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General discussionGetting back to our roots(1418 posts)(1418 posts)
(1418 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 11, 2014
Hey, GOGgers,

We're not perfect, we're exploring new frontiers, and we make mistakes. We thought DRM-Free was so important that you'd prefer we bring you more DRM-Free games and Fair Price was less critical and that it could be sacrificed in some cases. The last two week's worth of comments in our forums (nearly 10k!), show that's not the case. We didn’t listen and we let you down. We shouldn't sacrifice one of our core values in an attempt to advance another. We feel bad about that, and we're sorry. Us being sorry is not of much use to you, so let’s talk about how we will fix it.

One: DRM-free forever. Abandoning fixed regional pricing means it will probably take longer to get some games, but you've made it clear that sacrificing fair pricing for more DRM-free games isn't acceptable.

Two: We will adamantly continue to fight for games with flat worldwide pricing. If that fails and we are required to have regional prices, we will make up the difference for you out of our own pockets. For now it will be with $5.99 and $9.99 game codes. In a couple of months, once we have such functionality implemented, we will give you store credit instead, which then you will be able to use towards any purchase and cover the price of it in full or partially. Effectively gamers from all around the world will be able to benefit from the US prices.

This will apply to every single game where we do not have flat pricing, such as Age of Wonders 3 (full details here), Divinity: Original Sin, and The Witcher 3. If you remember the Fair Price Package for The Witcher 2, this will be exactly the same.

Three: We still intend to introduce the pricing in local currencies. Let us explain why we want to do it and how we want to make it fair for everyone. From the very beginning our intention was to make things easier for users whose credit cards/payment systems are not natively in USD. The advantages are simple because the price is more understandable and easier to relate to. There would be no exchange rates involved, no transaction fees, and no other hidden charges. However after reading your comments, we realized we have taken an important element away: the choice. In order to fix this, we'll offer the option of paying in the local currency or the equivalent in USD. This way, how you pay is always your choice.

Four: You are what matters, and we will be sure to involve you all more in what we're doing and why we're doing it. Let's start by meeting you at GDC - we’d like to invite you to meet us face-to-face Monday the 17th at GDC. Obviously, not all of you can come to San Francisco, so we want to invite all of you to an online event with us early in April to ask us whatever you would like. More details soon.

The bottom line is simple: there may be companies that won't work with us (although we will work hard to convince the most stubborn ones ;). Yes, it means we might miss out on some games, but at the same time GOG.com will remain true to its values and will keep on offering you the best of DRM-free gaming with Fair Prices.

Once again thank you for caring so much about GOG.com. We will work hard not to disappoint you again.

--Marcin "iWi" Iwinski & Guillaume "TheFrenchMonk" Rambourg
Posted March 17, 2014
It's a good thing that GOG listened to their fanbase, even if that fanbase is a bit misguided. Because by this move you're not gaining anything aside fom being able to buy Age of Wonders III cheaper. That's all. It's not like GOG will now acquire all those big games and then make up the difference from their pockets every time. They're not chairity. If they can't get fair pricing they won't get the game at all.

So all we're really getting is less games on GoG and less DRM free games as a whole.
Post edited March 17, 2014 by AdrianWerner
Posted March 17, 2014
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AdrianWerner: It's a good thing that GOG listened to their fanbase, even if that fanbase is a bit misguided. Because by this move you're not gaining anything aside fom being able to buy Age of Wonders III cheaper. That's all. It's not like GOG will now acquire all those big games and then make up the difference from their pockets every time. They're not chairity. If they can't get fair pricing they won't get the game at all.

So all we're really getting is less games on GoG and less DRM free games as a whole.
this post said nothing concrete except for option to stay USD and store credit on regional differences. beyond that, you should take regional pricing as going to plan. but it's good obviously that the guy in charge of it all has come down to let everyone know they're taking the community response to all this pretty seriously.
Posted March 17, 2014
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AdrianWerner: It's a good thing that GOG listened to their fanbase, even if that fanbase is a bit misguided. Because by this move you're not gaining anything aside fom being able to buy Age of Wonders III cheaper. That's all. It's not like GOG will now acquire all those big games and then make up the difference from their pockets every time. They're not chairity. If they can't get fair pricing they won't get the game at all.

