter. For the whole year 2012, GOG made a net profit of some €2 million with a ~20% profit margin. Both the total sum and the margin are very respectable results, and indicate that GOG has been a healthy, thriving business. In 2013, their revenue and profits had more than doubled from the previous year. GOG has never done better. The hypothesis that GOG was barely scraping by and simply had to take the regionally priced games is completely baseless.
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
HGiles: GOG marketed themselves as the anti-Steam. Buy games without needing to worry about regional prices, digging up an old copy of the manual, technical problems or DRM. It was the No BS marketing that brought me here, and many other people. A deliberate strategic choice that gathered a different target market than Steam.

GOG chipped away at that until only the DRM-free remains. I can buy DRM-free many other places, including Amazon, GMG, Desura, GamersGate. Even some Steam games are DRM free, if you can tolerate the malware that is the Steam client. There's little reason to prioritize GOG over other stores now.

GOG's business model didn't seem to have any problems. The published numbers showed excellent growth, and that matched my experience as a customer here. If anything, I would have said GOG's biggest problem was growing pains. They should slow down and fix long-standing technical issues. There seems to be no reason to make such a huge change, which makes me wonder what major problems GOG is hiding from users.

Change for change's sake is foolish. So far, it seems like GOG has sacrificed a unique selling point and significant part of their business model for a game that only a small part of their customers are interested in. The possibilities for the other 2 games we know of are equally unexciting. It seems like a very poor decision to toss a business model that works quite well for the uncertainty of 'maybe we'll get more games'.

If they had major studios lined up, that would be one thing. But TeT's comments in this thread make it clear that they aren't even in talks with major studios. That's bad business decision-making. At least have groundwork before fundamentally changing your business model.
avatar
Cavalary: Don't forget that if all you want is DRM free there's no need to actually buy the game. Everything's DRM free via, er, alternate channels. And the goodies would probably be found there too. It's a prerequisite to having a fair business model when it comes to selling games, but it needs something else to make people want to pay, to want to support you. And of course the first reason to want to buy a game is because you want to support the developer, but the intermediaries, which are the publisher and the shop, count for a whole lot as well. And with publishers usually being the bad guys, the shop should compensate.
QFT.

The day pirate hacks become as easy as Steam is the day a lot of publishers stop making money. Customers will pay, but only to companies and for products that provide more value than inconvenience.
Posted February 25, 2014
Really, that's it? Age of Wonders 3, Divinity: Original Sin & The Witcher 3? Those games will convince publishers to bring your games here? Those games can convince companies like 2K, Bethesda, LucasArts and Microsoft? I give up.
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
Grargar: Really, that's it? Age of Wonders 3, Divinity: Original Sin & The Witcher 3? Those games will convince publishers to bring your games here? Those games can convince companies like 2K, Bethesda, LucasArts and Microsoft? I give up.
The Sales from GOG will convince them to bring them here. The big publishers care about one thing at the end of the day: Money. If GOG can make the money which I think that it can. Then the big publishers will give GOG a shot.
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
Fakum12: Thanks to the user Djungelurban we have a almost complete list of the regional prices for AoW3:

http://www.gog.com/forum/age_of_wonders_series/post_your_regional_price_for_aow3/page1
avatar
silentbob1138: They even charge the European rip-off prices in Africa and South America? They are even bigger bastards than I thought.
Welp. So much for the "regional prices are fairer for poor countries!" argument. All the poor countries get the EU price...

Algeria: $54.99/$61.99
Egypt: $39.99/$44.99
Ghana: $54.99/$61.99
Kenya: $54.99/$61.99
Morocco: $54.99/$61.99
Nigeria: $54.99/$61.99
Senegal: $54.99/$61.99
South Africa: $54.99/$61.99
...
Basically every country other than Russia has to pay more now.
Russia: $16.99/$19.99
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
Grargar: Really, that's it? Age of Wonders 3, Divinity: Original Sin & The Witcher 3? Those games will convince publishers to bring your games here? Those games can convince companies like 2K, Bethesda, LucasArts and Microsoft? I give up.
avatar
HeadClot: The Sales from GOG will convince them to bring them here. The big publishers care about one thing at the end of the day: Money. If GOG can make the money which I think that it can. Then the big publishers will give GOG a shot.
I don't see any of those games worthy enough to convince those publishers. They are just not mainstream sellers.
Posted February 25, 2014
I have been with GoG from the very beginning, but until you guys have regional prices, and I don't care if the publisher can choose or not, I won't spent another single € here.

€ |= $ even when you apply tax!
Posted February 25, 2014
Oh my God. Age of Wonders 3? Seriously? Give me Steam any day. At least Valve doesn't act morally superior, they know they're fucking us over in a lot of ways, but there's no pretending.
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
HeadClot: The Sales from GOG will convince them to bring them here. The big publishers care about one thing at the end of the day: Money. If GOG can make the money which I think that it can. Then the big publishers will give GOG a shot.
avatar
Grargar: I don't see any of those games worthy enough to convince those publishers. They are just not mainstream sellers.
Here - GOG is a very close runner up to Steam at least when the Assassin of Kings. 40k units sold on gog compared to Steam's 200k copies sold. Here is a link http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/11/gog-release-witcher-2-sales-stats-steam-dominates-all-competitors-combined/

We need more AA+ titles on GOG in order to get the sales of steam.
Posted February 25, 2014
What...

Switzerland: $39.99/$44.99
Germany: $54.99/$61.99

I see, I really need to stay in Swiss after finishing my studies and not go back to Germany...
Posted February 25, 2014
avatar
HeadClot: Here - GOG is a very close runner up to Steam at least when the Assassin of Kings. 40k units sold on gog compared to Steam's 200k copies sold. Here is a link http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/11/11/gog-release-witcher-2-sales-stats-steam-dominates-all-competitors-combined/

We need more AA+ titles on GOG in order to get the sales of steam.
Then we would need exclusive AAA games. Steam has a lot of AAA exclusives. GOG has none.
Pages:
1
50
100
150
200
250
256
257
258
259
260
270
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)