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Hey Goggers;

As many of you know, we announced on last Friday that we are going to introduce regional pricing for 3 new games coming up on GOG.com soon. Looking at the amount of reactions (over 3,500 comments at this very moment), it is obvious that this change is making many of you guys worried. We must have failed to clearly explain why our pricing policy for (some) newer games will change and what this means as a matter of fact for our PC & MAC classic games, which account for over 80% of our catalogue.

To be honest, our announcement was a bit vague simply because our future pricing policy is not 100% set in stone yet and we were just worried to make any promises before it was. You know, GOG.com has been growing quickly (thanks to you!), and the more we grow, the more we are worried to make some of you guys disappointed. This is why we were so (over-)cautious with our announcement.

We should have just been upfront about why we've made these changes and what they mean for us in the future and what we're planning. So let's talk. To be clear: what I'm talking about below is our plan. It's a plan that we believe we can accomplish, but while it's what we want to do with GOG, it may change some before it actually sees the light of day. Please don’t blame me for talking open-heartedly today and telling you about the plans and pricing policy we want to fight for and eventually achieve. The below plans aren't sure. The only guarantee I can give you is that we’ll do our best to fight for gamers while still making sure GOG.com as a whole grows (because well, we still want to be around 50 years from now, you know!). So, enough for the introduction, let’s get things started.

Why does GOG.com need to offer newer games at all?

We've been in business for 5 years now, and we've signed a big percentage of all of the classic content that can be legally untangled. There are still some big companies left we're trying to bring into the GOG.com fold, like LucasArts, Microsoft, Take2 and Bethesda, but what classic titles will we sign in the future once we have those partners on-board? We need to sign newer games or else just fire everyone and keep selling the same limited catalog. Either we bring you “not so old” releases from 2010+ or brand-new AAA titles, because these will become classic games tomorrow. It’s as simple as that.

Also, well, we want to expand beyond just classic games, hence the fact we have been offering you brand-new indie releases for almost 2 years now. Why expanding? Well, obviously, because the more games we sell, the more legitimacy we have on the market and the more likely it is that we can achieve our mission: making all PC & MAC video games 100% DRM-free, whether classic or brand-new titles.

To be straightforward (excuse my French):DRM is shit-- we'll never have any of it. It treats legitimate customers like rubbish and pirates don't have to bother with it. It's bad for gamers, and it's also bad for business and our partners. We want to make it easy and convenient for users to buy and play games; rather than give piracy a try. Happy gamers equals a healthy gaming industry; and this is what we fight for. Anyway, I am sure you well know our opinions about DRM.

To make the world of gaming DRM-free, we need to convince top-tier publishers & developers to give us a try with new games, just like they did with classic games. We need to make more case studies for the gaming industry, just like we successfully did back in 2011 with The Witcher 2. It was our first ever 100% DRM-free AAA day-1 release. GOG.com was the 2nd best-selling digital distribution platform worldwide for this title thanks to you guys, despite having regional prices for it. We need more breakthroughs like this to be able to show all the devs and publishers in our industry that DRM-free digital distribution is actually good for their business and their fans. And when I say breakthroughs, I am talking about really kick-ass games, with a potential metacritic score of 85% or more, AA+ and AAA kind of titles.

And this is exactly why we signed those 3 games we told you about last Friday. We believe those 3 games can be massive hits for hardcore gamers, that they can help us spread the DRM-free model among the industry for newer games and we did our best to convince their rights holders to give GOG.com a try. One of those games, as you see already, is Age of Wonders 3. We're planning more titles even beyond these first 3 soon.

Alright, but why is regional pricing needed for those (only 3 so far!) newer games then?

First of all, you have to be aware of an important fact when it comes to newer games: GOG.com cannot really decide what the prices should be. Top-tier developers and publishers usually have contractual obligations with their retail partners that oblige them to offer the game at the same price digitally and in retail. When they don’t have such contractual obligations, they are still encouraged to do so, or else their games might not get any exposure on the shelves in your favorite shops. This will change over time (as digital sales should overtake retail sales in the near future), but as of today, this is still a problem our industry is facing because retail is a big chunk of revenue and there’s nothing GOG.com can do to change that. We need to charge the recommended retail price for the boxed copies of the games in order for developers (or publishers) to either not get sued or at least get their games visible on shelves. You may recall that our sister company CD Projekt RED got sued for that in the past and we don’t want our partners to suffer from that too.

