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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 21, 2014
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TheEnigmaticT: snip
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Wurzelkraft: I wish I could trust you in this case but I have never seen fair regional pricing before and as you stated earlier the publisher will set the price, so I'd rather say I don't trust them to make the right decision. After all your hands are tied; when you don't agree upon what you (GOG) consider fair pricing they won't release their game(s) here.
Who cares. even if theres huge backlash and because of it GOG might fear losing it's customer base; they will still hold all the cards for their own business.
In which case they're more likely to simply no longer offer those titles for sale and tell the publishers to go take a hike (due to hurting their business).
those who would of purchased them would still have DRM Free access as history has proven with games no longer available on their (GOG) catologue and fact of the matter still remains GOG cannot 'force' a producer of a product to sell their product under GOG's wishes, they can only entice them to give GOG customers a good deal.
I mean what are you even angry at? At most it should be the publishers themselves, in which case you can boycott by simply opting out.
If you don't want their product under the terms they want to release it, don't buy it.
Once again they will either offer a better deal if they can or say simply 'oh well, we'll just offer it through steam then'.
Posted February 21, 2014
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Andanzas: Well, if this brings to GOG games that currently require Uplay, it's a great move. Let's see how it goes.
Only if they're dropping the UPlay requirement entierly. Somehow I doubt that as they even slide that junk into stuff already locked down to Steam.

As for UPlay required titles on GOG without having it stripped before sale...

That's going full retard.

I love a lot of Ubisoft games, but since dropping consoles in favor of PC I haven't bought a single one, there's no way I'd ever pay to have that disease dropped on my system.
Posted February 21, 2014
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Wishbone: If you can't clarify the details of your policy changes at this time, then this was the wrong time to make such an announcement. Saying "we're going to do that thing we said we would never do, and no, we can't say anymore at this time" is not good PR.
Bingo! This is the most sensible comment I have seen in this entire thread. Wrists should be slapped... hard.
Posted February 21, 2014
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Wishbone: Are there any of your so-called "principles" you didn't throw out the window today?
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TheEnigmaticT: I understand that this change is one that people will be concerned about, particularly because the nature of this announcement is that we can't give complete answers to every question simply because we don't have answers to all of your questions ourselves.

But I guess it's worth asking: when we rolled out new games in 2012, a lot of people were really concerned. I saw a lot of comments like the ones here in this thread. Since then we've released games like System Shock 2, the WIzardry series, the Leisure Suit Larry series, Neverwinter Nights 2, I Have No Mouth and I must Scream, the complete Wing Commander series, and many more classics. I think we did an excellent job of adopting a new type of release on GOG.com while still sticking to the classics that we have been known for since we started. I think users who trusted us to keep our word that we would continue to release great classics even though we were releasing newer games as well found that we have rewarded that trust in spades.

Here we have said, "This is a big change, and it's one that we know will worry you. We're excited about the games that will be coming to GOG.com, and we're promising that we will do everything that we can to keep our regional pricing fair for everyone." At some point, doesn't the fact that we've been fighting the good fight for 5 years give us any earned trust on the part of our community? We will do what we can to make regional pricing as fair as possible. Trust us, for the moment, and see what happens.

Over the last 5 years, I believe that we have shown ourselves to be a company that is relentlessly focussed on treating our customers better than anyone else in the industry does. We think this change can be something that's good for you, because you'll find great games DRM-free on GOG.com that wouldn't be DRM-free without this. These games are going to be the same price everywhere in the world, except GOG.com will be giving something for you guys out of our pockets to help make up the difference between regional prices.

I understand that the lack of clarity for our policy is bringing confusion, and confusion brings a certain amount of fear with it. I ask that you--and the rest of the guys in the thread--think about our track record of how we treat our gamers with respect. What you're feeling is understandable, and I've found myself in the same situation before. I've found that the track record of the organization that's making promises is worth keeping in mind in circumstances like this, and I think our established history speaks for itself in that regard.
Sorry TeT, but you've made a huge mistake presenting this news in enthusiastic term as "Good News", even though you admit right here that you knew beforehand that this would conjure up a shit storm. I consider the wording of this initial announcement to be underhanded, a word that is usually not associated with "treating customers better".
A more balanced announcement would be much better received (at least by me, I can't speak for all customers here).
OK, that is the only thing I'm going to say directed at you in your role as marketeer, right now.

