Congratulations on being both principled and smart on this one.

This is exactly the kind of reason why, like so many fellow goggers, I keep buying games that I still own in physical form from the days of yore, or that have been on my steam "1€=1$, and God help you if you're australian or japanese" account for years.

The industry standard: "Ripping-off customers"

Right conclusion GOG. [ Values > Games ]

Interesting. The developper was alone so it's either his decision or a mistake.

I used to feel the same but Play on Linux makes setting up Wine so ridiculously easy and in fact automatic for most games that I really don't mind it that much anymore. Also, it's been a really long time since I had to add custom Wine options or overwrite DLLs and all that crap. Unlike your distro, PoL provides you with the latest Wine version and stuff usually just works.

That said, I hate buying a game on GOG for which a native Linux version exists. And by "hate" I mean "I just don't do it." I'm also getting really impatient with GOG. The whole no DRM thing for me is about games being free-as-in-freedom. And that's what Linux is about, too. So GOG boycotting Linux just feels so off to me.

Holy shit, humble bundle has regional restrictions? Shit store is shit, I double-dare anyone to defend them now. GOG on the other hand is more and more awesome since I signed up.

This has been a pretty convincing effort to make amends. This just can't be taken for granted, but I hope it stays this way in this corner of the internet for a long time come.

I just bought ten pots of gold. I don't know what's wrong with me. X-D

Japan + Pc Gaming = :(
Right?

I would like to see GOG make a bigger effort here, since getting it working with Wine or Wine based applications shouldn't be a chore and I'm sure there's some games in the list that already have Native Linux support either directly or through a source port (Hello ScummVM and eDuke32). What online retailer do you know offers WINE support? Personally I believe the biggest obstacle for Linux gaming however is official hardware support. Gaming mice, keyboards, FULL power management support, Nvidia Optimus, AMD Hybrid graphics, the list goes on.

As for the topic at hand I didn't realize there was regional pricing. Being a South African I get screwed over by high exchange rates. In my case regional pricing of retail and historically with EA's Origin (Which I don't purchase from but using it as a reference. They used to be R400 but looks like they realised they can charge R600) works in my favour. Instead of paying 60 USD (over R600) I pay between R250 - R500 a game. GOG games can cost me up to R330 (29.99USD).

This post made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

GOG has always been on of my most trusted online storefronts. Being from Australia, the regional pricing thing was a bit of a disappointment, though I entirely understood where you were coming from, and had no hard feelings about it. I am more than happy to simply avoid games that are suffering from regional pricing.

However, you have gone the extra mile, and for this I thank you whole-heartedly.

I will still not purchase games that have been unfairly regionally priced, but when I want to buy one, instead I will buy a GOG classic that I do not yet own. You still get a sale and don't have to cover for a publisher's greed, I still get a great game, and regional pricing gets a nice stiff one finger salute from 'Straya, c***'.

Thank you GOG, for sticking to your guns. Your unwavering commitment to pleasing your customers and championing DRM-free gaming and fair pricing has been noted.

Just noticed my profile: New User - Registered 2009... huh?

It will stay that way until you change it. Do you need instructions on how to change it?

EDIT: Meh, just in case you do.

Look at the top of this very page and you will see "My Posts" "My Questions" "My Settings" "Help" on the right side at the top. Click on my settings. A new page comes up, and on the left hand side that area is entitled "Personal stuff" and below that there are several things listed with the last one being "Forum 'title'". If you click in the box where it currently says New User, you can type in whatever you want, up to 15 or 16 or something characters.

A company that actually LISTENS to its customers? Remarkable. Trust me when I say that the DRM-Free portion is the bigger portion of why I shop on GOG.com, but I'm also here for the "O" portion, so when I see high priced modern games, I don't tend to care as much as some other shoppers.

Still, the fact that they are listening to feedback, taking action, genuinely responding to patrons' concerns... GOG is the kind of company a person would want to work for. The kind with integrity.

Facebook types call me a socialist and a progressive all the time because I really genuinely believe the extreme majority of companies are about bottom line, and don't have a care in the world for their customers or even their employees. Companies like GOG.com come around and show me that there are people in this world who aren't simply concerned with what feature package they will get on BMW, but actually want to run a business that doesn't take its source of revenue for granted!

Thanks for existing, GOG.com!

Amazon.com (US version) can still export to international customers, I've bought things there and had them shipped to the UK via international mail. They just charge me the normal US$ price, and leave it to UK customs to decide if they need to hit me for VAT and import duty. That's how things ought to (morally, if not legally) work.

They do have restrictions on some goods - notably most DVDs and computer games - that they say they're unable to ship outside the US, due to the manufacturers of those goods putting draconian restraints on their retailers that prevent free international commerce and gouge customers by fixing local prices to avoid fair competition. Even then, physical retailers still get to discount things if they want, it's only digital suppliers that are under even tighter controls by the publishers. I'd dealy love to see someone in power turn around and start throwing something akin to an antitrust suit at these companies - supposedly it's unfair for Microsoft to do something as trivial as bundling a web browser with their OS, so preventing a customer from choosing to buy cheaper goods from an international retailer ought to be ten times worse.
Note that books (and most other goods), pretty much anyone can buy from Amazon US if they're willing to pay the international shipping cost.

The problem comes with digital retail. A site like GoG.com is told by certain publishers they can't operate like a normal retailer located in a single location, and have to pretend they're lots of little regional GoG.coms each operating under a different pricing scheme. That's just insane.

How global commerce is supposed to work:

Manufacturer produces goods. Sells to retailers. Retailers mark it up as they see fit, and sell it on to customers. International price differences then result in poor economies selling goods at cheaper prices affordable to local customers. Customers located in better economical areas then import from cheaper country, resulting in flow of money to poor economy and improving it.

How some manufacturers are perverting global commerce:

Manufacturer produces goods. Realizes they can make more money if they price goods depending on destination by gouging customers in better economical areas for as much as the market will bear. Manufacturer realizes that global trade will prevent that gouging. Manufacturer makes retailers agree not to export goods destined for their economic zone outside of that zone to ensure customers cannot participate in free international trade. Poorer economic zones are unable to export to richer countries to improve their local economy due to manufacturer restrictions.
In addition, digital manufacturers are given additional restrictions to prevent them selling the game for less than RRP outside of specified sale dates, as they tend to be tied into a zero-supply commission model (where the manufacturer sells their goods via the store rather than the store purchasing the goods to sell). Publishers know it's in their best interest to keep those end-customer prices high to get their percentage of a high sale price.
Manufacturer (most likely in a good economic zone) then rakes in cash, and poorer economic zones continue to remain poor.