So all we're really getting is less games on GoG and less DRM free games as a whole.
The thing is, you must choose: you want AAAAAAA games or you want your principles?

GOG told us that their principles were

#1 DRM-free games
#2 One-world flat pricing

At some time time GOG decided that getting those games full of A's was more important than principle #2. And they told it to their customers (in a very clumsy and uneffective way, I must add).

A lot of people spoke their mind saying they thought different.

Now, as someone has said before, either GOG is run is run by a bunch of emotional idiots, or they figured out that sticking to principle #2 was more important than getting games full of A's, business-wide.

So, it's a choice: you want the games or the principle?

GOG chose the principle.

Sidenote: paying for the games we want to play is almost always a choice. It's trivial and 99.999% risk free to play DRM-free games for nothing (and please don't call it piracy, it's plain ridiculous). If DRM-systems will crumble, the games won't be lost, because we'll have the "free" versions prepared by those playful hackers out there. This has already happened in the "abandonware" times, and will always happen. Because there are people out there who take breaking DRM systems as a delightful pastime.
Posted March 17, 2014
Looks like GOG is making news with their trend bucking stance against regional pricing:

www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/17/gog-abandons-regional-pricing-plans

As I am unable to post links it has to be copy pasted in the browser, sorry for the inconvenience.
Posted March 17, 2014
I might be late to the party but just decided to check GMG to see if there are any good deelz around and was just slapped with this:

https://forums.playfire.com/gmg/thread/120105

I like it when my choice of online gaming distribution providers runs thin :)

Srs GMG... is you serious? How did they expect my country witch is one of the poorest in the EU to pay in GBP's?! Even GoG's decision to charge me euro's only seemed like godsend compared to this... guess am forgetting about GMG existing from now on, lol
Posted March 17, 2014
Well done, GOG. I was worried what kind of path you have chosen for your business. Fair, DRM free, not spying on me. Let me chip in a couple of dollars to say thanks.
Posted March 17, 2014
Thank you GOG!
Posted March 17, 2014
avatar
AdrianWerner: It's a good thing that GOG listened to their fanbase, even if that fanbase is a bit misguided. Because by this move you're not gaining anything aside fom being able to buy Age of Wonders III cheaper. That's all. It's not like GOG will now acquire all those big games and then make up the difference from their pockets every time. They're not chairity. If they can't get fair pricing they won't get the game at all.

So all we're really getting is less games on GoG and less DRM free games as a whole.
avatar
theMole4: The thing is, you must choose: you want AAAAAAA games or you want your principles?

GOG told us that their principles were

#1 DRM-free games
#2 One-world flat pricing

At some time time GOG decided that getting those games full of A's was more important than principle #2. And they told it to their customers (in a very clumsy and uneffective way, I must add).

A lot of people spoke their mind saying they thought different.

Now, as someone has said before, either GOG is run is run by a bunch of emotional idiots, or they figured out that sticking to principle #2 was more important than getting games full of A's, business-wide.

So, it's a choice: you want the games or the principle?
I must admit that country where I live (Poland) is skewing my perspective a lot. To me flat pricing isn't universally good principle. It's good when UK users won't have to pay more than americans, but it's bad when it prohibits having an option to lower the prices below american ones in poorer countries.

That said, sticking to principle here is done solely for the sake of sticking to principle, not for any real world advantage users might get from it. Altough protecting the value and perception of GOG brand is a good thing on it's own I guess.
Post edited March 17, 2014 by AdrianWerner
Posted March 17, 2014
avatar
theMole4: The thing is, you must choose: you want AAAAAAA games or you want your principles?

GOG told us that their principles were

#1 DRM-free games
#2 One-world flat pricing

At some time time GOG decided that getting those games full of A's was more important than principle #2. And they told it to their customers (in a very clumsy and uneffective way, I must add).

