My wish for regional pricing would be that everyone needs to work X hours at minimum wage to be able to afford the same product. If that holds true, it does mean that the numerical value of the wage is irrelevant. Price of bread? 15 minutes at minimum wage. Price of a gourmet meal? 3 hours at minimum wage. Doesn't matter if wage is 1 or 1000 (use currency of preference), a minimum wage worker earns the same.
And don't forget the flip side of the equation. If people see a discrepancy, they will ask for it to change. Now, for the regional pricing part, you can do that in two ways. Option 1 is for a product in country A to cost more than it does in country B (hourwise, not moneywise). So people will ask for a wage change, even if that means every product will have to have its value adjusted. Option 2 is to have the items cost the same (again, hourwise, not moneywise), but if you want to live or visit another country, you will need to adjust to their cost of living, not yours. So again, you will ask for the wages to be adjusted, and the product prices will have to be changed.

But again, claiming flat pricing is more just that (proper) regional pricing is idiotic. Current regional pricing isn't proper though.

As much as I like the idea, it still wouldn't be fair as long as countries have different tax systems and as long as the minimum wage is set arbitrary by the countries. There are "rich" countries that don't even have a minimum wage or only a low one and there are countries that have a pretty high minimum wage in theory, but people also have to pay high taxes and also a lot of money for social contributions. In the end people in these countries might have less money disposable than people with a lower minimum wage in another country.

And if you take out the 'at minimum wage' stipulation what you've got is basically a labour theory of value, with the usual criticisms applying.

I rather fear I made misprint in mine. :)

Jealous part was for comic relief, I'd prefer putting something from Minsc, but can't think of something other than feeling burning stare of hamster and changing ways, if you know what I mean. :)

For the great justice is an interesting approach, noticeable, commendable, maybe even noble, but are you sure there is a such thing as ultimate justice? After all, we all came from different cultures, and thing one perceive as just, another may see as not. Heh, why go far, just read all topics about pricing in Russia? *goal*
Regardless, I can't support you in your crusade. For now. Not because I disagree with or don't like what you're fighting for, but rather due to lack of data. I don't have data on overall number of users, overall sums users are paying, and so on, the very data that may help us to understand how just prices in some regions are and why certain regions do have a discount, while others do not. I'm not getting younger, nor my memory is getting better, but I think it was Brad Wardell of Stardock, who, in one of his interviews told that he is making games not for some "spherical in vacuum" customers in random country, but for a specific group of people, who will pay for his games. So he knows his target audience, and cares little about other, who is not going to pay him anyway.
In addition, I don't know how big GoG team actually is, and how many resources they do have now. Meaning: they may have no spare resources to provide required quality of service in other regions, including some of those you mentioned in your arguments with other forum members. So if you want to help justice, lend GoG your help. Find good cadres for them, help them to localize this site and games on new languages, help them to compete with Valve. Otherwise, your fight for great justice resembles all those activists, who fights hell if I know what for, to became famous? You don't seem the type, you seems to be more like Porthos, who is going to fight, just because he is going to fight.
You don't blame your 3-litre Camelbak for being too small and not being able to store as much gear as 120-litre Bergen pack is capable of, no one blames Polonez for its inability to haul 25 tonnes semi-trailer, because it's small car, not heavy haulage tractor truck, so I wouldn't blame GoG for inability to provide equal coverage offered by bigger companies, with bigger resources, both financial and manpower. Remember when Steam started to offer localized languages and prices, and they've been in this business for longer, and have bigger share.
As for EU prices, I've heard an interesting version. While I do think prices should be adjusted to different countries' real economical situations, and thus lowered in East and Southern Europe, without effectively locking people from these countries out by limiting available set of languages (wave EA/Ubisoft), I think we won't see that in foreseeable future, as different prices would create additional fragmentation, not sure EU politicians need that.

P.S. Sorry for possible misreading.

Nae worries, and you posted good and valid points as well. I think global economics is a complex and abstruse topic, particularly for a bunch of armchair pundits such as ourselves to bandy about. We can only argue from our perceptions and from what we feel is fair. My own stance is purely one of principle, with no ulterior motives of sycophancy or celebrity. And I freely admit it is formed partly from my very incomplete understanding of the full economical scope of matters in the world, and partly from my own idealism. I do however most certainly "vote with my wallet", by backing GOG and other vendors when they choose what I believe to be the higher path. My complaint is rather that those votes of mine used to be untrammeled by other concerns, but now have to be asterisked by my conditional approval.

