It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Hey Goggers;

As many of you know, we announced on last Friday that we are going to introduce regional pricing for 3 new games coming up on GOG.com soon. Looking at the amount of reactions (over 3,500 comments at this very moment), it is obvious that this change is making many of you guys worried. We must have failed to clearly explain why our pricing policy for (some) newer games will change and what this means as a matter of fact for our PC & MAC classic games, which account for over 80% of our catalogue.

To be honest, our announcement was a bit vague simply because our future pricing policy is not 100% set in stone yet and we were just worried to make any promises before it was. You know, GOG.com has been growing quickly (thanks to you!), and the more we grow, the more we are worried to make some of you guys disappointed. This is why we were so (over-)cautious with our announcement.

We should have just been upfront about why we've made these changes and what they mean for us in the future and what we're planning. So let's talk. To be clear: what I'm talking about below is our plan. It's a plan that we believe we can accomplish, but while it's what we want to do with GOG, it may change some before it actually sees the light of day. Please don’t blame me for talking open-heartedly today and telling you about the plans and pricing policy we want to fight for and eventually achieve. The below plans aren't sure. The only guarantee I can give you is that we’ll do our best to fight for gamers while still making sure GOG.com as a whole grows (because well, we still want to be around 50 years from now, you know!). So, enough for the introduction, let’s get things started.

Why does GOG.com need to offer newer games at all?

We've been in business for 5 years now, and we've signed a big percentage of all of the classic content that can be legally untangled. There are still some big companies left we're trying to bring into the GOG.com fold, like LucasArts, Microsoft, Take2 and Bethesda, but what classic titles will we sign in the future once we have those partners on-board? We need to sign newer games or else just fire everyone and keep selling the same limited catalog. Either we bring you “not so old” releases from 2010+ or brand-new AAA titles, because these will become classic games tomorrow. It’s as simple as that.

Also, well, we want to expand beyond just classic games, hence the fact we have been offering you brand-new indie releases for almost 2 years now. Why expanding? Well, obviously, because the more games we sell, the more legitimacy we have on the market and the more likely it is that we can achieve our mission: making all PC & MAC video games 100% DRM-free, whether classic or brand-new titles.

To be straightforward (excuse my French):DRM is shit-- we'll never have any of it. It treats legitimate customers like rubbish and pirates don't have to bother with it. It's bad for gamers, and it's also bad for business and our partners. We want to make it easy and convenient for users to buy and play games; rather than give piracy a try. Happy gamers equals a healthy gaming industry; and this is what we fight for. Anyway, I am sure you well know our opinions about DRM.

To make the world of gaming DRM-free, we need to convince top-tier publishers & developers to give us a try with new games, just like they did with classic games. We need to make more case studies for the gaming industry, just like we successfully did back in 2011 with The Witcher 2. It was our first ever 100% DRM-free AAA day-1 release. GOG.com was the 2nd best-selling digital distribution platform worldwide for this title thanks to you guys, despite having regional prices for it. We need more breakthroughs like this to be able to show all the devs and publishers in our industry that DRM-free digital distribution is actually good for their business and their fans. And when I say breakthroughs, I am talking about really kick-ass games, with a potential metacritic score of 85% or more, AA+ and AAA kind of titles.

And this is exactly why we signed those 3 games we told you about last Friday. We believe those 3 games can be massive hits for hardcore gamers, that they can help us spread the DRM-free model among the industry for newer games and we did our best to convince their rights holders to give GOG.com a try. One of those games, as you see already, is Age of Wonders 3. We're planning more titles even beyond these first 3 soon.

Alright, but why is regional pricing needed for those (only 3 so far!) newer games then?

