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General discussionConclusion of the Fair Price Package program(910 posts)(910 posts)
(910 posts)
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Posted February 26, 2019
On March 31st we are going to discontinue the Fair Price Package program. Let us explain the reasoning behind this decision.

We came up with Fair Price Package (FPP) as a way to make up the price difference between various countries. Some games on GOG.COM have regional pricing, meaning the price of the same game in one place can be higher compared to its price in North America. In countries where the game is more expensive, we give users the equivalent of the price difference in GOG Wallet funds. In actual numbers, on average, we give users back 12% of the game price from our own pocket. In some cases, this number can reach as high as 37%.

In the past, we were able to cover these extra costs from our cut and still turn a small profit. Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore. With an increasing share paid to developers, our cut gets smaller. However, we look at it, at the end of the day we are a store and need to make sure we sell games without a loss.

Removing FPP is not a decision we make lightly, but by making this change, we will be able to offer better conditions to game creators, which — in turn — will allow us to offer you more curated classic games and new releases. All DRM-free.

We wanted to make sure you have some lead time to still benefit from the Fair Price Package. The program will last until the 31st of March, 2019, so if you would like to take advantage of it, now is the time. The funds you gather from the program will keep the 12 months expiration date from the moment you’ve been granted your last funds.
Posted February 26, 2019
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First of all, thank you for your support. This was not an easy decision to discontinue the FPP program and we're grateful to you for understanding the reasons behind it. We see that quite a few of you raised concerns about GOG's future. As a part of publicly traded company, we can't comment on any financial results until they are officially reported, but we want to ensure you everything is good with GOG. Being part of a big gaming company, some reports - especially some given by significant media outlets - can often sound much scarier than reality.

You've been also concerned about your access to the games you’ve purchased on GOG. We've covered this topic years ago and it's been in our User Agreement for a long time (please check the section 17.3). This is not only a legal obligation to you but a core part of our ethics as a company.

But don’t worry, all is good, and we have a great plan for the future of GOG. We can’t wait for you to see some of the exciting things we have coming very soon.

EDIT: pinned
Post edited February 26, 2019 by elcook
Posted February 28, 2019
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SPTX: Oh you. You're such a drone.
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Zoidberg: beep beep beep beeeeeep beep beep
Don't you mean bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?
Posted February 28, 2019
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MightyPinecone: Is there any script out there comparing US standard prices with the local price shown on the store page, so that one can easily know which games one should avoid in order to vote with ones wallet? Like having the standard price show beside the actual price, and perhaps also the difference in percent? If not, does anyone feel up to creating such script? It would be mightily convenient.
You can do it manually by clicking on the gift this order box. I think gifts always charge the US price.
Posted February 28, 2019
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skirtish: Yeah, you demand "rights" that I don't want and are thereby campaigning to deprive me of some games that you deem unnecessary, demanding that GOG doesn't carry games that don't meet your criteria. You're effectively trying to dictate which games I should be allowed to buy on here. I play very little and buy maybe one game every two months. It is far, far more important to me to have a bigger selection of games and I'm far more willing to spend a larger amount of money to get a game I really want than have my game of choice not be available. This doesn't make me unprincipled or a lesser customer than you. I just have different priorities. The significant difference between us is that I'm not trying to insult you for yours.
Yeah, you're "only" actively campaigning for me to have NO games available under terms I'd agree with.
By the way, if DRM free is the only thing you care for, GOG's not the only option.
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skirtish: My position is that you should decide how much money a game is worth to you and that you should buy it only if its price is less or equal, and let me do the same. You're not replying to that but instead repeating that you just don't want to let me do it.
I'm repeating my condition for how much a game is worth. There's a certain maximum price, but ALSO for that price to not exceed, for me or anyone else, the base price (generally considered to be the US price, which also applies to countries not covered by the regional pricing model otherwise) paid at that same moment, in that same store, for that same game. If this second condition is not met, the price itself is irrelevant, the game can't be worth it since it violates one of the fundamental principles determining which games may be worth purchasing at all. So, again, by supporting such regional pricing, you are effectively campaigning for making all games unavailable to me, not just the part of them which wouldn't be here otherwise, as my conditions being met would do for you.
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skirtish: You are valuing your own principles higher than mine, you're dismissing mine, and you're being overbearing and insulting over it.
Yes, I'm valuing my principles higher than yours. Since I have chosen those principles of mine, it follows that I deem them correct (at least until something obviously better presents itself to me), and those that oppose them clearly incorrect (no caveats here; something opposing something deemed correct can't be better than it). At the same time, what I'm requesting is for GOG to be again what it once was, follow its own principles again, while you and all the others who allowed it to get here made it change, or at least allowed it to. This essentially means those like you taking over the place which was right for those like me and driving us away, since now it's the right place for you and not me anymore. And since this led to the widespread belief that a place like GOG used to be can't last, it also means there's not even something similar to pre-"good news" GOG (including in terms of community and available games) elsewhere to move to.
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Klumpen0815: At least stop the Russian discount too!
Oh, but that's the cost of doing business in Russia. Otherwise nobody from there will buy.
So the real problem is that those from the EU still buy despite the price hikes. If they wouldn't, that pricing wouldn't exist...
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MightyPinecone: Is there any script out there comparing US standard prices with the local price shown on the store page, so that one can easily know which games one should avoid in order to vote with ones wallet? Like having the standard price show beside the actual price, and perhaps also the difference in percent? If not, does anyone feel up to creating such script? It would be mightily convenient.
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Cusith: You can do it manually by clicking on the gift this order box. I think gifts always charge the US price.
They charge the US price if your local price is lower. They still charge your price if higher. (Otherwise everyone from higher priced regions would buy gifts for themselves.)
And making such a script seems tricky to me, as it's a matter of the local cookie and can't exactly have two locations at once. Maybe for games released before 2018 it could query MaGOG, but that'd make for a lot of queries there, and you can check manually if you want. And it won't work for newer releases.
Post edited February 28, 2019 by Cavalary
Posted February 28, 2019
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immi101: You can certainly make the argument that the Russian discount at times seems a little over the top, but I doubt that removing it entirely would give GOG a higher income.
They did say, back when they still had the one world one price policy, that they had basically zero sales to Russia.
Russians are quite clear in this behavior, either offer them the games at that low price and still get something or they'll "pirate" them and you get nothing. I say good for them, the rest of us should learn from it (or relearn, in some cases).