All is good between us, however. :)

Jolly good! :)

You know, I find it difficult to argue with you, because in way we are similar, both in our views, and in our believes and deeds (wallet vote, for example).
Although I don't think we'll ever get something as universal price all over the world that is fair. Simple example, digital distribution and physical distribution. In physical distribution you have to pay for manufacture and shipment of all elements, involved in game's package, starting from box, art cover, and disk, to all memorabilia and other collectibles that could be put in there. In digital copy you don't have all those things in their physical form. Map is digital, book is digital, you don't have any pictures, so no paper wastes. Similarly no polymers were used to make disks where game, "how it's made" and soundtrack are stored, and box cover. No metals were used to make steel book, if there is one. Also you don't pay physical sales involved costs - no retail store share (okay, Steam 30% is there), no shipment costs, no shelf cost, no price tag swap cost (yes, this has its own cost as well). Yet you pay same price as buyers of physical copy pay. So in a way, you pay for them, as you receive less goods than them. Is it just?
Next example, workplace location. Climate is very different, one place may have searing hot summer, yet very mild winters, with barely any snow, second place may have mild climate all over the year, yet overcast weather being dominant, third may be placed in northern country where snow lies for nine to ten months. work conditions will be different in these places, as you can imagine. In first case your electric bills will involve a lot of air condition during hot times, and, depending on winter climates, mild heating. Second place may require a lot of lightning. Third, in addition to lightning, will require heating expenses, and, probably, expenses involved into living up north - many goods, agricultural ones, simply do not grow there to feed the population, thus require transport services to bring them there. Simple need to haul majority of things will increase cost of everything, unless that northern place have a source of something that may compensate for lack of another things, that can be used to support local needs (geothermal source to provide cheap energy, for example, thus allowing some greenhouses to provide vegetables during winter, or source of fuel, allowing keeping costs low). Otherwise, the mere need to haul fuel for vehicles to refuel for the way back will sky-rocket prices on everything. Moreover, should local "powers that be" include toll on the road, this will also increase cost of all goods brought there. Especially if toll-rate will be flat, say for every truck that is heavier than 18 tonnes (that's your run of the mill tractor truck alone). This way, 6 tonnes of toilet paper will have same added value as 20 tonnes of beverages. And this not involves only game development, this involves basically every area. Do I believe that backpack that has "Made in USA" label is more durable than one that is made in Paraguay, or in Vietnam? Nope. All revolves around raw materials' quality, workers' skills, and machinery, if one involved. So I don't see a difference between backpacks, if we have same starting conditions. But will the price be different? Oh yeah. And we shouldn't forget than actual workers' share in that proverbial backpack's cost is not that big.
Combining these two things, if we'll have "flat just price" some will pay for other. As they do now, only in different, unjust way (not sure quotes are needed here). There must be lights burning brighter somewhere.;)

In addition, there are questions regarding games pricing. All we hear (unless it's Google's fault, who gave me this data:D) is how expensive games' development is now, how many hundreds of millions dollars involved now, and price tag is same old 60 bucks (then we suddenly stumble upon Witcher data, saying that both games were made for 5 millions or so each). In this way, studying games' credits and checking amount of outsource studios involved (cheaper labour), you may wonder, how the hell those games costs as much as stated.
Plus, as we discuss localized prices, we should also include localization cost. And that's why big games will never get a localization that it beyond translated subtitles. Let's be realistic, here, in Eastern Europe, we don't have big pool of cadres who actually understand how to properly voice over games. There are professionals, but there are few, and soon you'll start to notice them everywhere - in games, in films of all sorts, in audio books, on radio. I even afraid to open fridge at times, you know. But that's irony. In reality, we either have pretty mediocre localization with not so stellar actors, or localization will require a lot of money involved (thus affecting prices), or it will sound like most games from this studio. Could be all three.

