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The DRM-Free Revolution Continues with Big Pre-Orders and Launch Day Releases!

Good news! GOG.com is going to bring you more fantastic launch day releases, preorders, and other exciting new content from some of our favorite developers. We've lined up 3 big titles that we will be bringing to GOG.com in the next couple of months for sale or preorder that we think will be hits with all of our gamers; and we have more equally exciting games coming up soon.

If you've been a member of the site for a long time, you may recall that when we launched sales of The Witcher 2 on GOG.com, we had to add in regional pricing. The game cost different amounts in in the US, the UK, the European Union, and Australia. We're doing something like that once again in order to bring you new titles from fantastic bigger studios. Since we don't accept currencies other than USD on GOG.com right now, we'll be charging the equivalent of the local price in USD for these titles. We wish that we could offer these games at flat prices everywhere in the world, but the decision on pricing is always in our partners' hands, and regional pricing is becoming the standard around the globe. We're doing this because we believe that there's no better way to accomplish our overall goals for DRM-Free gaming and GOG.com. We need more games, devs, and publishers on board to make DRM-Free gaming something that's standard for all of the gaming world!

That brings with it more good news, though! As mentioned, we have three games we're launching soon with regional pricing--two RPGs and a strategy game--and while we can't tell you what they are yet because breaking an NDA has more severe penalties than just getting a noogie, we're confident that you'll be as excited about these games as we are. For a limited time, we will be offering anyone who pre-orders or buys one of them a free game from a selection as a gift from GOG.com, just like we did for The Witcher 2.

If you have any questions, hit us up in the comments below and we'll be happy to answer (to the best of our ability).

EDIT: Since we've answered a lot of the common questions already here (and lest you think that we've ignored you), it may be handy for you to check out the forum thread about this and search for staff answers by clicking this link here. (hat tip to user Eli who reminded us that the feature even exists. :)
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Niggles: Some of you guys are really drastic in your assessment and also a tad pessimistic about things don't you think?.
What i'm saying, my opinion, it's all realistic.
Maybe one day we will think back happily about the golden days of simple worldwide flat prices.


But heck, now I want to see the games that are worth that trouble. GOG had to hire that evil guy who rips off shirts again and I want to know if it really was worth it.
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mobutu: Any current existing developer on gog can have a new aaa dayzero release and use this a strong argument in re-negociation of existing contracts for current (older) fixed priced games on gog.
So it can happen sooner than everyone think.
One you open the pandora box anything can happen, the sky is the limit. That is why tet couldnt make any promises, that is why tommorow the bosses of gog will not make any promises, because they know anything can happen when you allow unfair regional pricing (rip-off)
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adamhm: Yes, possibly. It depends on the contracts that they have signed with GOG and the details of those are unavailable to any of us. But if they did it would be their loss really... changing the existing pricing of their games here for the worse will not help improve their sales.
Also if this does happen, it would present a *perfect* opportunity for people to express their views on regional pricing to the publishers, without risking harming progress on changing industry attitudes to DRM, as such games will have previously only been available (and presumably sold well) here with worldwide pricing.

In this case, a sharp drop in sales and a sharp increase in complaints after the introduction of regional pricing would make it abundantly clear to the publishers that the reason for the drop is due to regional pricing and nothing else.

So I say accept it for the new releases here - at least for now - to encourage more DRM-free releases, and should any of them try to push regional pricing on games that have already been here with worldwide pricing... exploit that for all it's worth.
Post edited February 24, 2014 by adamhm
high rated
In case anyone reading the thread just wants to see TET's responses, they can browse the thread showing only staff posts.

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/announcement_big_preorders_launch_day_releases_coming?staff=yes
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blotunga: Pretty much yes: http://www.steamprices.com/eu/topripoffs
Worst offender today: Silent Hunter 3: € 19.49 in europe while: $6.49 » € 4.73 (-75.73%).
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Bloodygoodgames: That's what you can expect to see on GOG in future.
...but GOG advertises itself with 'great community'.
So, a community member from US can get the key for a less fortunate member from Europe and do a nice PayPal exchange of goods :)
Sure, it requires certain amount of trust, but there are people here I would strike such deal without a second thought :)
So, there always is a way to defeat those greedy publishers with their own weapon.
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Trilarion: I want to see the games that are worth that trouble ... I want to know if it really was worth it.
imo no game nor publisher, no matter how aaaa or big or hyped or whatever, is worth it.

