I suggest to make this post sticky, or in a new thread, so more people can see this.

Thank you for your response.

Thank you very much for providing further explanation Marcin. Most of the times all we passionate fans of GOG require is a little communication on how and why these decisions were made. Although I still think that the announcement for expansions was fine but actually selling them right now before the release of The Witcher 3 doesn't seem any different to me then what others do, so instead perhaps offering preorders for the Expansion Pass after the release of the main game wouldn't have prompted a few people to cancel their orders in my opinion. I guess it was just my naive hope that you guys would prefer doing things slightly differently as I think Expansions would still sell well just after the release of the main game and probably much better when people have actually played it.

But atleast you are being totally open and honest with us once again regarding your decision to sell the Expansion Pass now so I certainly can't argue with that as you obviously know more about the business side then me. I would like to however make a humble request for all of us that usually wait for full versions of a game that includes everything so please do provide this option down the line a year or so later when sufficient time has passed after the release of The Witcher 3 and its expansions. Best of luck for the release of The Witcher 3 and I hope it turns out to be one of the best games of the year while exceeding everyone's expectations.

Thanks again for taking the time to read our feedback and then respond in this thread, it is appreciated and certainly shows that you guys care about what your customers have to say. :)

Since I came up with a new analogy for my view, I'll give it a try to put it down on writing.

Let's say the CDPR wasn't selling a game, but a car. A good, solid car for everyday use. They've been talking about how they are making an awesome car, the car they wanted to make. Hey, I wanted a car, and I trust the manufacturer, so I'll get it. I can't even drive it yet, as I don't currently have a driving licence, but when I get my licence I'll have the car ready for me. And even if they add a few stickers to the car later on, the car will still be ready as new when I finally drive it, so might as well get it now.

And then, internally, someone goes, "hey, how about we add some armour to the car?". And someone else replies, "yeah, let's put a big fucking gun on it too!" "Yeah, let's make a fucking tank! So cool!". But, the party crusher common sense manager says, "Sorry folks, but there's no budget for a tank. We're only making a car here". "Then, how about we sell the car, and then offer the option to upgrade it to a tank for a few extra bucks? Shouldn't that provide us with the funds to make the tank we'd like to make? It's not like the car will be any worse of a car just because it has no armor or guns" "Actually, that sounds fair. Let's go with that".

And so, today we are offered a car, with the additional option of upgrading it into a tank. And my reaction is to say, "Whoa, that tank looks awesome. However, I wanted a car, not a tank, plus I can't afford the tank. I won't buy your car anymore". Which to many, makes no sense.

Why do I take this approach, when I could still happily buy the car and ignore the armor and the guns? Well, because I will only drive each vehicle for a limited amount of time, and I want to get the best of what each vehicle can offer me. And now, I believe that when CDPR think of what their product is, they're thinking about the tank and not the car. What they want to make, their goal, is the tank. Therefore, I want to drive that tank. But I can't afford it. So I will wait until I can afford the tank and I'm ready to play with it. Until then, I'll just use other cars that are in the market, even if those cars end up being inferior to the armorless, weaponless car that CDPR originally offered me.

I'm not saying the car is now worse than it was when they originally showed it to me. I'm not saying the armor and the gun are not worth the asking price. I'm not saying CDPR lied by saying long ago that they intended to make a car, and then offering the option to buy a tank. All I'm saying is, that tank looks awesome and much better than the car, therefore what I now want to drive is the tank and not the car. But I can't afford the tank (yet), so I won't buy it and I'll wait until I can afford it.

Is this really such a weird point of view?

This comment has got a lot of up votes. Really, I mean really. CDPR are just another EA now despite W3 being the first AAA game released day one with no DRM and free DLC (the DLC from before)

Okay you might not like this decision and that's fine but, don't you think this reaction is a little extreme. It's almost like reading a statement from someone who just found out that their religion was a lie.

Yes, you can buy the car now and wait until the tank upgrade is released/you can afford it and buy that then.

That is a fair statement, if you are comparing apples to apples. Sure, it may cost me $1.00 for three apples today and three weeks from now, $1.00 for one apple (assuming they are all the same exact size). In that case, I did not necessarily get the most "bang for my buck".

I think that for me personally, it is 'perceived' value. I still feel I get better value for my money than choosing to do something else with my time. I think in the case of game play and game time, one cannot necessarily compare the price per hour of play, because said game play tends to be subjective (not just between stories, but between individual tastes as well).

It is quite possible that the expansion to the game contains more engaging and enthralling material even if it does have shorter game play. Then again, it could turn out to be a real stinker and I could have just gone off and watched a Manos, The Hands of Fate marathon feeling more fulfilled.

It is an optimistic risk I am willing to take, only because I really like RPGs, the Witcher stories in general and supporting the developers and artists who work hard to create them.

Developers have been making expansions for years. I think the harsh feedback is just bad timing. I think it's good to let people focus on the main product before introducing it's features. But yes harsh feedback is harsh.

Does it repel also mud and dust? Nothing will stick to it, even if someone eggs it?

I'll buy a car that is what the manufacturer intended, or as close as it got within its budget. Between a car designed with hydrophobic glass in mind that I can't afford, the same car without hydrophobic glass that I can afford, and a different card that I can also afford that never even considered hydrophobic glass to begin with and will never be able to equip it; I'll choose to use the different one for a while, get as much as I can from that experience, and move on to the fully equipped one later on when I can afford it. Otherwise, I would get to experience the non-hydrophobic glass experience, then upgrade to the car with the glass (grown tired to write hydrophobic, couldn't you have come up with a shorter example name?) and drive it all over again to experience the glass experience, but I will have lost the chance to try out that different car. And I want to get as many experiences as I can within my limited time.

After serious thinking for at least half a minute, I went ahead and bought the expansion pass. I want to be the first one not to play it! (because I probably won't have fast enough PC by then)

I also bought Elminage Gothic at the same time, I think I should be able to run that at least.

By the way, Fallout is missing once again. It just can't keep still, can it?

I take it that this is a reply to my comment, but you're missing the point. I'm not willing to spend more than a car's worth on a car. Even if I pay it in pieces, I'm still not willing to pay tank price. Luckily for me, in this particular industry a 5 year old tank is the price of a new car, so I'll wait until the whole tank is at least within my budget.

Really can't understand heaters-counter heaters-fan and the like.
Perhaps I'm just older now.

Game companies are more and more aggressive in the marketing and are so skilled they are able to sell to us products that still doesn't exist.

So they push the thing farther: selling you prodcuts that doesn't exists that build over products that doesn't exists.
This is brilliant!
You can play a buggy game just from the beginning!

Who is as at fault are the people that "can't wait" (whoooooouuu) to spend their money on something that doesn't exists.
But then... they start complaining.
About what?

You can sell something that doesn't exists but you can't sell something that doesn't exists that build over the still-to-happen game?

Advertising an expasion is not saying that the base game is bad, it just say the company is hungry for more money.

In the good old days the companies were so involved in the main game that expansion where planned only and only if sales was good enough and the game had captured a large following.
Nowdays expension are just factored in the initial production cost and selled for more cash.

Are they skilled or are we, the consumers, getting dumber and dumber as time goes by? ;)

So you are saying that The Witcher 3 is overpriced? If so that was the case before the announcement of the expansion pass if not what then are you saying?