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The_Puppet94: We can agree that 2020, was a special year for gaming due to corona, and for GOG probably because of Cyberpunk2077. I don't know any numbers showing how many people jumped the GOG wagon because of Cyberounk and bought it here "to support CDPR" instead of buying it somewhere else (where they usually buy there games).

IMO this "buy CP2077 at GOG to support CDPR" was a big marketing stunt, as almost everything related to that game, and for some reason I doubt it was that successful and made that many people consider GOG instead of another platform (when they usually buy there and not at GOG). But I don't know real numbers so it's just my thoughts on that.
I do believe you severly underestimate the CP2077 effect:
Source: https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-content/uploads-en/2021/04/management-board-report-on-the-activities-of-the-cd-projekt-group-and-cdc-projekt-sa-in-2020.pdf
On page 78 there is a graphic exactly (in pixels unfortunately and not in numbers) for "Chart 30 Sales of goods and materials in the GOG.com segment in 2018–2020 (PLN thousands)" which shows the effect of CP2077:
I think ~45% of 2020 are due to CP2077 (but I am not good at estimating pixels and didn try use a program or sth for it - better look it up yourself) so there was some non-CP2077-growth over the previous year/s but nowhere near that what those +114% in the .jpg suggest to the foolish reader.

Also:
"The highlight of early December was the release of Cyberpunk 2077 – GOG.com’s most important new release in 2077 and the biggest event in the online store’s to-date history."
(And its quite impressive that GOG will survive until 2077 - wonder where they got this information from...)

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From the same .pdf about profit(?) for 2019 and/or 2020 onwards - unfortunately this is not quantified/explained properly. Anyway point being that part of their growth is simply due to better taxation:

On 24 January 2020 CD PROJEKT received a crucial individual interpretation of tax law. According to the inter-pretation, eligible revenues obtained by the Company from commercializing copyright to its video games may, as a rule, be subject to preferential taxation with an income tax rate of 5%
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The_Puppet94: A bigger number increase in 2020 (due to corna) on any gaming platform is no surprise for me and not really a number manipulation,
Which increase are you referring to?

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Also: If you want to see what Shareholders believe about CDPs (which includes GOG) growth/profit (potential) - just look at the share price curve - like here: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/7CD.F?p=7CD.F
I thought I'd keep a record of games I would definitely have bought, were it not for the boycott.

GAMES NOT BOUGHT IN 2021
(1) 18/1/21: Dread Nautical - $10
(2) 18/1/21: Operencia: The Stolen Sun - $15
(3) 29/1/21: Way of the Samurai 3 Deluxe - $2.5
(4) 29/1/21: Way of the Samurai 4 + DLC - $3.5
(5) 10/2/21: Drakensang - $3
(6) 10/2/21: Commander Keen Complete Pack - $1.5
(7) 10/2/21: XCOM 2 - $4.5
(8) 26/2/21: Cardaclysm: Shards of the Four - $9
(9) 22/3/21: Raji: An Ancient Epic - $12.5
(10) 30/3/21: Worms World Party Remastered - $2
(11) 2/4/21: Steel Rats Original Soundtrack - $1
(12) 29/4/21: Hob - $4

Total so far: $68.5
I say, someone in here must really dislike Star Wars.

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nightcraw1er.488: I have just got some figures in, look forward to hearing your impressions, comments, and suggestions.

Number of users boycotting: +6073%
Lost sales due to boycott per capita revenue: +265%
Happy Cyberpunk 2077 customers since 2020: -6.1million
No mention of Galaxy, no praise whatsoever, therefore no comment. Back to the drawing board.
Post edited April 29, 2021 by patrikc
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randomuser.833: Something else then an unironic attitude to this thread would require a lot of faith in humanity.
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fronzelneekburm: Being a little melodramatic, aren't we?

If a little consoomer revolt is enough for you to make you loose your faith in humanity, you really should go out more.
Ah no, that was lost before. I mean, people were stupid even before Mr Gates wanted to chip us all, but the past months seem to have taken an even greater toll on so many people...