I certainly enjoyed some releases that popped up here, minus the DLC(!) of the period you mentioned after you have introduced newer games. Your (GOG as as a company, not you personally) crowning achievement of the period you mentioned imho has been System Shock 2, a game that has been pulled from a legal quagmire.

GOG has grown mainly from mouth to mouth advertisement, just like HB for that matter.
Sometimes you'll need to be firm and stick with your principles; "relentless" , to use your words. This might even lead to those coveted publishers who demand region pricing and maybe something else as well (NDA, how convenient, Eh, ehmm..) to cave in to your demands for a change because of the goodwill they will get from releasing their games without the hated features that made customers turn their back on other digital distributors.
I'm a salesman myself, I really hope that the profit you'll make by signing those region-obsessed publishers will be enough to compensate for the reputation damage to GOG as a brand through this decision.
Post edited February 21, 2014 by jorlin
Posted February 21, 2014
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That whole "One World, One Price" was one of my favorite things about GOG. I liked the message, I liked the integrity. I liked telling my overseas friends about it. This seems a poor choice. I'm just one person, and there's already been 41 pages of discussion so I am sure I am saying nothing new, but I'm still going to say that I do not like this.
Posted February 21, 2014
I don't know if it is just me, but the people who are not directly "related" to GOG and come here and openly state that they don't see the problem and that they are sure things won't get any worse, remind me of Neville Chamberlain.
Posted February 21, 2014
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Wishbone: If you can't clarify the details of your policy changes at this time, then this was the wrong time to make such an announcement. Saying "we're going to do that thing we said we would never do, and no, we can't say anymore at this time" is not good PR.
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Hickory: Bingo! This is the most sensible comment I have seen in this entire thread. Wrists should be slapped... hard.
Not sure. It's not too bad to be warned about it a bit in advance - even though we can't do a thing about it.

"SINCE WHEN DID YOU KNOW ABOUT IT AND NEVER EVER EVEN HINTED AT IT ?"
Posted February 21, 2014
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PaladinWay: First online gaming store I bought from was Impulse. I like Stardock's attitude and they made any DRM in the game abundantly clear and I avoided buying any games with DRM but bought the games without. GameStop bought them and I saw them be "lazier" about the DRM indicator on newer games I knew had DRM, so I stopped buying anything there.
Gamestop didn't buy Stardock btw. Stardock sold Impulse to them because they wanted to focus just on game development and the store was taking too much attention (and interfering with their sales tactics no doubt).

But yeah, they've gone from their low DRM stance (key to get patches is hardly DRM-free) to supporting Steam over time.
Posted February 21, 2014
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011284mm: 1 - As already stated I can live with reginal prices as I will only buy games upon a price point I am happy with and with most recent AAA games that is already sitting somewhere in the £5 mark.
3 - This one is important.
I am here because of the DRM-free games, the fantastic community and the support.

4 - Splitting people up to treat them differently never lead to good things. Has often led to mistrust and discontent. (Well you have acheived one, and we have not even been penned up yet).
Agreed wholeheartedly :)
Posted February 21, 2014
the only thing that give me a little "shiver" is that many publishers from real good old games (u know the ones from the 90s and before) will start to demand regional priecing too. but maybe some other "big publishers", with license for old games, will read this and be more open for selling their games on gog.

and i am willing to pay more for games like Blade Runner or some adventures from LucasArts... but they shouldnt exaggerate their price demands..
Posted February 21, 2014
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Andanzas: Well, if this brings to GOG games that currently require Uplay, it's a great move. Let's see how it goes.
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liamphoenix: Only if they're dropping the UPlay requirement entierly. Somehow I doubt that as they even slide that junk into stuff already locked down to Steam.

As for UPlay required titles on GOG without having it stripped before sale...

That's going full retard.

I love a lot of Ubisoft games, but since dropping consoles in favor of PC I haven't bought a single one, there's no way I'd ever pay to have that disease dropped on my system.
If GOG manages to get them to drop Uplay, it would be one massive coup over Steam (check all the whining about having to deal with Uplay AND Steam drms lol) :D
Posted February 21, 2014
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PaladinWay: I don't disagree with you, but if publishers believe that the audience is too adversarial, they'll just write them off as people who would never buy (either go without or pirate). The thing that might be helpful is if GOG would maybe do the no regional pricing things for games over, say, a year old. That way they could potentially sign new games, and by doing so encourage developers to leave DRM out of them, and still have something that's of value to people who feel strongly about lack of regional pricing. Those people would then have a known quantity that they can accept the regional pricing or wait a year and by from GOG then without it. I'm sure that'll work out different ways with different people depending on their current gaming time and game backlog. However, the surge in GOG sales when regional pricing went away would also give those studios a solid number about how many people consider that a dealbreaker.