First of all, you have to be aware of an important fact when it comes to newer games: GOG.com cannot really decide what the prices should be. Top-tier developers and publishers usually have contractual obligations with their retail partners that oblige them to offer the game at the same price digitally and in retail. When they don’t have such contractual obligations, they are still encouraged to do so, or else their games might not get any exposure on the shelves in your favorite shops. This will change over time (as digital sales should overtake retail sales in the near future), but as of today, this is still a problem our industry is facing because retail is a big chunk of revenue and there’s nothing GOG.com can do to change that. We need to charge the recommended retail price for the boxed copies of the games in order for developers (or publishers) to either not get sued or at least get their games visible on shelves. You may recall that our sister company CD Projekt RED got sued for that in the past and we don’t want our partners to suffer from that too.

On top of that, you have to know that there are still many top-tier devs and publishers that are scared about DRM-free gaming. They're half-convinced it will make piracy worse, and flat pricing means that we're also asking them to earn less, too. Earn less, you say? Why is that? Well, when we sell a game in the EU or UK, VAT gets deducted from the price before anyone receives any profit. That means we're asking our partners to try out DRM-free gaming and at the same time also earn 19% - 25% less from us. Other stores, such as Steam, price their games regionally and have pricing that's more equitable to developers and publishers. So flat pricing + DRM-Free is something many devs and publishers simply refuse. Can you blame them? The best argument we can make to convince a publisher or developer to try DRM-Free gaming is that it earns money. Telling them to sacrifice income while they try selling a game with no copy protection is not a way to make that argument.

Getting back to those 3 new upcoming games coming up. The first one is Age of Wonders 3, which you can pre-order right now on GOG.com. The next 2 ones will be Divine Divinity: Original Sin and The Witcher 3. We’re very excited to offer those games DRM-free worldwide and we hope you’ll love them.

Still, we know some countries are really being screwed with regional pricing (Western Europe, UK, Australia) and as mentioned above, we’ll do our very best, for every release of a new game, to convince our partners to offer something special for the gamers living there.

And don’t forget guys: if regional pricing for those few big (as in, “AA+”) new games is a problem for you, you can always wait. In a few months. The game will be discounted on sale, and at 60, 70, or 80% off, the price difference will be minimal indeed. In a few years it will become a classic in its own right, and then we have the possibility to to make it flat-priced anyway (read next!) The choice is always yours. All we are after is to present it to you 100% DRM-free. We are sure you will make the best choice for yourself, and let others enjoy their own freedom to make choices as well.

So, what is going to happen with classic games then?

Classic content accounts for about 80% of our catalog, so yes, this is a super important topic. We've mentioned here above that we can’t control prices for new games, but we do have a lot of influence when it comes to classic games. GOG.com is the store that made this market visible and viable digitally, and we're the ones who established the prices we charge. We believe that we have a good record to argue for fair pricing with our partners.

So let's talk about the pricing for classics that we're shooting for. For $5.99 classics, we would like to make the games 3.49 GBP, 4.49 EUR, 199 RUB, and $6.49 AUD. For $9.99 classics, our targets are 5.99 GBP, 7.49 EUR, 349 RUB, and $10.99 AUD. This is what we’ve got in mind at the moment. We’ll do our best to make that happen, and we think it will. How? Well, we have made our partners quite happy with GOG.com's sales for years - thanks to you guys :). We have created a global, legal, successful digital distribution market of classics for them. This market didn't exist 5 years ago. By (re)making all those games compatible with modern operating systems for MAC and PC, we've made forgotten games profitable again. When it comes to classic games, we can tell them that we know more about this market than anyone. :) Being retrogaming freaks ourselves, we know that 5.99 EUR or GBP is crazy expensive for a classic game (compared to 5.99 USD). We have always argued that classic games only sell well if they have reasonable prices. Unfair regional pricing equals piracy and that’s the last thing anybody wants.

What’s next?

We will do our very best to make all of the above happen. This means three things:

First, we will work to make our industry go DRM-free in the future for both classic and new games (that’s our mission!).

Second, we will fight hard to have an attractive offer for those AA+ new games for our European, British and Australian users, despite regional pricing that we have to stick to.

