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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 29, 2014
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xy2345: I know of those problems, but they are not related to using floppy disks and CDs in DOSBox.

And Windows back in the day was no OS, it was just some sort of enhanced graphical front end for DOS. But yes, vanilla DOSBox can't handle that, that's true.
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Lodium: well i was only linking to the wikipedia article and thinking about some of my own experiences.
I got a couple of games that wont launch in dosbox so i asumed it had something to do with was stated on wikipedia.
They do launch on my old computer no problem with orginal software and orginal hardware but wont launch on my new one With dosbox no matter what i tried.
Which games are those?

I recently installed and played games like Ravenloft - Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan from floppy disks and from CD, Shadow Caster from floppy disks and Ravenloft - The Stone Prophet from CD. All of those worked well, although the floppy disk versions of Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan are buggy like hell and will eventually crash on you.
Posted March 29, 2014
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Lodium: well i was only linking to the wikipedia article and thinking about some of my own experiences.
I got a couple of games that wont launch in dosbox so i asumed it had something to do with was stated on wikipedia.
They do launch on my old computer no problem with orginal software and orginal hardware but wont launch on my new one With dosbox no matter what i tried.
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xy2345: Which games are those?

I recently installed and played games like Ravenloft - Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan from floppy disks and from CD, Shadow Caster from floppy disks and Ravenloft - The Stone Prophet from CD. All of those worked well, although the floppy disk versions of Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan are buggy like hell and will eventually crash on you.
Hard Truck 2
CIV 2
Post edited March 29, 2014 by Lodium
Posted March 29, 2014
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xy2345: Which games are those?

I recently installed and played games like Ravenloft - Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan from floppy disks and from CD, Shadow Caster from floppy disks and Ravenloft - The Stone Prophet from CD. All of those worked well, although the floppy disk versions of Strahd's Possession and Menzoberranzan are buggy like hell and will eventually crash on you.
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Lodium: Hard Truck 2
CIV 2
Civ 2 requires windows.

Hard Truck 2 I have never heard of. Is that a DOS game?
Posted March 30, 2014
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Lodium: Hard Truck 2
CIV 2
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xy2345: Civ 2 requires windows.

Hard Truck 2 I have never heard of. Is that a DOS game?
Not wery known game
Some links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Truck
http://www.giantbomb.com/hard-truck-2/3030-5541/

Not sure if its a dos game or not since i dont have the box for that and the CD doesnt really tell me anything.
Probably not since its from 2000.
Also i cant launch daggerfall, at least thats a 100 % sure dos game.
Post edited March 30, 2014 by Lodium
Posted March 30, 2014
Daggerfall definitely works with DOSBox, though it can be buggy - like it is/was in actual DOS - if you don't use the community-built setup installer ([url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Files]http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Files[/url]). Runs like a charm with that.
Posted March 30, 2014
I can relate to people who want no local currency, but i would be fine with it if we get more drm-free games instead. This is the reason i buy from gog, to get games i own. price is really secondary, and the prices so far are really fair so i have no problem with this. So im kind of sad about the community uproar and would prefer to get more modern games in a drm free format, i would actually buy them for a high price.
Posted March 30, 2014
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chean: Daggerfall definitely works with DOSBox, though it can be buggy - like it is/was in actual DOS - if you don't use the community-built setup installer ([url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Files]http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Files[/url]). Runs like a charm with that.
Hmm, it just crashes on my new computer and i got no idea why, dont even get so far as playing
It works on my older one though buggy
So im starting to think i shoud just download the free version instead of tinkering around with my physical media.
Post edited March 30, 2014 by Lodium
Posted April 07, 2014
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Lodium: So im starting to think i shoud just download the free version instead of tinkering around with my physical media.
Do that, why redo lots of work that has been already done?
Posted April 07, 2014
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Lodium: So im starting to think i shoud just download the free version instead of tinkering around with my physical media.
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etb: Do that, why redo lots of work that has been already done?
Well, i was thinking it woud be nice playing from the media i actually have.
Its kinda a little sad to see the box on the shelf and not be able to play it out of the box.
Kinda like owning an old veteran car but you cant drive it like it was orginally intended because theres stuff like seatbelts, etc and maybe they dont make the orginal parts anymore so you have to custom create it.

Annyway, fed up with dealing with dosbox and my physical old media so that,s why i buy games here
saves me the hassle.
Gonna grab the free version of daggerfall to save me some gray hair as well.
Post edited April 08, 2014 by Lodium
Posted April 07, 2014
In age age where it's so easy to copy and distribute hacked game files, it's hard to fight against that with a DRM-free policy. However, I'll admit I like GoG this way because it's much less intrusive. I like that I don't have to be online to install these and play them. I like that I can put them on a DVD and install at my leisure. It's a convenience thing. However, unfortunately, it appears we're fighting against a tide that's probably too strong for the bulk of the industry. Some may be able to exist this way in small pockets, like GoG, but don't have the illusion this can work for the larger industry anymore. Times have changed and it's just toooo easy to copy/hack and distribute.

The internet redefined everything because it made it so easy to distribute game copies. Ironically, easy and cheap-ish internet also made it possible for companies to REQUIRE it for you to play their game. Of course, it's not equally easy or cheap for everyone.

