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General discussionRegional Priced Games on GOG(2343 posts)(2343 posts)
(2343 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted September 11, 2014
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RWarehall: Clearly this was not to be, but I wouldn't be surprised if GoG read it the same way I did. So before you just claim GoG did this to grub more money, consider that they might also have done this because they thought this is what the users wanted.
The argument 'To get more games' is valid of course. I'm personally on the side that saw this as inevitable myself. However, the part where it doesn't blend, is that they did the exact same thing for the game they *own* themselves. Not once, but twice. They could have made a stand there. They could have only released it without regional pricing everywhere. However, that would have made them less money, as some distribution options would be unavailable as a result.

It's about the money, pure and simple. They may have wanted to believe it could have been different, but not only do they not believe it's a feasible standpoint anymore, they didn't feel it worth doing for their own games. And if they couldn't even do that, how can they expect other publisher/devs to?
Posted September 11, 2014
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Pheace: snip
Something I want to know for quite a while now:
How did it come to Witcher 3 to be regional priced?
I know that GoG is "only" a daughter company of CDPR, but it's very odd nonetheless.
Post edited September 11, 2014 by Klumpen0815
Posted September 11, 2014
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Pheace: The argument 'To get more games' is valid of course. I'm personally on the side that saw this as inevitable myself. However, the part where it doesn't blend, is that they did the exact same thing for the game they *own* themselves. Not once, but twice. They could have made a stand there. They could have only released it without regional pricing everywhere. However, that would have made them less money, as some distribution options would be unavailable as a result.

It's about the money, pure and simple. They may have wanted to believe it could have been different, but not only do they not believe it's a feasible standpoint anymore, they didn't feel it worth doing for their own games. And if they couldn't even do that, how can they expect other publisher/devs to?
The problem there was their choice of publisher. They signed a distribution deal with Namco for W2 and Namco enforced this (as well as the DRM on the retail version, which they patched out and then were forced by a court order to put back in if I remember correctly). I mean, when it was added here with regional pricing, they not-quite-subtly recommended users to change their country to get the standard price, and then they were forced by another court order to implement GeoIP to prevent that. So it was a matter of a bad choice that they tried to work around once they realized it but couldn't.
However, that only works as an excuse the first time. When, knowing all of that, CDP went ahead and signed a retail distribution agreement with the same Namco for W3 as well, what exactly are we supposed to read into that? If it can be read as a mistake the first time, this second one is just what you said, just thinking of the money.
The sad part is that all of this may not have much to do with GOG. For all we know, the people at GOG may seriously not want any of it and may actually rather stick to a catalog of older games and publishers that agree to their old standards and far less headaches. And the devs (CDP RED, I mean) may be all of the new model they're advocating as well. But somebody higher up at corporate has other ideas and shoves them down their throats and they have to eat it from both sides... The difference being that we can't fire them and corporate can.
Posted September 11, 2014
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AliensCrew: I have I theory about this.

[...]
A couple of factors to think about:

1. Regional pricing is allegedly implemented in accordance to the retail (physical boxes) market. This would mean that GOG has to somehow manage to also fight and change the retail market - either convince all gamers to not buy any physical boxes, i.e. drive the retail market to its death, or get the distributors to change their practices.

2. I would appear that most (or at least a good number of) Steam users get their keys during sales and from other digital-stores-Steam-key-resellers that compete with each other for the customers buck, i.e constantly run all sorts of sales and promos, thus being cheaper than Steam itself. In other words, prices seem the least likely reason for Steam users to turn to GOG.

3. If their Western European and Australian/ N. Zeeland user base grows (as you say in a later post), the amount of money to compensate purchases of regionally priced games will increase. And so will the money needed for the 70% publisher's cut for games bought with store credit. If that user base becomes comparable or surpasses their US based one, then the Fair Price Package policy becomes unviable.

All in all, I'm sceptical that GOG will manage to get big enough to dictate or at least become influential enough in this market before their Fair Price Package policy becomes unviable.

Time will tell.
Posted September 11, 2014
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Pheace: snip
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Klumpen0815: Something I want to know for quite a while now:
How did it come to Witcher 3 to be regional priced?
I know that GoG is "only" a daughter company of CDPR, but it's very odd nonetheless.
Witcher 3 has five different publishers depending on the region where you buy the game so its no wonder the game has to be regional priced.

These are the publishers by regions:

POLAND: CDP.pl
EUROPE/AUSTRALIA - BIGGEST GROUP: Bandai Namco Games[1]
RUSSIA: 1C Company
NORTH AMERICA: WB Games
JAPAN: Spike Chunsoft
SOUTH AFRICA: Megarom Interactive

Source wikipedia: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_3:_Wild_Hunt[/url]
Post edited September 11, 2014 by Matruchus
Posted September 11, 2014
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Klumpen0815: How did it come to Witcher 3 to be regional priced?
Because CDPR, once again, chose the same publisher of Witcher 2 for Europe/Australia; Namco-Bandai. Interestingly enough, Witcher 2 is still regionally-priced on Steam and GamersGate, even if it self-published there.
Posted September 11, 2014
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Cavalary: The problem there was their choice of publisher. They signed a distribution deal with Namco for W2 and Namco enforced this (as well as the DRM on the retail version, which they patched out and then were forced by a court order to put back in if I remember correctly).
I don't think that was about the DRM, AFAIK the court order was about removing regional pricing on GOG.
Posted September 11, 2014
Interesting coming from the publisher of Witcher 3 - I did not know that CD Project owns another polish only digital store: https://cdp.pl/ where it sells games, movies and ebooks.