Third, we will switch to fair local pricing for classic games, as I mentioned above.

TheEnigmaticT earlier mentioned that he would eat his hat if we ever brought DRM to GOG.com. I'm going to go one step further: by the end of this year, I'm making the promise that we will have converted our classic catalog over to fair regional pricing as outlined above. If not, we'll set up a record a video of some horrible public shaming for me, TheEnigmaticT, and w0rma. In fact, you know what? Feel free to make suggestions below for something appropriate (but also safe enough that we won't get the video banned on YouTube) so you feel that we're motivated to get this done quickly. I'll pick one that's scary enough from the comments below and we'll let you know which one we're sticking to.

I hope that this explanation has helped ease your worry a bit and help you keep your faith in GOG.com as a place that's different, awesome, and that always fights for what's best for gamers. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, feel free to address them to us below and TheEnigmaticT and I will answer them to the best of our abilities tomorrow. We hear you loud and clear, so please do continue sharing your feedback with us. At the end of the day GOG.com is your place; without you guys it would just be a website where a few crazy people from Europe talk about old games. :)

I end many of my emails with this, but there's rarely a time to use it more appropriately than here:

“Best DRM-free wishes,

Guillaume Rambourg,
(TheFrenchMonk)
Managing Director -- GOG.com”
avatar
SirPrimalform: Indeed. It was GOG's unique qualities that helped cultivate such a passionate customerbase in the first place. The number of posts in this topic is a testament to the passion of the fans. I really don't know what they're playing at by not addressing this as soon as possible.
avatar
HypersomniacLive: Do you really expect to hear anything more from GOG? I don't, not after the way TET replied in this post here (last paragraph).

It appears to me that they're contented with what information and replies they posted and are done with the matter. They also appear to have gone with the old and tested method of letting the users "fight" each other until the issue blows over.

Just my 2c.
Well, that's better than continued posts insulting our intelligence.

It's a shame that I'm probably not going to be buying any more games here, but I think they've made it abundantly clear that they don't want any of the people that made them successful buying things from them. I think it's a bloody stupid business decision, but I'm not the one calling the shots.

Their reputation is pretty much in the crapper as far as anybody that believed in them previously, they had better hope that they can bring in enough new accounts based upon only being DRM free to make it worth it.
avatar
hedwards: Isn't it kind of odd how most of the insults and bad behavior seem to be coming from the people that think this is just hunky dory?

Granted there's been mud slinging on both sides, but it's kind of interesting how it's mostly the people defending GOG that are engaging in it.
Yep, i noticed that too. It doesn't bother me though coz after all it's only words on the screen.
avatar
dhundahl: It would be nice if you could support your claim, hedwards. Otherwise one might fight it interesting that you're accusing "the other side" of doing most of the negative behavior. Are you counting in all that "fuck off and die, GOG" rhetoric under neutral territory, by any chance?

By the way, isn't it kind of interesting how the more whiny people in this topic don't really care to engage in a rational and non-hysterical discussion of what's going on? That instead of focusing on what we know and the value in GOG's deals relative to the competition, the arguments inevitably tend to focus a lot more on exaggerations, stuff that GOG will "obviously" do in the future, and hurt feelings?

Finally, please try not to make too many generalizations about the people "defending" GOG, okay? Just like you can find a few people on the "defending" side that use blanket insults, I'm pretty sure there's also plenty of people on the "attacking" side that are way over the top.
avatar
hedwards: LOL, seriously are you for real? This post is a great example of what I'm talking about.