But Mr. Spindoctor is strong enough in this thread, to not find any faith.
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mrkgnao: It's amazing how much people can be impressed by statistically manipulated numbers.
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The_Puppet94: Now I am interested in some evidence for number manipulation.
Three examples:
- Slide #1 - Instead of comparing 2020 to 2019 to measure year-over-year growth, as it is normally done, they compare December 2020 to December 2019, knowing full well that December 2020 was an extreme outlier as it saw the release of the world's most hyped video game ever. This might also be the case for slide #2 (impossible to say).
- Slide #7 - AFAIK, GOG does not have a category of "resolved tickets". It only has a category of "closed tickets", which they have rebranded here as "resolved tickets". I have opened many tickets over the years, including in 2020, and many of my tickets, especially in 2020, have not been resolved (and I don't mean resolved favourably, I mean resolved in any way beyond being ignored). They have simply been closed, some of them without even my receiving any reply to them. If GOG does indeed have a "resolved tickets" category, then it should have a "closed but unresolved tickets" category, which --- since they have not posted anything about these --- may be much larger than 244,800.
- Slide #7: Refund rate is expressed in units, instead of the natural metric, which is currency (US$). The reason for that is that most of the refunds are likely to be CP2077, which is quite expensive and would raise the refund rate percentage significantly.
Post edited April 30, 2021 by mrkgnao
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patrikc: I say, someone in here must really dislike Star Wars.

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nightcraw1er.488: I have just got some figures in, look forward to hearing your impressions, comments, and suggestions.

Number of users boycotting: +6073%
Lost sales due to boycott per capita revenue: +265%
Happy Cyberpunk 2077 customers since 2020: -6.1million
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patrikc: No mention of Galaxy, no praise whatsoever, therefore no comment. Back to the drawing board.
I did actually have a galaxy line, but removed it as wasn’t happy with it, couldn’t phrase it right. Could also have had:
DRM: +189%
Online only content: +1000%
Paywalled content: +345%
Social media use: +14532%


Just to add: Another day, another release, another load of bull:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/legend_of_keepers_career_of_a_dungeon_manager_leaves_the_development_stage_1798a
Perhaps it’s just another in the long list of “mistakes”.
Post edited April 30, 2021 by nightcraw1er.488
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mrkgnao: - Slide #7: Refund rate is expressed in units, instead of the natural metric, which is currency (US$). The reason for that is that most of the refunds are likely to be CP2077, which is quite expensive and would raise the refund rate percentage significantly.
I don't think so. I saw the raw number of sales and refunds of Cyberpunk somewhere else earlier today (didn't bookmark though) and it was way lower than I had expected from all the drama. And really surprisingly low on consoles like PS4 (which won't count into GOG's numbers anyway).
Of course the "rule of large numbers" applies here - 1% of a few thousand units is nothing, 1% of a few million is a lot of work - which is why CP was banned from the consoles' stores. Still, with all the outrage I was expecting a substantial percentage of refunds - which didn't happen, it's just so many, because so many millions had been sold.

And on PC really one a tiny fraction of buyers asked for a refund - not as surprising, we're used to a lot of pain waiting for patches and better hardware...

Like I wrote, I'd have expected the refunds on CP way more substantial, but with the numbers I've seen it's still one of the biggest hits in video game history ever. Only a small percentage of people actually refunded. Which still amounts to a lot of people considering the numbers sold.
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mrkgnao: - Slide #7: Refund rate is expressed in units, instead of the natural metric, which is currency (US$). The reason for that is that most of the refunds are likely to be CP2077, which is quite expensive and would raise the refund rate percentage significantly.
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toxicTom: I don't think so. I saw the raw number of sales and refunds of Cyberpunk somewhere else earlier today (didn't bookmark though) and it was way lower than I had expected from all the drama. And really surprisingly low on consoles like PS4 (which won't count into GOG's numbers anyway).
Of course the "rule of large numbers" applies here - 1% of a few thousand units is nothing, 1% of a few million is a lot of work - which is why CP was banned from the consoles' stores. Still, with all the outrage I was expecting a substantial percentage of refunds - which didn't happen, it's just so many, because so many millions had been sold.

And on PC really one a tiny fraction of buyers asked for a refund - not as surprising, we're used to a lot of pain waiting for patches and better hardware...

Like I wrote, I'd have expected the refunds on CP way more substantial, but with the numbers I've seen it's still one of the biggest hits in video game history ever. Only a small percentage of people actually refunded. Which still amounts to a lot of people considering the numbers sold.
Yep, it’s staggering really. Begs the question what does a publisher have to do to fail. I mean the game itself is bad, ok with patching they can get some bugs, but it is just a bad game, all the subsystems, the open world, the story, the origins, it’s all flawed beyond belief. Add to that the company buying reviews, lying to everyone, etc. it really makes you think either people have too much money or are just completely brain dead at this point. No wonder EA are so big.
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nightcraw1er.488: I mean the game itself is bad, ...
We can stop right here, because it isn't. It's really a great game. Period. But not "the second coming" which people were expecting, and/or which was promised (depending on who you ask).

