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Hey, GOGgers,

We're not perfect, we're exploring new frontiers, and we make mistakes. We thought DRM-Free was so important that you'd prefer we bring you more DRM-Free games and Fair Price was less critical and that it could be sacrificed in some cases. The last two week's worth of comments in our forums (nearly 10k!), show that's not the case. We didn’t listen and we let you down. We shouldn't sacrifice one of our core values in an attempt to advance another. We feel bad about that, and we're sorry. Us being sorry is not of much use to you, so let’s talk about how we will fix it.

One: DRM-free forever. Abandoning fixed regional pricing means it will probably take longer to get some games, but you've made it clear that sacrificing fair pricing for more DRM-free games isn't acceptable.

Two: We will adamantly continue to fight for games with flat worldwide pricing. If that fails and we are required to have regional prices, we will make up the difference for you out of our own pockets. For now it will be with $5.99 and $9.99 game codes. In a couple of months, once we have such functionality implemented, we will give you store credit instead, which then you will be able to use towards any purchase and cover the price of it in full or partially. Effectively gamers from all around the world will be able to benefit from the US prices.

This will apply to every single game where we do not have flat pricing, such as Age of Wonders 3 (full details here), Divinity: Original Sin, and The Witcher 3. If you remember the Fair Price Package for The Witcher 2, this will be exactly the same.

Three: We still intend to introduce the pricing in local currencies. Let us explain why we want to do it and how we want to make it fair for everyone. From the very beginning our intention was to make things easier for users whose credit cards/payment systems are not natively in USD. The advantages are simple because the price is more understandable and easier to relate to. There would be no exchange rates involved, no transaction fees, and no other hidden charges. However after reading your comments, we realized we have taken an important element away: the choice. In order to fix this, we'll offer the option of paying in the local currency or the equivalent in USD. This way, how you pay is always your choice.

Four: You are what matters, and we will be sure to involve you all more in what we're doing and why we're doing it. Let's start by meeting you at GDC - we’d like to invite you to meet us face-to-face Monday the 17th at GDC. Obviously, not all of you can come to San Francisco, so we want to invite all of you to an online event with us early in April to ask us whatever you would like. More details soon.

The bottom line is simple: there may be companies that won't work with us (although we will work hard to convince the most stubborn ones ;). Yes, it means we might miss out on some games, but at the same time GOG.com will remain true to its values and will keep on offering you the best of DRM-free gaming with Fair Prices.

Once again thank you for caring so much about GOG.com. We will work hard not to disappoint you again.

--Marcin "iWi" Iwinski & Guillaume "TheFrenchMonk" Rambourg
Yay, we can start talking about fun things on the forum again!
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Pheace: Highly unlikely. The game developers have development costs to recoup. For GOG it's simply a matter of selling the game for their 30%

Even at T's old example of a $2 loss for Regionally priced sales, it's extremely likely they'll be making profit off the game. Steam's latest Dev video showed theirs sales are 41% US, 40% EU. Any US sale would give GOG at least $10 so they'd have to sell 5 EU copies to lose that again. It's extremely unlikely they'll sell 5x more regionally priced versus the rest, so in the end, they'll make a profit off offering the game.

On top of that they make a good impression, and draw in customers who wanted those games.

If this was a bad thing for GOG, they wouldn't do it.
Quick question - are those percentages about GOG or Steam?

In the "Creating a Digital Business for Humans" video (Summer 2013), Marcin said that the US represents roughly about 50%, Western Europe about 35% and Australia about 15% and they practically have no presence in Russia. They didn't clarify if these percentages represent paying customers or users in general, but either way I also think that in overall they'll be making a profit, just not the "nominal" profit for all sales. I'm also quite positive that they run their P/L numbers and decided it's worth doing it this way instead of not at all or the initial way.


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Cavalary: Making the local pricing entirely optional and announcing that, even if not immediately, any price difference for regionally priced games will be returned in full in store credit, not only in codes, were enough steps for me to get off the warpath now, but that doesn't make any sort of regional pricing acceptable, so why exactly should the publishers who push it be supported by purchasing those games? They shouldn't be sold that way and, if they are, they shouldn't be here, so if GOG chooses to add them anyway it's entirely their problem. And excuse me but I certainly don't want to see any of their growth being due to said games, but only to those that stick to both principles. If it'll be severely limited because of that, so be it.
I don't embrace the current regional pricing model and the unreasonable way it's being implemented and I made it clear from the beginning, but GOG's growth is not a one-dimensional thing that can be chopped into individual pieces put into air-tight sealed containers; a severe limitation of their growth will have negative effects on the rest of the business that appeals more to you and a healthy growth can positively influence both the release of classics & indies as well as pre-orders & day-1 releases under flat pricing. The thing is that we won't see the results tomorrow or in the next couple of weeks.
I still care because, for the most part, I'm content and happy with GOG and I don't want to lose one of my limited good sources for my gaming fix.
One thing that annoyed me about this whole thing is how you tried to slip it through. But your repenting and that is something.