All entertainment markets gouge at first and lower price over time. Happens with books and movies too. I don't consider it particularly contemptible that game developers do the same. If game developers could be convinced to eliminate DRM and excessive EULAs, I'd be willing to buy things when they come out overpriced instead of waiting several years until they're $5 (my game backlog is pretty large, as in probably won't get through it before I die, so I can wait).
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Darvond: We're adversarial because we don't even know whodunit. Its like a murder mystery. Everyone is scared and doesn't know what's next.
Giving feedback to let GOG know where their customers stand is a good thing. Refusing to listen or take new information into account is a bad thing. That's why I said I didn't disagree with your first post, as it might be better to just ax this for now and think about it and come back later due to people's emotions running so high.

Being adversarial isn't always bad, it's just a signalling question. I want to signal to publishers that if they don't respect my rights, I won't buy their content. I want to signal to them that I won't buy their content for an inflated price, either. However, I will buy it later at a reasonable price as long as they respect my rights. If they want to sell a game I'm interested in for $100 with rootkits attached and EULAs stating I won't report to the police if they murder children in front of me, then I'm not buying it. If they take that same game a year later and sell it for $10 dollars with no code past what the game needs and EULAs stating they aren't liable for more in damages than the purchase price I paid, then I'll buy it at that point.

The EULA thing is why I still haven't re-bought the Kyrandia series (or any EA games since I noticed it was there). I'll go hunt my old CD's and do my own compatibility troubleshooting if I feel like playing it that much.
Posted February 21, 2014
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Hickory: Bingo! This is the most sensible comment I have seen in this entire thread. Wrists should be slapped... hard.
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Telika: Not sure. It's not too bad to be warned about it a bit in advance - even though we can't do a thing about it.

"SINCE WHEN DID YOU KNOW ABOUT IT AND NEVER EVER EVEN HINTED AT IT ?"
That is certainly an issue, but I doubt they would be ignorant of the details right up until the day it launched. If the actual implementation is a month away, they could easily have waited a week if that meant they could actually tell us something useful when they made the announcement.
Posted February 21, 2014
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saberwolfxm: who do you guys thinkit is?
Deep Silver perhaps? We already know Risen 1 & 2 are coming to GOG, and they are a likely candidate for trying to push something like regional pricing. The Risen games wouldn't be day one launches though, and Saints Row IV is out already; no idea if they have anything upcoming. So maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, if Deep Silver is actually bringing their games to GOG without insisting on regional pricing, my respect for them will increase. ;)
Post edited February 21, 2014 by Leroux
Posted February 21, 2014
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TheSarge: (Also, as TotalBiscuit and others have so often said: Pre-Orders are bad! Don't pre-order! Wait until a game is out. Wait for reviews from people/outlets you trust. And buy then. Don't let a small discount or stupid in-game bonus lull you into giving in to marketing hype. Let games stand, and fall, on their actual merits. Not on pre-release marketing. Publishers need to start learning that we want GOOD GAMES, not good /hype/.)
So when you see a game for sale pre-order, don't buy it. I have no interest in pre-orders either and I wont buy them as I have various reasons they don't appeal to me. They're neither good nor bad except in the eye of the individual and what their own priorities are. Steam has all that Pre-order Early Access stuff and I have no interest in it and probably will never buy anything that is Early Access. The fact that the stuff is actually in the store does allow me to spot it on the front page or wherever it shows up and I can watch the trailers and possibly anticipate the release and buy it when it is convenient for me if I'm interested in it. I'd rather not see as many prereleases front and center as there are there, but that's just the way they've decided to present it. A site could have a "prereleases" section which stashes them all there for people who want to see them, or they could put up filters that allow you to filter out prereleases or somesuch.

I think in some cases prereleases dilute a game, and if that's the case it might affect the game negatively and it might not do so well. If I perceive that to be the case later I just wont buy that particular game. But it has its benefits to the publisher also to do prereleases, so they'll do them as long as they believe there are benefits of doing it and the business model proves successful.
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Community
General discussionAnnouncement: Big Preorders & Launch Day Releases Coming!(4041 posts)(4041 posts)
(4041 posts)