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General discussionI boycott GOG ... well because of (lost) principles(316 posts)(316 posts)
(316 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 02, 2015
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john_hatcher: .... P.S.: I will keep updating this thread with every new game I would have bought. ...
I don't like quite a lot of things from GOG either, for example the excessive regional pricing and they definitely lost money with me too because I refuse to buy for a high price when for example the price in Russia is also a tenth of the price I have to buy. This is injust. But I doubt it makes a big difference for them in the end.

But keeping GOG updated about every game you would have bought. Isn't this a bit too much? It looks a bit like a spoiled childs reaction if you ask me.

Say you boycott GOG and be done with it, not whining about it every time new again. This is bad style.
Posted October 02, 2015
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tinyE: There are too many people in here taking life WAAAAAAAAAAY too seriously! XD

And thank god you are going to keep updating this thread because I might seriously have to fucking shoot myself if I don't have this to look forward to every day. :P
Taking life way too seriously is a requirement for membership on this forum. Right below the login screen for name and pass it asks if you have started taking life too seriously. If you incorrectly answer NO, you are redirected a google page full of cat pictures.

*That comment is my own opinion, and in no way represents the actual process of membership at the GOG website, nor is in any way a description of their practices, nor a reflection of the parent company or its subsidiaries.* (for the people who take things too seriously)
Posted October 02, 2015
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toxicTom: ... It's not that easy. Since the launch of the German site, gog.com is officially targeted to a German audience. While I don't think they can be fined for selling blacklisted or banned stuff to Germans, since they are no German company the BPjM and KJM have another way to punish GOG: They can blacklist the site as a whole. This would mean gog.com would disappear from all search results of German targeted search engines - and you can imagine how bad it would be for business to disappear from google.de. ...
It's even much easier. It doesn't matter if you are a polish company or a company of another country. If you make business in Germany (which is funny enough a definition in the internet age) you must comply with German law or regulations or whatever. So I guess they could just get sued in Germany and if proven guilty would have to stop selling some of the games to Germans and additionally pay a penalty.

Since they already made business with Germans before I think the distinction if an official targeting of German customers or an indirect targeting is pretty much artificial and not meaningful. Basically they were breaking the law before and could have been fined for it. It's just coincidence they were thinking a bit more thoroughly about the legal consequences when starting their localizations. Maybe they not only hired a German speaking community manager but also a German lawyer and oops, they learned about some things.
Posted October 02, 2015
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john_hatcher: snip
You're wrong. Yup, I said it. It's not GOG that is telling you what you can buy, it's the devs/publishers and the country in which you reside. #You can't have an opinion on facts

As for the rest of your post: Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Posted October 02, 2015
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Johny.: ... If I personally would make for example Wolfenstein buyable on GOG.com from Germany territory (site language doesn't matter) I would personally go to jail. :) Or fined or smth. There was some legal explanation about it somewhere on the forums.
There was something somewhere is not really a confidence inspiring statement. But I guess you would not need to go to jail. Usually companies have to pay fines if they do wrong. It's not like they can even go to jail. Or if anyone it would probably have to be the boss (the guy who is responsible for everything, has the biggest office and the most comfortable chair).
Posted October 02, 2015
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Emob78: Taking life way too seriously is a requirement for membership on this forum.
Dammit. Then how the hell did I register? Am I only a glitch in the system?
Posted October 02, 2015
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timppu: I had the same question in mind. Is there a digital store which sells those same games to Germans?

If he says he is still buying games from Steam, I call a double-standard.
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Grargar: Not directly through Steam, but there might be a store that sells Steam keys without restrictions.
Wouldn't those Steam keys still come from the publisher, ie. Bethesda? So they'd be fine with Humble Bundle (or other store) selling those same games to Germans without restrictions?
Post edited October 02, 2015 by timppu
Posted October 02, 2015
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timppu: Wouldn't those Steam keys still come from the publisher, ie. Bethesda? So they'd be fine with Humble Bundle selling those same games to Germans without restrictions?
No, not from the Humble Store specifically (because they do enforce regional locks), but there might be some stores which might not do so. I'm not sure if, for example, GamersGate and GreenManGaming are enforcing those locks.
Posted October 02, 2015
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tinyE: There are too many people in here taking life WAAAAAAAAAAY too seriously! XD
Taking someone's life is a serious thing. What are you, The Joker? Your line sounds exactly something that the grinning Jack Nicholson would say just after pushing someone to their death.
Posted October 02, 2015
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Emob78: Taking life way too seriously is a requirement for membership on this forum.
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Grargar: Dammit. Then how the hell did I register? Am I only a glitch in the system?
For some reason you took the registration process seriously enough. Sometimes that's enough to get by the thought police with a convincing disposition. Kinda like the old trick of pinching yourself during a lie detector test. The pain overrides the machine's grasp of your vital statistics in weighing truth or falsehood. If you take the login process seriously enough, it can be mistaken into thinking you actually give a rotten **** about anything at all.

You're a cat right? Well, you're only a glitch if we see you twice in a row.