Unfornately don't know polish but it seems that that is a mixed drm and drm-free store.

They are actually selling there 88 drm free movies.

Is this a retail or digital store?
Post edited September 11, 2014 by Matruchus
Posted September 11, 2014
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Leroux: I don't think that was about the DRM, AFAIK the court order was about removing regional pricing on GOG.
That's a different trial.
Posted September 11, 2014
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Leroux: I don't think that was about the DRM, AFAIK the court order was about removing regional pricing on GOG.
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Cavalary: That's a different trial.
I hadn't heard of that one yet, thanks for the link! But did they also win the trial over DRM removal?
Post edited September 11, 2014 by Leroux
Posted September 11, 2014
I can tell you, why "The Witcher 3" is regional priced. It is the same reason as it was by "The Witcher 2".

The retail market and Steam. CDProject sells most of the game via retail & Steam. Should they disclaim that sales and go insolvent? Would someone here wishes to see this?

I think someone here has a point of view which is too easy. Business isn't that easy. There is no black and white - no good and evil - only compromises.

There are some new games on GOG with regional prices, but there are also some without (like "Defender Of The Crown" oder "Superfrog").

Perhaps this new "regional priced" games will someday be not regional priced anymore (like "The Witcher 2"). Who knows?

And as I have try to explain it here...GOG and CDProject are companies at the first rank and no Salvation Armies. They need to earn money to exist. Always think about that too.
Posted September 11, 2014
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Cavalary: That's a different trial.
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Leroux: I hadn't heard of that one yet, thanks for the link! But did they also win the trial over DRM removal?
Can't find a link stating that actually. They won the part about distribution rights, but all articles about that (which seem to just be copies of one another) say the original report didn't include anything about the DRM aspect of the suit. May have been an oversight, saying the suit was won by Namco in general without also mentioning this part, may have been settled separately, don't know, but I seem to remember they had to add it back for retail releases. Why I said "if I remember correctly" in that post.
Posted September 11, 2014
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AliensCrew: I can tell you, why "The Witcher 3" is regional priced. It is the same reason as it was by "The Witcher 2".

The retail market and Steam. CDProject sells most of the game via retail & Steam. Should they disclaim that sales and go insolvent? Would someone here wishes to see this?

I think someone here has a point of view which is too easy. Business isn't that easy. There is no black and white - no good and evil - only compromises.

There are some new games on GOG with regional prices, but there are also some without (like "Defender Of The Crown" oder "Superfrog").

Perhaps this new "regional priced" games will someday be not regional priced anymore (like "The Witcher 2"). Who knows?

And as I have try to explain it here...GOG and CDProject are companies at the first rank and no Salvation Armies. They need to earn money to exist. Always think about that too.
I remember many dozens of rants/discussions about the pricing of the OpenPandora and it's upgraded versions when it was finally in mass production and Michael Mrozek did the right thing in openly stating the price calculations and reasoning why exactly it is so much more expansive now than formerly expected, most people where happy with the openness and accepted it although it was really expensive, I never regretted sinking money into it, it's an awesome device.
Everybody I know still wonders though, why boxed versions are so much cheaper than digital distributions (not only in games, look at eBooks as well) and I never saw an answer to that question.
CDPR just isn't very honest and that's the problem, like the announcement from GoG about the "all new fresh style" etc... where they treated us like total dummies and have gone round and round about the most important changes (regional pricing) and only hinted most of it.

It's just about simple honesty which will not come because those pricing systems are just really screwed up and companies don't believe in the fact, that they do make most friends in the consumer base, when they are more open.
Post edited September 11, 2014 by Klumpen0815
Posted September 11, 2014
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Klumpen0815: Everybody I know still wonders though, why boxed versions are so much cheaper than digital distributions (not only in games, look at eBooks as well) and I never saw an answer to that question.
My suspicion is because each new technology means an opportunity to establish a new baseline acceptable price. Consumers don't readily accept price hikes in existing products (such as increasing the price of a paperback book or movie DVD), but can be trained to expect a different average price for the same material in a new format (an ebook or Blu-ray disc). Thus they are able to increase the expected cost of a consumable, even when the maturation of the new technology makes it cheaper to manufacturer than the previous incarnation (again, ebooks).
Posted September 11, 2014
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Matruchus: Interesting coming from the publisher of Witcher 3 - I did not know that CD Project owns another polish only digital store: https://cdp.pl/ where it sells games, movies and ebooks.

Unfornately don't know polish but it seems that that is a mixed drm and drm-free store.

They are actually selling there 88 drm free movies.

Is this a retail or digital store?
It's digital only, they'd launched that store almost exactly two years ago. On the gaming front they don't have any DRM restrictions there, about half are Steam keys, about a quarter DRM-free, the rest a mix of Origin, Uplay, a few SecuROM, StarForce etc.
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General discussionRegional Priced Games on GOG(2343 posts)(2343 posts)
(2343 posts)