Aw, auto-edit timeout, was hoping to squeeze this in the previous message too, but didn't hit edit...
Post edited February 28, 2019 by Cavalary
Posted February 28, 2019
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Zoidberg: beep beep beep beeeeeep beep beep
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SirPrimalform: Don't you mean bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?
Doesn't he mean resistance is futile?
Posted February 28, 2019
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SirPrimalform: Don't you mean bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?
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KidInTheHall28: Doesn't he mean resistance is futile?
Pretty sure that's what I've said! :D
Posted February 28, 2019
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MightyPinecone: Is there any script out there comparing US standard prices with the local price shown on the store page, so that one can easily know which games one should avoid in order to vote with ones wallet? Like having the standard price show beside the actual price, and perhaps also the difference in percent? If not, does anyone feel up to creating such script? It would be mightily convenient.
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Cusith: You can do it manually by clicking on the gift this order box. I think gifts always charge the US price.
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Cavalary: They charge the US price if your local price is lower. They still charge your price if higher. (Otherwise everyone from higher priced regions would buy gifts for themselves.)
And making such a script seems tricky to me, as it's a matter of the local cookie and can't exactly have two locations at once. Maybe for games released before 2018 it could query MaGOG, but that'd make for a lot of queries there, and you can check manually if you want. And it won't work for newer releases.
you can get the price via the API, without relying on the cookie:
you just need the game id.

https://api.gog.com/products/1492171024/prices?countryCode=US

maybe ask the GreaseMonkey wizards behind the Barefoot Essentials or Adalia Fundamentals script if they can add that ?
Post edited February 28, 2019 by immi101
Posted February 28, 2019
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Mawthra: If it doesn't affect you using offline installers, you shouldn't really care...
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eiii: It does not affect the installer, it does affect the game itself, that's the problem. For me the main point to buy DRM-free games is that they still run when the shop already has died. It's a question of priorities, I rather give up on some convenient online features when I get a really DRM-free* game instead.

* DRM-free in the sense of being guaranteed to run without any external constraints
Achievements and Cloud Saves are handled by Galaxy and only trigger if running through Galaxy... so there's literally nothing game breaking about them, it's just a DLL call the game makes at certain triggers (for Achievements) or uploading saves when you're done playing (which is handled by Galaxy)... I'm sure you've played games on GOG that have both those features implemented and you using the offline installers haven't even noticed it because you're not running under Galaxy. Those GOG DLL's are in the game install for the offline installers already and they lay dormant if you just use the offline installers.

Again, if it means someone turning down a sale on GOG to go to Steam to get those features, then GOG should do what they can to make sure devs implement them
Posted February 28, 2019
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MightyPinecone: Is there any script out there comparing US standard prices with the local price shown on the store page, so that one can easily know which games one should avoid in order to vote with ones wallet? Like having the standard price show beside the actual price, and perhaps also the difference in percent? If not, does anyone feel up to creating such script? It would be mightily convenient.
You can search the game on MaGOG. That will display they regional pricing disparity.
Posted February 28, 2019
so wait.. does this mean I won't be able to pay with dollars anymore? being that I live in Europe... and a shitty part of Europe at that.
Post edited March 01, 2019 by CipA666
Posted February 28, 2019
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CipA666: so wait.. does this mean I won't be able to play with dollars anymore? being that I live in Europe... and a shitty part of Europe at that.
You will still be able to pay with dollars. Only, if the price of the game you are about to buy is higher than that of its equivalent in the US, you don't get the difference back anymore.

Edit: wait. I read "pay" but it was "play"! XD
Post edited February 28, 2019 by Enebias
Posted February 28, 2019
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SirPrimalform: Don't you mean bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz?
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KidInTheHall28: Doesn't he mean resistance is futile?
So we should bring condensers?
Posted February 28, 2019
It's a shame but I don't mind as long as it is a good way to support GOG. As someone who lives in Latin America, we have a buying behavior very similar to the Russians, people either get a good price or they download at the bay simply because most prices are crazy to even think of over here. THis was one of GOG's main appeal to me, but the other characteristics have made me a fan of GOG through the years.
Posted February 28, 2019
i can't realistically be expected to use gog as a service any longer. there are too many risks.

1. quality of installers are poor e.g. tomb raider
2. website interaction e.g. gbp / login errors
3. galaxy shoved down users throats.
4. staff lay-offs
5. no more cashback
6. unrealistically helpful support
7. miscellaneous minor things unlikely to affect majority of users.

i'm too concerned by gog as a service. i couldn't top-up my wallet even if i wanted to anymore. i might buy only cdpr games as a first party service but that would be my limit.
Posted February 28, 2019
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timmy010: i can't realistically be expected to use gog as a service any longer. there are too many risks.

1. quality of installers are poor e.g. tomb raider
I understand most and agree with many of your points, but I don't understand the problem with installers. Would care to tell about the problems you have had? For me, GOG installers have always worked like a charm.
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Community
General discussionConclusion of the Fair Price Package program(910 posts)(910 posts)
(910 posts)