You label us "whiny" and "irrational" because we disagree with you. Then use pseudo-capitalist bullshit as a rationalization. Despite the fact that this isn't capitalism at all, this is corporate kleptocracy at work

And if you're going to bitch about the generalizations I'm making, then you should probably shut your piehole as you're one of the worse offenders here.
I'm not seeing any justifications here. I'm seeing you complaining about me suggesting that some of the more whiny people in this topic don't care to discuss the issue rationally. At no point did I call you whiny or even begin to imply that you're part of the group I'm referring to, and yet what happens? Now I'm "one of the worst offenders" in terms of making generalizations, and I'm "bitching" despite being entirely calm and refraining completely from calling you any names. Is that a rational way to discuss anything?

No, I don't label anyone as "whiny" or "irrational" for disagreeing with me. I'm saying that some people are being whiny and that some of the whiny people are refusing a rational discussion. Ironically, your post is actually a great example on what it means to refuse a rational discussion, since instead of discussing whether your generalization was warranted, you've merely tried to excuse it with me being an persistent ass. That's ad hominam reasoning, which is quite the opposite of a rational discussion.

As far as my "defense" of GOG is concerned, I'm also not using pseudo-capitalist bullshit, though if you think there's a significant difference between capitalism and "corporate kleptrocracy" then I'm not sure we're ever going to agree about economics and business reasoning.
avatar
hedwards: Isn't it kind of odd how most of the insults and bad behavior seem to be coming from the people that think this is just hunky dory?

Granted there's been mud slinging on both sides, but it's kind of interesting how it's mostly the people defending GOG that are engaging in it.
avatar
Impaler26: Yep, i noticed that too. It doesn't bother me though coz after all it's only words on the screen.
TBH, I don't really care one way or another, it's just rather telling that on the pro-GOG side that there isn't really a whole lot of substance to be had. At best it's "because other stores are doing it" which is more or less the playground defense.
It's interesting that the breakdown of thousands of people's opinions turns into "us versus them". Here's a fun one - which of the two predefined groups does a person who's pro-GOG AND pro-customer go into?
avatar
CarrionCrow: It's interesting that the breakdown of thousands of people's opinions turns into "us versus them". Here's a fun one - which of the two predefined groups does a person who's pro-GOG AND pro-customer go into?
The group that doesn't participate in this thread?
avatar
CarrionCrow: It's interesting that the breakdown of thousands of people's opinions turns into "us versus them". Here's a fun one - which of the two predefined groups does a person who's pro-GOG AND pro-customer go into?
avatar
JMich: The group that doesn't participate in this thread?
Hmmm. Well, I would say that the double pro- applies for me, even though the pro-customer side wavers a bit since pro-customer is perilously close to pro-people and I tend to end up hating most people. Slippery slope right there.
avatar
CarrionCrow: It's interesting that the breakdown of thousands of people's opinions turns into "us versus them". Here's a fun one - which of the two predefined groups does a person who's pro-GOG AND pro-customer go into?
There isn't much middle ground. GOG gave us a take it or leave it ultimatum, so there's not going to be very many people finding a middle ground here.

I suppose the middle ground here would be only buying through a Russian IP or refusing to buy any of the new games that come as a result of this.

Which really isn't much in the way of middle ground. But, it's the natural result when the deal is take it or leave it.
high rated
avatar
hedwards: There isn't much middle ground. GOG gave us a take it or leave it ultimatum, so there's not going to be very many people finding a middle ground here.
Left side. Leave GOG.
Right side. Buy everything through a Russian IP, even if you wouldn't normally buy said game.
Middle ground. If you consider the price they charge you fair for said game, buy the game. If the price is too high, ignore it and/or wait for a sale. More or less life as usual.

Far out side. Post in the gifting threads and hope. You don't buy, you still get games.
Far in side. Post in the classifieds. GOG doesn't get your money, you get GOG's games.

If you wish for more sides, tell me to go get a drink or two. But there aren't two sides only.
avatar
CarrionCrow: It's interesting that the breakdown of thousands of people's opinions turns into "us versus them". Here's a fun one - which of the two predefined groups does a person who's pro-GOG AND pro-customer go into?
avatar
hedwards: There isn't much middle ground. GOG gave us a take it or leave it ultimatum, so there's not going to be very many people finding a middle ground here.

