Xeshra: Gilden? You mean Gulden? Well, at the time there was still Gulden available 100 Gulden was about 45 EUR, but... because the EUR has been massively inflated the past 20 years today 100 Gulden would probably be equal to around 70 EUR, which is pretty much the price you currently pay. So, ultimately the games even got more expensive because nowadays the games in general are "less finished" and there is more added costs.

timppu: Yes yes, this is all very fascinating, but the only thing I really want to know right now is this:

Is Alan Woke 2 sold only on Epic Games store? Not even Steam? Is there some predetermined exclusivity on EGS, or is it forever?

vv221: Nobody is asking to raise the prices in US or EU markets ;)

This is all about getting lower prices in the countries with lower income. This does not need to be "compensated" by higher prices elsewhere, due to the zero cost of digital software copies. The distributor is not losing money on low-price sales, neither does the developer/editor.

vv221: This is all about getting lower prices in the countries with lower income.

Ancient-Red-Dragon: And doing that is inherently unfair to, and ripoff to, and discriminatory against, all of the people who happen to live in a country that has to pay higher prices for the same game; and many of those higher-paying people will be more poor than the people in the "countries with lower income" who are being treated like royalty, whilst the people in the "countries with higher income" are being treated like crap, like they are second-class citizens at best.

"Countries with lower income" is a colossally-flawed false premise. Really, there is no such thing as "countries with lower income," only individuals with higher or lower incomes, none of which individuals should ever be discriminated against based on the country in which they live, even though such discrimination is inherently baked right in to the "regional pricing" scam, which needs to be abolished from all stores on earth, for all of the reasons I just described.

Xeshra: Well the thing is... just as already been said, there are many different paths.

Your "path" mainly is involving buying a "big game" (AA or AAA) at the launch, i assume. If i check the current price, lets say for example "Crymachina", a fresh release... on Steam it is 75.57 CHF and as a PS5 BD (physical) it is 54.90 CHF on my local store (both Deluxe Version). A key can be gotten for around 65 CHF (including fees), still more expensive than the PS5 version.

Now, how much did i pay 20 years ago on a PS2 game? Not sure anymore, i think it was around 80 CHF.. at launch of course. So the price was not really changing that much... and i already told, in general the games are way less finished, there are addons and DLCs. 20 years ago, a game was usually "finish"... there was no addons (in a relative term... sure there was some expansions but it can not be compared to the situation we now got since the digital sells has become a major thing) or DLCs.

However... there was the option getting it cheaper, for example the used market... just like a used car. This way it was possible to get many games for maybe 20-30 CHF... almost comparable to the online-sales nowadays. And of course, there was "platinum editions" at a greatly reduced price.

I mean... if i break it down to comparable means... the price was probably almost equal but, i already told... a game back on "the ancient days" was usually finished... although the patch mentality is almost as old as the PC itself; but patches was usually free... DLCs and addons usually not.

In theory, as it got way more mainstream and digital means way lesser costs for distribution... it should be cheaper but i think... the only time it REALLY is cheaper is if you get a game at a huge discount of 90% or so... and then... there is probably still some missing DLCs or addons, finally raising the price to maybe 20 CHF, still. So... in the end probably not cheaper than 20 years ago... for a full or a finished game of a comparable class.

Steam is simply a major success and this means... even if the gamers may feel different... the rip off is valid. They pay way more than they actually think, but it is kinda hidden... simply clever marketing tactics kicking in.

MysterD: Yup, Alan Wake 2 is an Epic Exclusive for now.

Epic funded it, supposedly - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-alan-wake-2-isnt-on-steam/1100-6518717/

vv221: This is a mistake, digital goods do not work like physical ones. The real cost of a software copy is very close to zero, so there is no need to sell some copies at a higher price to compensate for other copies being sold at a lower price.

Lower prices for countries with a lower income could be done without enforcing higher (than base) prices in countries with a higher income.

Ancient-Red-Dragon: "Countries with lower income" is a colossally-flawed false premise. Really, there is no such thing as "countries with lower income," only individuals with higher or lower incomes, none of which individuals should ever be discriminated against based on the country in which they live, even though such discrimination is inherently baked right in to the "regional pricing" scam, which needs to be abolished from all stores on earth, for all of the reasons I just described.

Catventurer: As I said previously, just because a county has a higher income overall, it doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of poverty. Wealth tends to be concentrated at the top in the hands of a handful of people, and it's been long proven that trickle down economics are nothing more than a complete scam.

lupineshadow: JPY became a lot weaker over the last two years.

As GOG prices games in USD for Japan, games became a lot more expensive compared to Steam.

I agree with the OP, GOG is expensive. And the premium is worth less than it used to be.

vv221: - without regional pricing, poor people in poor countries can not buy video games, poor people in rich countries can not buy video games
- with regional pricing, poor people in poor countries can not buy video games, poor people in rich countries can not buy video games

The way to fix that is not regional pricing, it is overthrowing the people who stole all the wealth (I would support that in a heartbeat). But discussing this further might go against the forum rules ;)

SargonAelther: I've always supported regional pricing and always will. GOG's not going to lose money by lowering prices for the 3rd world. They're losing money by NOT lowering them...Once again, regional pricing is not about helping the poor. It's about making money in poor countries. It's not the same, so all these "we've got poor people in the 1st world too" arguments are missing the point.