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Novotnus: So, a community member from US can get the key for a less fortunate member from Europe and do a nice PayPal exchange of goods :)
Sure, it requires certain amount of trust, but there are people here I would strike such deal without a second thought :)
So, there always is a way to defeat those greedy publishers with their own weapon.
It will happen here on gog like it already happened elsewhere: regional blocks/locks/interdiction/crippled_down/discrimination, censorship etc
Post edited February 24, 2014 by mobutu
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ssokolow: If it's a newer game, I'll buy it in a Humble Bundle or Humble Store Sale anyway because, if I buy it on GOG, I'll get screwed if a Linux port appears.
I'm right there with you. GOG was my #1 store, but I've had to reconsider now that I have several Linux computers. Desura, Steam and GamersGate all support Linux now, and Humble Store is nudging its way ahead of GOG now.
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Novotnus: So, there always is a way to defeat those greedy publishers with their own weapon.
As long as they don't threaten to sue GOG and force them to change how the gifting system works, in order to prevent such circumventing the regional pricing by trades, that is ...
Post edited February 24, 2014 by Leroux
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Trilarion: Maybe one day we will think back happily about the golden days of simple worldwide flat prices.

But heck, now I want to see the games that are worth that trouble. GOG had to hire that evil guy who rips off shirts again and I want to know if it really was worth it.
Ill be disappointed if its just some of the games already mentioned. all the kickstartered games (which they already had agreed with) were coming here DRM free anyway fwiw (despite DOS doing the regional pricing thing).
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Trilarion: The excuse of GOG (so we could get more games) is really not sufficient. Instead they should have told the full truth. Obviously there are core values and core values. Worldwide flat pricing wasn't such a big core value. They decided it wasn't so important. Basically they only have DRM free left as a single core value, which also might be dropped in the future.

If this happens I move to Steam and for the next six months I won't buy anything here to see how it develops.
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Drerhu: Like I said before, love how people dissapointed run to the even worse option (totally respectable one, but I would just stop buying in Gog and steam xD)
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Ganni1987: Many people here disagree with this change and partially so do I, but I really have to ask, do any of you buy games on Steam or GamersGate?
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Drerhu: Funny thing, yes, and they will keep supporting places like steam : )
Steam never pretended to be all about "customer love". They didn't betray any values of theirs. For many people, GOG's customer-friendly image and cheaper prices were the two biggest reasons to shop here when there was a choice between GOG and Steam. Now it's apparent that GOG isn't that keen on loving its customers (in fact, they lied about it) and with regional pricing, Steam's deep discounts are always going to win out. It's not illogical at all to start favoring Steam after this shift in policy.
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mobutu: It will happen here on gog like it already happened elsewhere: regional blocks/locks/interdiction/crippled_down/discrimination, censorship etc
So, with a little more work (and a good list of trustworthy traders) we can get the best deals out of this mess :)
high rated
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Niggles: Some of you guys are really drastic in your assessment and also a tad pessimistic about things don't you think?.
No, because it's common sense,

Like I said before, I've seen this over and over again at many companies, and there are always the die-hard fans or the die-hard naive customers who insist on looking at it as a 'good thing' or 'not a bad thing'.

And, with all those companies, I have yet to see any company make a drastic change like this and then not see things get worse and worse for both the customers and the company, a drastic change which eventually ends up losing them the customers that made them successful in the first place.

And it always stems from greed.

Besides, it's Business 101.

You do NOT drop one of your core values, a value that has made customers buy from you for months or years, and then expect them to bend over and say "Thank you", and keep shopping the same way they always did.

Companies always think THEIR customers are different and THEIR customers will stick by them.

Newsflash, it's Business 101 - there are hundreds of thousands of other businesses out there that WILL offer a customer what they want, so when the original company disregards their customers' requirements, they only have themselves to blame when they fail.

Finally, look at the two momentous decisions GOG or their parent company made in the past that severely damaged their business.

1)GOG shut down the website as a 'marketing stunt' - which ultimately pissed off tens of thousands of their customers, lost them loyalty and gave them months worth of bad press.

2) Started to sue people who were downloading bootleg copies of Witcher 2 - ANOTHER PR Nightmare for CD Projekt Red and GOG (same folks).

And you think THIS is going to be any different???? :)
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ssokolow: If it's a newer game, I'll buy it in a Humble Bundle or Humble Store Sale anyway because, if I buy it on GOG, I'll get screwed if a Linux port appears.
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jalister: I'm right there with you. GOG was my #1 store, but I've had to reconsider now that I have several Linux computers. Desura, Steam and GamersGate all support Linux now, and Humble Store is nudging its way ahead of GOG now.
Well regional pricing changes wont affect u guys (on linux) on gog anyway.
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Niggles: Ill be disappointed if its just some of the games already mentioned. all the kickstartered games (which they already had agreed with) were coming here DRM free anyway fwiw (despite DOS doing the regional pricing thing).
In this case - we're the ones holding the money here. It's up to us who gets our money. Game \ publisher being on GOG doesn't force us to buy :)
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Novotnus: So, with a little more work (and a good list of trustworthy traders) we can get the best deals out of this mess :)
If it were that easy, sadly they'll just block inter-regional-gifting.