If this game had been released by any other company, it would have been a star, there wouldn't be any hate, just amazement and love. But from CDPR people had expected more. And kind of rightly so.

Part of the expectations were fuelled by CDPR themselves, setting - publicly - the sights so high they could only fail. Part of it was hype dynamics I'll never get.

Have I been disappointed by the game? Certainly, at first. I some regards - especially branching story-lines - I had expected a lot more. After all The Witcher had made choice-and-consequences a core competence of their games. And CP really lacks in this regard.
But once you stop complaining about what isn't there and take a look at what is - it's simply still an amazing game which few can can compete with. Open world Deus Ex, something many people here were craving for - it's in there. In every single tiny mission. Like in Witcher 3 in every tiny corner of the map there is something to cherish. The world is built with so much love and attention to detail it almost hurts to explore it. There are a lot of weaknesses, yes. But it seems to me people love to judge the game more for what it isn't than what it has to offer. Like judging PS:T for it's implementation of D&D combat.

How did gamers get this way? I mean, we used to enjoy ourselves with a bit of bleeps and pixels which were nothing like the impressive artwork on the box. How did people get so bitter that they can't enjoy a top 4 course meal, because the dessert doesn't have the chocolate coating that was in the leaflet? Since when has complaining become the meaning of life for some?
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nightcraw1er.488: I did actually have a galaxy line, but removed it as wasn’t happy with it, couldn’t phrase it right. Could also have had:
DRM: +189%
Online only content: +1000%
Paywalled content: +345%
Social media use: +14532%

Just to add: Another day, another release, another load of bull:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/legend_of_keepers_career_of_a_dungeon_manager_leaves_the_development_stage_1798a
Perhaps it’s just another in the long list of “mistakes”.
This reminds me of the combat messages from the old Fallout games. "You were critically hit for <x> points of damage. Feel the pain!"
Noticed that one, I just wish games were actually complete products nowadays. Then again, a one-time purchase is rarely something acceptable in this day and age.
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toxicTom: How did gamers get this way? I mean, we used to enjoy ourselves with a bit of bleeps and pixels which were nothing like the impressive artwork on the box. How did people get so bitter that they can't enjoy a top 4 course meal, because the dessert doesn't have the chocolate coating that was in the leaflet? Since when has complaining become the meaning of life for some?
I really don't think it's fair to start with your subjective opinion (that the game is great) and proceed to treat it as some unassailable fact based on which you can call everyone who disagrees "bitter" and assume that "complaining is the meaning of their life". Honestly it's a pretty shitty way to deflect plenty of legitimate criticism.

Also, gamers were complaining since the dawn of gaming. Ever since D&D released a new edition for the first time there were people complaining, for reasons both valid and silly, about the changes. This glorious past were people loved every game with childish abandon is rose-colored glasses nonsense. What has changed is that there's more hype for AAA games, more marketing so more backlash when things go wrong, and the Internet is a big stage for what used to play out on multiple small stages of local game stores.

You also shouldn't discount the fun that can be had in complaining. Yes, fun. We're nerds. We're opinionated and passionate about about the media we love. We complain about The Quickening because we loved the first Highlander. It comes from a place of love, not bitterness. Arguing over which Star Wars movie is the worst is half of what the Star Wars fandom does. But that is not bitterness. It's a way of having fun with bad movie that would otherwise leave us with nothing to talk about. It's fun to pick apart the nonsense of the Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker after watching it with your friends. It's much more bitter to walk back home from the theatre in silence. And all of that goes for games too.
Post edited April 30, 2021 by Breja
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mrkgnao: - Slide #7: Refund rate is expressed in units, instead of the natural metric, which is currency (US$). The reason for that is that most of the refunds are likely to be CP2077, which is quite expensive and would raise the refund rate percentage significantly.
They didnt even process all the CP2077 refund tickets from 2020 in 2020. So if they want to give honest honorable numbers they need to consider this and properly describe those numbers.

