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MarkoH01: Then again: at the moment there is a game on GOG banned in Germany - no blocking yet ...
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stryx: And saying that out loud in the forum will surely help the matter.
That is the reason I did not say the name of the game I meant.
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stryx: And saying that out loud in the forum will surely help the matter.
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MarkoH01: That is the reason I did not say the name of the game I meant.
Can you please PM me the name of the game? I have an idea, but i'm not quite sure.
The newly-released Hyperdimension Neptunia sequels are also regionally-locked in Japan.
I see. Can't say I'm surprised about that. I'll add them to the list and the mix.
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ElTerprise: I see. Can't say I'm surprised about that. I'll add them to the list and the mix.
Just like Dying Light. We can buy on Steam in Japan, but GOG once again failed to uphold a core principle.
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bansama: Just like Dying Light. We can buy on Steam in Japan, but GOG once again failed to uphold a core principle.
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Square Enix catalog will retroactively be regionally-locked.
Post edited January 21, 2017 by Grargar
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bansama: Just like Dying Light. We can buy on Steam in Japan, but GOG once again failed to uphold a core principle.
If it's not an issue of different publishers and publishing rights, I really can't see why these aren't handled the same way here.
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Grargar: At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the Square Enix catalog will retroactively be regionally-locked.
That goes the other way. Can buy old games such as Startopia on GOG in Japan, but not on Steam. But yep, seeing as even the Square games we can buy on Steam in Japan are not available on the likes of GMG and GOG are becoming more like GMG -- in terms of both "promises" and "actions", such retroactive restrictions here wouldn't surprise me either.

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HypersomniacLive: If it's not an issue of different publishers and publishing rights, I really can't see why these aren't handled the same way here.
Shouldn't even be that. In the past different publishers meant GOG didn't sell worldwide until they had a deal with ALL publishers -- they even used to temporarily pull titles from the store worldwide in the event of a regional issue. But I see they went the easy route and silently dropped that in favour of only restriction in main markets when legally required, but Japan is open to the whims of the publishers once again. That or GOG simply lack the ability or desire to even try to negotiate Japan releases. But even then, Dying Light is purely a GOG fuck up. They didn't know how to handle a different release date for a single region and now can't own up to their error.

So they leave the publisher unable to make sales on the main game in Japan while still selling DLC that is completely useless and thus not going to make any sales in the region. Yet, GOG refuse to even remove the pointless DLC from sale. This joke situation is something we'd expect of Steam and even then, only with Japanese publishers.

As far as any legal basis for a game not being available in Japan (and not purely because of a different publisher), there is none for PC. There is no compulsory requirement to rate PC games through CERO. As such even games that could ultimately require alterations for sale on console can and are sold unaltered on PC in most cases. So there is only one reason for a game not being available on the format in Japan when it is available elsewhere: the publisher.

For the Neptunia games this is a bit complicated. Idea Factory / Compile Heart (essentially the same company) handle releases on console. Idea Factory International are responsible for the development of the PC versions. As such Idea Factory International hold the rights for those versions. Seeing the success of MegaDimension Neptunia VII on Steam worldwide, Idea Factory (Japan) finally started listening to requests to sell PC versions in Japan. And they ultimately did that for Re;Birth 1 through 3 (but not MDNVII) on Steam. That is why the Steam versions can be enjoyed with either Japanese audio + Japanese text, or Japanese / English audio + English text. So it's not entirely unreasonable to expect GOG to also be able to contact Idea Factory (Japan) and negotiate the release of those builds in Japan.
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bansama: [...]

For the Neptunia games this is a bit complicated. Idea Factory / Compile Heart (essentially the same company) handle releases on console. Idea Factory International are responsible for the development of the PC versions. As such Idea Factory International hold the rights for those versions. Seeing the success of MegaDimension Neptunia VII on Steam worldwide, Idea Factory (Japan) finally started listening to requests to sell PC versions in Japan. And they ultimately did that for Re;Birth 1 through 3 (but not MDNVII) on Steam. That is why the Steam versions can be enjoyed with either Japanese audio + Japanese text, or Japanese / English audio + English text. So it's not entirely unreasonable to expect GOG to also be able to contact Idea Factory (Japan) and negotiate the release of those builds in Japan.
I see that the GOG releases are handled by Retroism, while the Steam ones by Idea Factory (Japan) / Idea Factory International. I can only assume that Idea Factory International has granted restricted publishing rights to Retroism, though not sure how that explains, let alone justifies, if I understood you correctly, the availability of the DLC in your region. This in turn seems to, at least, indicate that GOG has no (direct) agreement with Idea Factory International, and that Retroism has no publishing rights in your region.

GOG either tried to get an agreement with Idea Factory (Japan) / Idea Factory International, which would also solve the issue of the release of these titles in Japan, and failed, so went with Retroism a they were already onboard, or decided to go with Retroism from the get go.
We don't know, and probably never will as this is the sort of info neither site would make public.

As for the Dying Light situation - I'm inclined to agree with you; it's quite disconcerting that it hasn't been resolved after all this time.
Apparently the today's released are blocked in Brazil and South Africa. Is South Korea also affected? If so it would resemble the Army Men games release (although the lock for Brazil has been lifted)

Is any other country / region affected by it?
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ElTerprise: Apparently the today's released are blocked in Brazil and South Africa. Is South Korea also affected? If so it would resemble the Army Men games release (although the lock for Brazil has been lifted)

Is any other country / region affected by it?
Give MaGog 3 hours and we'll know for sure. :)
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muntdefems: Give MaGog 3 hours and we'll know for sure. :)
Will do that anyway Because MaGog makes it easier to update the OP but I could've updated the GOGMix in the mean time.

That said it's sad to see the list growing again and having apparently Brazil back on the list....
Just two questions:
Hyperdiminsional Neptunia is locked in Japan? Isn`t it a japanese game?
And Far Cry: Since when is this game indexed in Germany?
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Maxvorstadt: And Far Cry: Since when is this game indexed in Germany?
The uncut Version was indexed a few weeks after it's first initial release, the USK-18 Version is slightly cut.
Post edited February 23, 2017 by Anime-BlackWolf
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Maxvorstadt: Just two questions:
Hyperdiminsional Neptunia is locked in Japan? Isn`t it a japanese game?
And Far Cry: Since when is this game indexed in Germany?
Afaik it's a matter of licencing for Hyperdimension Neptunia as they are published by Retroism on GOG instead of Idea Factory...

FarCry has been indexed since shortly after its release due to the ragdoll effects. To my knowledge this covers the English version, the demo and the first German release.