A lot of people spoke their mind saying they thought different.

Now, as someone has said before, either GOG is run is run by a bunch of emotional idiots, or they figured out that sticking to principle #2 was more important than getting games full of A's, business-wide.

So, it's a choice: you want the games or the principle?
avatar
AdrianWerner: I must admit that country where I live (Poland) is skewing my perspective a lot. To me flat pricing isn't universally good principle. It's good when UK users won't have to pay more than americans, but it's bad when it prohibits having an option to lower the prices below american ones in poorer countries.

That said, sticking to principle here is done solely for the sake of sticking to principle, not for any real world advantage users might get from it. Altough protecting the value and perception of GOG brand is a good thing on it's own I guess.
You do know that there is still going to be regional pricing for some of the new games but with new store credit if the price is going to be highter in your region.
Post edited March 17, 2014 by Matruchus
Posted March 17, 2014
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Matruchus: You do know that there is still going to be regional pricing for some of the new games but with new store credit if the price is going to be highter in your region.
I doubt this. At least widespread. From time to time this will happen, but it won't be norm. Most of games which developers/publishers won't agree to flat pricing just won't appear on GOG.
Posted March 17, 2014
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Matruchus: You do know that there is still going to be regional pricing for some of the new games but with new store credit if the price is going to be highter in your region.
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AdrianWerner: I doubt this. At least widespread. From time to time this will happen, but it won't be norm. Most of games which developers/publishers won't agree to flat pricing just won't appear on GOG.
I don't know we will see what will happen but I must say that flat pricing is good for me since the regional prices were not applied to our (Slovenian) income in comparison to Polish prices and im not saying that that was bad.
Posted March 17, 2014
Well thanks to you guys going back to your original stance on regional prices i have bought Age of Wonders 3 Deluxe edition as a thanks for listing to us.
Posted March 17, 2014
I am very happy about having the option to continue to buy classics in USD. Thanks GoG!
Posted March 17, 2014
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GOG.com: We thought DRM-Free was so important that you'd prefer we bring you more DRM-Free games and Fair Price was less critical and that it could be sacrificed in some cases.
So did I. To many of us, you are the only choice to buy games (new and old) thanks to your exclusive DRM-free policy and a catalogue increase (specially of those hard to get publishers/devs) would be great. Unfortunately the majority thinks small and prefers to buy the cheapest way possible, and if the games they want are not here, they'll buy them on Steam or anywhere else since they don't mind DRM once in a while or at all.

Oh well...
Post edited March 17, 2014 by Alexrd
Posted March 17, 2014
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Matruchus: You do know that there is still going to be regional pricing for some of the new games but with new store credit if the price is going to be highter in your region.
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AdrianWerner: I doubt this. At least widespread. From time to time this will happen, but it won't be norm. Most of games which developers/publishers won't agree to flat pricing just won't appear on GOG.
I highly doubt this, and considering they clearly left the door open I don't see why you would believe this either.

This statement was no different from their last one. We will have regional pricing, we'll do our best to get flat pricing. They said that when they introduced regional pricing, and they repeated it in this statement, but in a better sounding way. But in the end it's the same thing. They'll try and get flat pricing, but 'when we can't' (ie, when the publisher decides they don't want to), they'll go with Regional pricing.

Nothing changed there. The change is that they'll do their best to compensate towards 'fair price' for the games that they can't fair pricing on.

Regional pricing is a fact, and it' here. And in time, it will no doubt grow and grow in presence. And no, that doesnt' mean every game from now will be regionally priced. I'm sure some big name game will come along with fair pricing, and everyone will fall over themselves pointing out how everyone was exaggerating over this regional pricing thing. But then later another regionally priced game will come out, and another, and another. Until this 'Industry standard' will become a common thing even for GOG-ers.
Post edited March 17, 2014 by Pheace
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionGetting back to our roots(1418 posts)(1418 posts)
(1418 posts)