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toxicTom: I don't think so. I saw the raw number of sales and refunds of Cyberpunk somewhere else earlier today (didn't bookmark though) and it was way lower than I had expected from all the drama. And really surprisingly low on consoles like PS4 (which won't count into GOG's numbers anyway).
Do you have a link? While I didnt follow all the news etc my impression is that CDP management did not give any actual numbers. They have/had some CDPR refund campaign but again my impression from https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/wp-content/uploads-en/2021/04/transcript-2020-results.pdf is that it does not include GOG/Steam refunds. A simple Google search yields some articles saying 2M refunds overall.
See also: https://www.ign.com/articles/cdpr-issued-some-30000-refunds-for-cyberpunk-2077
So if you do have actually some "raw numbers" properly relating to the context (instead of misinterpretation of dishonorable communication by CDP) please do post link here.

Edit: Links for the 2M copies refunded (dont know if true):
https://www.gamingbible.co.uk/news/games-nearly-2-million-copies-of-cyberpunk-2077-have-been-refunded-20210205
https://www.givemesport.com/1647113-cyberpunk-2077-nearly-two-million-copies-have-been-refunded
Post edited April 30, 2021 by Zrevnur
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nightcraw1er.488: I mean the game itself is bad, ...
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toxicTom: We can stop right here, because it isn't. It's really a great game. Period. But not "the second coming" which people were expecting, and/or which was promised (depending on who you ask).

If this game had been released by any other company, it would have been a star, there wouldn't be any hate, just amazement and love. But from CDPR people had expected more. And kind of rightly so.

Part of the expectations were fuelled by CDPR themselves, setting - publicly - the sights so high they could only fail. Part of it was hype dynamics I'll never get.

Have I been disappointed by the game? Certainly, at first. I some regards - especially branching story-lines - I had expected a lot more. After all The Witcher had made choice-and-consequences a core competence of their games. And CP really lacks in this regard.
But once you stop complaining about what isn't there and take a look at what is - it's simply still an amazing game which few can can compete with. Open world Deus Ex, something many people here were craving for - it's in there. In every single tiny mission. Like in Witcher 3 in every tiny corner of the map there is something to cherish. The world is built with so much love and attention to detail it almost hurts to explore it. There are a lot of weaknesses, yes. But it seems to me people love to judge the game more for what it isn't than what it has to offer. Like judging PS:T for it's implementation of D&D combat.

How did gamers get this way? I mean, we used to enjoy ourselves with a bit of bleeps and pixels which were nothing like the impressive artwork on the box. How did people get so bitter that they can't enjoy a top 4 course meal, because the dessert doesn't have the chocolate coating that was in the leaflet? Since when has complaining become the meaning of life for some?
No, sorry, you must just be one of the many deluded. It’s been systematically proven over and over, it’s bad at every level. It has no open world, it’s simply an open space with billboards moving in fixed paths with no AI or interaction, you can literally see thousands of video of this, same goes for traffic. The map, if you can stop yourself tearing your own eyes out at the colour scheme, is pretty much empty. The “origins” story consists of one mission and a fast forward video. Even the tutorial does not work, stealth is broken. Skills make no difference. The world has next to no interactivity. It goes on and on.

It’s not the same as comparing to PS:T, I am not comparing it to Witcher, nor did I have preconceptions. It’s simply playing it, it is bad at every level. I recently play AC: Valhalla, I can look at the and see the flaws, I can compare back to Odyssey and Origins and systematically evaluate what worked better back then or in the new game. I can compare it to other games in the same arena. This has been what has been done to minute detail with Cyberpunk, and at every single point it fails. It is valid complaining, the product is very bad, far worse than a lot which has come out over the years, the company that produced it have proven there is no level they will not drop to.

But yes, your argument is perfectly valid of course, why do people complain about planes falling out of the sky, I mean how did travellers get this way. So it’s a total car crash at every level, do stop complaining about it.
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mrkgnao: - Slide #7: Refund rate is expressed in units, instead of the natural metric, which is currency (US$). The reason for that is that most of the refunds are likely to be CP2077, which is quite expensive and would raise the refund rate percentage significantly.
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toxicTom: I don't think so. I saw the raw number of sales and refunds of Cyberpunk somewhere else earlier today (didn't bookmark though) and it was way lower than I had expected from all the drama. And really surprisingly low on consoles like PS4 (which won't count into GOG's numbers anyway).
I don't know what you consider a low number, but even if the return rate of CP2077 was 1% my point is still true.

EDIT: Meant to write 10%, not 1%.
Post edited April 30, 2021 by mrkgnao
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Breja: "complaining is the meaning of their life"
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nightcraw1er.488: It’s been systematically proven over and over, it’s bad at every level.
See?