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General discussionA letter tot GOG/CDPR: maybe I can meet you halfway.(35 posts)(35 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted December 23, 2020
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kohlrak: I don't think voting with your wallet works these days unless you can get enough people to agree with you, especially when we're talking, maybe, 30% of your customer base. You need another 30%, which isn't going to fly.
Well there's probably some hope, seeing as CDPR/CDP stock took a nose dive of around 25%+ recently(between this and the 2077 problems).
Posted December 23, 2020
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chimera2025: One person does not. All of the other markets are bigger than China by far. They just will block your chats to prevent your messages to get through. China is a paper tiger.
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kohlrak: I wouldn't call them a paper tiger. They are accomplishing things, unlike a paper diger (dog with much bark and no bite). As for blocking, that's the intent. Make them block half the world. Make them block half the world in places that they hold vested interests (stocks). They'll either alienate their entire customr base, which effectively replaces the half-assed-monopolies they've taken to buying stocks in (with ompetitors they don't own), or they will have to learn to live with our pooh jokes. Chinais a boxer with a really, really soft belly. Apparently it's so soft a fuzzy yellow teddy bear is even enough to hurt really bad. Imagine if we actually smacked them with something a little more harsh.
Well they are a paper tiger. They don't accomplish anything. They can only copy. That is literally all they do. I have a lot of experience with them and their tactics. The block will be specific and it will mean nothing. You can keep doing what you want. I don't have a problem with people protesting against them in any way that they want. My only goal here was to dissent against the guy who was wanting more authoritarianism.
Posted December 23, 2020
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SumofOne: And yet they have replied more than once about Cyberpunk but continue to stay silent about what they did with Devotion.
That's because that fiasco likely cost them a LOT more money, I am guessing.
Post edited December 23, 2020 by GamezRanker
Posted January 14, 2021
Topic starter here..

After having had some time to reflect and this call for a boycott having been brought to my attention, an update.

Some free advice for GOG management that they'll ignore: I've never said GOG should not do business with China. I think it's stupid though. I highly doubt "GOG" has much marketing value in China. It would be wiser to set up a separate holding with a name that is more likely to appeal to Chinese people. A different storefront that could, for example, highlight games that are only available in Chinese. Trying to integrate western and Chinese markets in one store will probably lead to alienating both.

In light of the lying to customers, I also found this from Jason Schreier on Bloomberg:

One employee asked the board why it had said in January that the game was “complete and playable” when that wasn’t true, to which the board answered that it would take responsibility.
It's another stupid lie. And why? Why does the board from CDPR/GOG compulsively lie? There is no need. They never had to say "many messages from gamers" and they never had to say "complete and playable". Why do they do this to themselves?

Red Candle Games, the developer of Devotion, seems to have peace with GOG's decision. I still think GOG should actively reimburse them, but it's something.

I now think a boycott is actually not the most effective approach, mostly because generally speaking it won't last. If you boycott, you care. So you won't leave. But you don't have an alternative either. So you'll stay.

What I'll actually do will be more costly for GOG in the long term.

1. As aptly said by WinterSnowfall in the boycott topic, my "I'm not sure if I'll have time to play this game, but let me buy it here to support GOG" behavior has come to an end. That pretty much cuts 90% of my purchases. Shopaholic here. I have more games than you.
2. If a game I want is available DRM-free elsewhere (itch.io, Humble DRM-free, Zoom, etc) I'll get it there instead. Even if it's going to cost me more.
3. I won't be adding links to GOG to any wikis anymore. Just two wiki articles I created in the past that were triggered by a GOG release are generating about 500 views per month.
4. I won't recommend GOG to friends anymore.

And I guess I won't be the only one for 3 and 4, so that's probably a big hit to the free PR machine. What hurts most is that afaik GOG has just ignored the whole thing. They waited for it to pass, and they think it has. They want to play a waiting game? I beat cats in staring contests.
Post edited January 14, 2021 by W3irdN3rd
Posted January 15, 2021
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W3irdN3rd: Disclaimer: I have no insider information. I will speculate a bit to make my point. This is not new information.

The situation is clear, and it's bad. And I can't spend money here anymore in good conscience. After arguing with some people who disagreed with me, I changed my tone a bit. I came to the following, and honestly hope you'll consider this. (I don't actually expect you to, but surprise me)

While I would highly prefer you release Devotion here (and this would be the best option), this is your company. Your rules. I am a guest, and so are all the publishers and developers who release their games here. You have the right to refuse any game for any reason at any time.

But, there are some things you shouldn't do, and some things you should do, be it for legal reasons or just basic human decency.

1. You can't lie to your customers. If you stick with the "dog ate my homework" excuse of "After receiving many messages from gamers, we have decided not to list the game in our store", you'll have to explain what breed of dog ate your homework, in which room or on what site this happened, how many dogs were involved and why we haven't found a trace of dog drool on any floor of social media.

Perhaps you'd rather be honest. Say you changed your mind as to not offend the Chinese or Chinese government. I'd disagree with that decision, and frankly I think it's stupid, but I'll respect your decision. It's your company. Or, and this is where the speculation really starts, you have received threats. Either from Xi Winnie zealots or even some branch of Hundred Acre Wood (where Winnie lives) government. If you fear for your or your family's safety, I would understand. But be honest. Just say exactly this, that you can't release the game out of fear for your personal safety. File a police report to back that up.

If all else fails, if you are (speculation warning again) literally held at gunpoint, simply say you changed your mind for undisclosed reasons. Such a vague "for undisclosed reasons" excuse is really weak, but it outranks blatant lies by a mile.
Very well written and I totally agree with it. It is understandable that GOG caves in to political and financial pressure. It's not nice and not what I would prefer, but it is economically understandable. They are a company that wants to make a profit after all. But such a blatant lie is just an insult to their customers. Unfortunately GOG will prefer not to take notice of this thread or any other suggestion to actually communicate with their customers. They seem to be very set on their new-ish 'keep silent and wait for the storm to pass' policy.
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General discussionA letter tot GOG/CDPR: maybe I can meet you halfway.(35 posts)(35 posts)
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