Deja vu or Matrix glitch? You be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_KmNZNT5xw
Posted October 02, 2015
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john_hatcher: These prices are from a deal which GOG offered, since I (one exception) don't buy full priced games:
...all the demands at 20% the price.

Actually, these ridiculous sales are the single thing that most remind me of Steam.
Post edited October 02, 2015 by Vainamoinen
Posted October 02, 2015
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DanTheKraut: Again for Germany this is wrong...

this is the legal situation for Germany:
The games aren't banned in Germany at all. Some are indexed like Quake 2 or 3 and Spear of Destiny which means adults only (commercials and public selling only in places adults have access too any other store can sell those games too but you need to ask for them).
In fact there are 3 rated 18 ratings for games in Germany.
USK: KJ and unrated (which automatically means rated 18) - those games can be sold anywhere and also commercials aren't a problem.
Indexed - Commercials and public selling are restricted to places minors don't have access but any store can sell those games with the only exception that you have to ask for it.

Then there is also a difference between download titles and retail versions when it comes to laws.

Wolfenstein 3 and RTCW got seized by a court which means no commercials at all BUT import/buying and owning are still legal if you are an adult. Selling is a bit complicated in this matter but also not forbidden (Several court decisions regarding this also from the highest court here).

GOG or Steam are not affected by this because the JMStV (for download titles) and the JuSchG (for retail versions) only count inside Germany and for stores placed in Germany.

(snip)

And because you will not believe me a official source for Germany

Can I distribute an unrated or “indexed” title in Germany?
Yes, distributing games without a USK rating in Germany is in line with the existing statutory Regulations. Certain precautions have to be considered though: if your program clearly is a game (and no “infotainment” or “edutainment” program) then your title will be labeled as “unrated”, independent from the possible age classifications of other countries such as PEGI, ESRB, BBFC, CERO etc., and can therefore only to be sold to adults. If an allegedly gameplay-identical version received a USK rating at some point is negligible for this matter. Titles without USK rating are also endangered to be placed on the prohibited list (“Index”) by the Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM).
If the respective title has been indexed by the BPjM, specific terms of sale apply These media must not be displayed, offered, announced or advertised publicly in places accessible for minors. While this general ban of advertising exists for these titles (in accordance with Article 6, Section 1, Clause 6 JMStV), the sale is also restricted to verifiably adult persons only.

http://www.usk.de/en/extramenue/login/publisher/start/publisher-faqs/
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DanTheKraut: (snip)
GOG is a store with a German website and targeting customers in Germany. As an online store it therefore has to abide by German laws.

Which means that the bolded parts about selling to adults do pose a problem for GOG.

This article explains the hurdles to sell those games to adults in Germany as an online distributor pretty well and makes it clear why GOG and Steam don't do it:
http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/Thema/verkauf-computerspiele.html
Posted October 02, 2015
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Johny.: ... If I personally would make for example Wolfenstein buyable on GOG.com from Germany territory (site language doesn't matter) I would personally go to jail. :) Or fined or smth. There was some legal explanation about it somewhere on the forums.
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Trilarion: There was something somewhere is not really a confidence inspiring statement. But I guess you would not need to go to jail. Usually companies have to pay fines if they do wrong. It's not like they can even go to jail. Or if anyone it would probably have to be the boss (the guy who is responsible for everything, has the biggest office and the most comfortable chair).
Well, it's Germany, it's not like the US where we literally have enough room to jail an entire corporation and choose not to. You guys don't even have enough jails to do it.

Personally, I think we should let all the pot related offenders do community service so we can throw a corporation or two behind bars.
Posted October 02, 2015
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Emob78: For some reason you took the registration process seriously enough. Sometimes that's enough to get by the thought police with a convincing disposition. Kinda like the old trick of pinching yourself during a lie detector test. The pain overrides the machine's grasp of your vital statistics in weighing truth or falsehood. If you take the login process seriously enough, it can be mistaken into thinking you actually give a rotten **** about anything at all.
Wow, that must be a terrible machine, because I don't remember even trying. Or maybe GOG just bugged out at the moment. Neither would be surprising.

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Emob78: You're a cat right? Well, you're only a glitch if we see you twice in a row.

Deja vu or Matrix glitch? You be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_KmNZNT5xw
An interesting idea for my next avatar...
Post edited October 02, 2015 by Grargar
Posted October 02, 2015
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Trilarion: There was something somewhere is not really a confidence inspiring statement. But I guess you would not need to go to jail. Usually companies have to pay fines if they do wrong. It's not like they can even go to jail. Or if anyone it would probably have to be the boss (the guy who is responsible for everything, has the biggest office and the most comfortable chair).
Sorry for not pointing it out. There was information, but no detailed explanation, see update in the first post:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/bherzlich_willkommenb_gogcom_goes_german_163a1/page1
You won't get details on who would have legal troubles from me (employee or the company owner) - I'm just a developer. :) But does it matter? We just can't sell some games in Germany because it's illegal. Similarly even if some drug were legal in Poland and not in your country, I couldn't sell and send it to you.
Post edited October 02, 2015 by Johny.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionI boycott GOG ... well because of (lost) principles(316 posts)(316 posts)
(316 posts)