I suppose the middle ground here would be only buying through a Russian IP or refusing to buy any of the new games that come as a result of this.

Which really isn't much in the way of middle ground. But, it's the natural result when the deal is take it or leave it.
Middle ground - wishing GOG well in regards to their growth, while making sure to avoid things that are insanely overpriced.
avatar
hedwards: There isn't much middle ground. GOG gave us a take it or leave it ultimatum, so there's not going to be very many people finding a middle ground here.

I suppose the middle ground here would be only buying through a Russian IP or refusing to buy any of the new games that come as a result of this.

Which really isn't much in the way of middle ground. But, it's the natural result when the deal is take it or leave it.
avatar
CarrionCrow: Middle ground - wishing GOG well in regards to their growth, while making sure to avoid things that are insanely overpriced.
Yeah, I agree to your assesment. After thinking over and cooling down after gogs bad PR performance on this theme I think the same as you do now. Regional pricing is not fair but can't be avoided since it is here already and no arguing around it is going to change that. Will just have to think over each buy now like with AOW3 - no go for that price and obviously compairing prices and the content coming with the game on the other web stores. So the wallet is going to vote as it did before and now even more that before - no more impulsive buys.
Post edited March 07, 2014 by Matruchus
avatar
hedwards: There isn't much middle ground. GOG gave us a take it or leave it ultimatum, so there's not going to be very many people finding a middle ground here.
avatar
JMich: Left side. Leave GOG.
Right side. Buy everything through a Russian IP, even if you wouldn't normally buy said game.
Middle ground. If you consider the price they charge you fair for said game, buy the game. If the price is too high, ignore it and/or wait for a sale. More or less life as usual.

Far out side. Post in the gifting threads and hope. You don't buy, you still get games.
Far in side. Post in the classifieds. GOG doesn't get your money, you get GOG's games.

If you wish for more sides, tell me to go get a drink or two. But there aren't two sides only.
You are right as usual.
More middle ground: seeing no reason to feel "betrayed," but also no reason to be excited.
avatar
CarrionCrow: Middle ground - wishing GOG well in regards to their growth, while making sure to avoid things that are insanely overpriced.
avatar
Matruchus: Yeah, I agree to your assesment. After thinking over and cooling down after gogs bad PR performance on this theme I think the same as you do now. Regional pricing is not fair but can't be avoided since it is here already and no arguing around it is going to change that. Will just have to think over each buy now like with AOW3 - no go for that price and obviously compairing prices and the content coming with the game on the other web stores. So the wallet is going to vote as it did before and now even more that before - no more impulsive buys.
Thought about it and here's what I have in mind - if I were to, say, buy AOW3 right now, full price, what I would do is look at the highest price possible. I know I'm lazy as hell but I THINK it was stated at 55 dollars US? Well, my thought is, if I were to buy that, I'd pay my 40, get the game, and then do a giveaway worth the value of the difference. I might be American, but I understand being broke. I understand loving games, and I understand having to watch every single purchase to make sure a person gets the absolute most of it since it's not like there's money to burn grabbing first and regretting later when you've got minor things like survival to consider.
low rated
I'm getting a bit tired of all the bashing on GOG by users. .

"GOG introduces a regional price for a game! boohoo, now I'm going to go back to steam".
They leave and support the biggest PRO regional prices service in the world. Well that's just hypocritical.

It's just silly. At least you get compensated a bit because GOG doesn't want you to be ripped off as hard as your favourite steam store does. But no that's not good enough. GOG also gives you bonus goodies but apparantly they don't care. I really loathed the regional pricing and I still do but I understand, respect and came to terms with it.

How loyal are you when something doesn't go your way, you just crawl back to Steam. Even more stupid are the people who are not affected because of said game and will benefit from regional pricing in the future.