I think every one will appreciate it.
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Maighstir: Do note that "enigmatic hints" were around long before TET arrived (they just weren't called such yet). If I'm not mistaken, Marcin was the one responsible back then.
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donsanderson: Yeah but you've been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth! ;)
This is big news to us relative noobs.
Pff... I've been around since long before the dinosaurs ever became capable of entertaining the thought of evolving from single-cell organisms.
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AnimalMother117: Yay, we can start talking about fun things on the forum again!

Getting back to our roots
My wife got back to my root this morning.



badumpTSSHH!
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donsanderson: Yeah but you've been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth! ;)
This is big news to us relative noobs.
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Maighstir: Pff... I've been around since long before the dinosaurs ever became capable of entertaining the thought of evolving from single-cell organisms.
You the guy on the left?
Attachments:
origin.jpg (21 Kb)
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Maighstir: Pff... I've been around since long before the dinosaurs ever became capable of entertaining the thought of evolving from single-cell organisms.
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donsanderson: You the guy on the left?
This is me.
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HypersomniacLive: Quick question - are those percentages about GOG or Steam?
Steam's. Won't see GOG's numers in a Steam Dev Days video probably :)

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcrmTXb92DE&feature=youtu.be&t=3m15s
Post edited March 12, 2014 by Pheace
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donsanderson: You the guy on the left?
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Maighstir: This is me.
That IS old! :-O
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Zoidberg: Let's hope you guys keep in mind that it's temporary and that, in the end, you WILL have pushed unique price for EVERY game/publisher. ;)
I really hope you guys do not believe this! Let's see steam, gamersgate, greenman gaming, and so forth are making profit off of regional priced AAA games, while GOG just said they are breaking even. Yep that is truly a great incentive for those companies to jump on the no regional pricing band wagon. The only way that would ever come about is if every gamer everywhere stopped buying regional priced games . Now let me ask you, when was the last time that you can name where mankind stopped buying or doing something because it was good for them? If you truly believe this statement then I have some land to sale you for $200,000, once I get the money the deed will be in the mail.

Although to be fair if and when all of the brick and mortar stores that sales games die, which are the ones pushing for this (for online publishers) so they can stay in business, then I could see regional pricing dieing if gamers make it die. But GOG would have as much to do with its death as a fly flapping its wings in central park (NY) has to do with a jet taking off in Miami.



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nadenitza: If you can't beat em - join em, eh? How does that make em an competitor?
What does that have to do with competition? There are plenty of companies that do the exact same thing, but are still competitors; why because they compete for customers….and as a customer it is our job to wisely decide on which company to vote for by spending money there.
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iWi: Linux you say ... hmmm ... let us chew on this ... ;)
http://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/add_linux_versions_of_games
As of this second: 14657 votes. I'll leave you to chew and digest that information then :-)
Post edited March 12, 2014 by tarangwydion
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AKASlaphappy: Now let me ask you, when was the last time that you can name where mankind stopped buying or doing something because it was good for them?
Yeah, that's the problem. Such a coordinated action would require a large number of people actually being intelligent for one, and a quick look around the world proves that's not, and never was, the case. Then it'll also require them to stand united instead of looking for reasons to be at each other's throats and otherwise compete (incidentally, this situation we were, and to quite some extent still are, in is caused by competition as well), and to maintain their determination in a long and drawn-out struggle... And to actually believe they can create change and not just take things as they are and be apathetic.
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AKASlaphappy: Now let me ask you, when was the last time that you can name where mankind stopped buying or doing something because it was good for them?
Few months ago. Xbox One. They had to take back their own "no used games" policy because of that.
Oh my god, I can't believe my eyes, THANK YOU GOD FOR SO BASED COMPANY AS IS GoG!!

You guys are the best, trust restored, you made a hard choice and you sticked with us, we love you GoG.

Wish you the best, we'll stay with you through goor or bad ;)
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realchris99: ""For now it will be with $5.99 and $9.99 game codes. In a couple of months, once we have such functionality implemented, we will give you store credit instead, which then you will be able to use towards any purchase and cover the price of it in full or partially. Effectively gamers from all around the world will be able to benefit from the US prices""

What is the difference? Is it correct, that i have to pay the bigger Price again and you just give me some Shopping-Credit back? This is the same in another package. I pay the same and get a bonus. What if i don`t want the bonus? I just want to pay the same money like the whole world. Under the line, i pay more again.
I'd wager that once they implement actual store credit, you can also use that during a promo (though it could be that they disable credit for promos).

It might also mean you can buy new releases using store credit, because those usually cost more than the classics (again, this could be disabled).

Regardless, you'll have more options in accumulation of credit and how to spend it. For example if you want to buy 2 5.99 games and you only have a 9.99 game code, you can't really use it. But if you have 9.99 store credit, you can spend that and pay the other 1.99 yourself.