If we leave localization of content aside, then we need to come to consensus of determination of "just" price. Percentage from income? Percentage from free money, left after paying taxes, rent, utilities, necessaries, mandatory reserve, savings? Should software prices to be tied to hardware prices? I could be wrong, but I've heard Argentina and Brazil or some other country nearby (guys from these countries, my deepest apologies if I made a mistake, but I really read a lot of data on my work, so I confuse things at times, women despise me because of that - I tend to forget their cats' birthdays and similarly important data) have high taxes on every imported item, therefore hardware, like console, costs exorbitant amount of money, thus making gaming quite expensive, if not unavailable, unless someone would like to refer to grey import. I think discussing games' prices without mentioning hardware is somewhat unjust, after all, you can't play games without something to run them on. Even if we somehow mitigate import taxes, all logistical costs will remain, and as cheap sea shipping may be, it still has price.
But there is more: infrastructure. Not only roads to deliver hardware and physical copies of games, but also internet and power supply infrastructure. Digital distribution is useful as tits on hog if customers have only dial-up or tether their internet through phone or similar means. Internet services cost is also different, I remember times when I paid one buck per hour per megabyte. And that wasn't the most expensive tariff even for 28.8 kbps. If you think these data came from 1990s, you're wrong, 2010. ;) Power supply is also important, not by the cost of electricity bills (no jokes on Radeons!), but condition of power grid: how old it is, how many watts per user it can withstand and so on.

As you can see, we barely scratched the surface, but already have more than enough problems to discuss or attempt to determine "just" price, even if not flat for world, but at least region-based.

I hope we still can be friends after all. :)

Indeed we can. It's always good to count among one's friends those who think deeply about issues, and from multiple perspectives. It's a big part of what I like about this community, particularly when I am challenged to think more deeply myself about my own held beliefs. :)

historically singapore always had more expensive games than usa because "import" prices, insanely high property rent ,and no regional publisher for most games. so i consider prices for ALL digital stores to be RELATIVELY cheap within this context.

but if you take into account disposable income , minimum wage, and wages for most working and middle-class folks, like what some of you apologists are doing, then it is obscenely "unfair" for me to be paying usa-prices.
there's no minimum wage here except for janitors, but because of no desire to enforce human or labor rights(we're PRO-BUSINESS), even that is an illusion. middle class jobs have almost all evaporated, and even if they still exist, we'll still have salaries that are half or less than that of american citizens.

such pricing is EXTREMELY unfair to us UNLESS you think everyone in singapore who shops on gog is a ceo , business tycoon or millionaire//billionaire politician. the wage gap between the rich and middle-class/poor totally distorts the average gdp of singapore, in case you don't already know. a wage gap worse than trinidad? sorry if anyone misunderstands my 3rd-world african-tier engrish.

PS: i still like you , gog. more than those steaming pricks anyway.

He-he, we are like Geth, who sees world from multitude of perspectives and viewpoints, gather later to discuss and come to consensus. :)

A good analogy. And also one of my favourite alien races in games lately. :)

No. Zip up.

Over here we call that XYZ - eXamine Your Zipper. :)

that sounds like you have a good story which leads to xyz

Never say never. I think one day we might get something like a worldwide global marketplace for everyone with maybe universal prices. My argument for universal prices would then be discrimination. You don't want to pay a different price because of your sex, skin color, religion, name, location or wealth.

Although it comes down to the interesting philosophical question how much you can charge anyone more just because he owns more and can afford to pay more? Surely not the complete price because somebody who got more surely expects to get more in absolute return, otherwise where would be the sense in gathering the wealth in the first place.

Also you cannot really know how much anyone owns, so guessing could result in grossly unfair treatment. Personal pricing has surely several big ethical problems. Also it might be advantageous to hide how much you really own (so prefer to live in Switzerland instead of Sweden) in order to not have to pay too much.

I guess that one could argue that the current geographical locking has many problems of its own (that's why it's not done on a finer grid level, although technically one probably could). Maybe within some areas (EU for example) it might be forbidden with regard to detrimental effects on competition.

In the end the idea of regional pricing is increasing profit, not increasing fairness. If we want to have fairness we might need first to define it and then think about a somewhat different solution. And if we can't find it, the result may stick with flat prices as the least discriminating choice.

Especially long after release when prices are below $10 and during sales it is probably much less effort to not regionally price but just have flat prices.

Just my two cents whenever I think about regional pricing.