So let me ask... what stops me from distributing the DVD I just made where I put 4 GoG games? I could give it to friends and they wouldn't need to buy them from GoG. Of course, - I - won't do that. This is the problem with a DRM-free policy: It depends on trust. Trust can work in small pockets, like GoG, but for the whole industry? No chance. Not even Chuck Norris could make that work.

Point is: as consumers, we never really "owned" these games. It's all based on the ability of the maker to make money. If they can't make enough money because of illegal copying and distributing then we don't get the chance to think we "own" them.

The same is true for anything else whether it's money or a special table you buy at the store. If you pass yourself off as the maker of the table and sell them and make money in the maker's place, the maker will lose money - even if you gave the tables away for free. If we could all suddenly copy money as if by magic then money would lose its value as a currency. It'd be worthless.
Post edited April 07, 2014 by jonbee77
Posted April 16, 2014
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jonbee77: Point is: as consumers, we never really "owned" these games. It's all based on the ability of the maker to make money. If they can't make enough money because of illegal copying and distributing then we don't get the chance to think we "own" them.
Actually it is the opposite, if customers give money even to buy DRM or any other form of crap companies will happy to give you more and more crap.
Posted May 04, 2014
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jonbee77: In age age where it's so easy to copy and distribute hacked game files, it's hard to fight against that with a DRM-free policy. However, I'll admit I like GoG this way because it's much less intrusive. I like that I don't have to be online to install these and play them. I like that I can put them on a DVD and install at my leisure. It's a convenience thing. However, unfortunately, it appears we're fighting against a tide that's probably too strong for the bulk of the industry. Some may be able to exist this way in small pockets, like GoG, but don't have the illusion this can work for the larger industry anymore. Times have changed and it's just toooo easy to copy/hack and distribute.

The internet redefined everything because it made it so easy to distribute game copies. Ironically, easy and cheap-ish internet also made it possible for companies to REQUIRE it for you to play their game. Of course, it's not equally easy or cheap for everyone.

So let me ask... what stops me from distributing the DVD I just made where I put 4 GoG games? I could give it to friends and they wouldn't need to buy them from GoG. Of course, - I - won't do that. This is the problem with a DRM-free policy: It depends on trust. Trust can work in small pockets, like GoG, but for the whole industry? No chance. Not even Chuck Norris could make that work.

Point is: as consumers, we never really "owned" these games. It's all based on the ability of the maker to make money. If they can't make enough money because of illegal copying and distributing then we don't get the chance to think we "own" them.

The same is true for anything else whether it's money or a special table you buy at the store. If you pass yourself off as the maker of the table and sell them and make money in the maker's place, the maker will lose money - even if you gave the tables away for free. If we could all suddenly copy money as if by magic then money would lose its value as a currency. It'd be worthless.
Firstly, pirate copies have existed everytime, long before the internet, and they weren´t that hard to find out or to make. Yeah, it was a little harder with cartridges, but it always have been easy with floppy disks, cassetes, CDs and DVDs. It isn´t anything new and it´s not that much easier or harder than before.

Secondly, internet has existed for quite some time already. The only thing that has changed is that actually now people are starting to want DRM. Some years ago no player wanted it, but now there are plenty of people defending/ignoring it. Good for them.

Thirdly, I can get nearly any game out now in the market pirated without DRM, so I fail to see what´s the difference. Just that it isn´t as easy as just copying it? What´s DRM achieving?

And lastly, I´m tired of the each copy pirated is less money for companies. Many people wouldn´t have bought the thing on the first place, and there´s some people who get an official copy later anyway. 1 pirated copy is not the same as 1 less official copy sold. Yeah, I´m sure some of them could have been sales, but I seriously think the number would be a lot lower than companies think.

So I still fail to see what´s the point on DRM. Just living on the illusion that pirate copies don´t exist and having your real buyers perfectly identified everytime while calling them thieves?
Posted May 04, 2014
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KMetalMind: Yeah, I´m sure some of them could have been sales, but I seriously think the number would be a lot lower than companies think.
They know very well that this is the case (they aren't that stupid), but it benefits their crusade to claim that each pirated copy is a lost sale.
Posted June 06, 2014
Sorry,
call me a fetishist, but I want the the Witcher 3 preorder displayed in $ not in € for me. I am pro-€uro European, but when it comes down to international online markets, and such a humble cosy plattforms like gog where all other prices are in $ I find it a tad upsetting, or rather misleading that this game is priced in €uro.

Let's take aside the special edition content and price for AAA titles for a moment.

While $43.79 sounds like a bargain 43,79 € = 59.99$ does not. This is not good, it's confusing. So where is your implementation of statement 3 user's choice of currency?

Generally speaking, why do we have 5.99 and 9.99 prices here anyway, with all the talk of user-friendliness and fair and transparent pricing why doesn't gog invoke the magical "jumble-sale" flea market feeling and make prices like 6 Bucks and 10 Bucks. Seems a bit, well you know, half hearted at the moment. Just my humble opinion.
Posted June 07, 2014
Did I miss something? Where are they "going back to their roots"? As far as I can see, they still charge me the overpriced amount and keep my exchange as profit. Granting me some codes for their games which I probaly never intended to buy doesn´t fix this.
Post edited June 07, 2014 by Warrior57
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionGetting back to our roots(1418 posts)(1418 posts)
(1418 posts)