On top of that, you have to know that there are still many top-tier devs and publishers that are scared about DRM-free gaming. They're half-convinced it will make piracy worse, and flat pricing means that we're also asking them to earn less, too. Earn less, you say? Why is that? Well, when we sell a game in the EU or UK, VAT gets deducted from the price before anyone receives any profit. That means we're asking our partners to try out DRM-free gaming and at the same time also earn 19% - 25% less from us. Other stores, such as Steam, price their games regionally and have pricing that's more equitable to developers and publishers. So flat pricing + DRM-Free is something many devs and publishers simply refuse. Can you blame them? The best argument we can make to convince a publisher or developer to try DRM-Free gaming is that it earns money. Telling them to sacrifice income while they try selling a game with no copy protection is not a way to make that argument.

Getting back to those 3 new upcoming games coming up. The first one is Age of Wonders 3, which you can pre-order right now on GOG.com. The next 2 ones will be Divine Divinity: Original Sin and The Witcher 3. We’re very excited to offer those games DRM-free worldwide and we hope you’ll love them.

Still, we know some countries are really being screwed with regional pricing (Western Europe, UK, Australia) and as mentioned above, we’ll do our very best, for every release of a new game, to convince our partners to offer something special for the gamers living there.

And don’t forget guys: if regional pricing for those few big (as in, “AA+”) new games is a problem for you, you can always wait. In a few months. The game will be discounted on sale, and at 60, 70, or 80% off, the price difference will be minimal indeed. In a few years it will become a classic in its own right, and then we have the possibility to to make it flat-priced anyway (read next!) The choice is always yours. All we are after is to present it to you 100% DRM-free. We are sure you will make the best choice for yourself, and let others enjoy their own freedom to make choices as well.

So, what is going to happen with classic games then?

Classic content accounts for about 80% of our catalog, so yes, this is a super important topic. We've mentioned here above that we can’t control prices for new games, but we do have a lot of influence when it comes to classic games. GOG.com is the store that made this market visible and viable digitally, and we're the ones who established the prices we charge. We believe that we have a good record to argue for fair pricing with our partners.

So let's talk about the pricing for classics that we're shooting for. For $5.99 classics, we would like to make the games 3.49 GBP, 4.49 EUR, 199 RUB, and $6.49 AUD. For $9.99 classics, our targets are 5.99 GBP, 7.49 EUR, 349 RUB, and $10.99 AUD. This is what we’ve got in mind at the moment. We’ll do our best to make that happen, and we think it will. How? Well, we have made our partners quite happy with GOG.com's sales for years - thanks to you guys :). We have created a global, legal, successful digital distribution market of classics for them. This market didn't exist 5 years ago. By (re)making all those games compatible with modern operating systems for MAC and PC, we've made forgotten games profitable again. When it comes to classic games, we can tell them that we know more about this market than anyone. :) Being retrogaming freaks ourselves, we know that 5.99 EUR or GBP is crazy expensive for a classic game (compared to 5.99 USD). We have always argued that classic games only sell well if they have reasonable prices. Unfair regional pricing equals piracy and that’s the last thing anybody wants.

What’s next?

We will do our very best to make all of the above happen. This means three things:

First, we will work to make our industry go DRM-free in the future for both classic and new games (that’s our mission!).

Second, we will fight hard to have an attractive offer for those AA+ new games for our European, British and Australian users, despite regional pricing that we have to stick to.

Third, we will switch to fair local pricing for classic games, as I mentioned above.

TheEnigmaticT earlier mentioned that he would eat his hat if we ever brought DRM to GOG.com. I'm going to go one step further: by the end of this year, I'm making the promise that we will have converted our classic catalog over to fair regional pricing as outlined above. If not, we'll set up a record a video of some horrible public shaming for me, TheEnigmaticT, and w0rma. In fact, you know what? Feel free to make suggestions below for something appropriate (but also safe enough that we won't get the video banned on YouTube) so you feel that we're motivated to get this done quickly. I'll pick one that's scary enough from the comments below and we'll let you know which one we're sticking to.

I hope that this explanation has helped ease your worry a bit and help you keep your faith in GOG.com as a place that's different, awesome, and that always fights for what's best for gamers. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, feel free to address them to us below and TheEnigmaticT and I will answer them to the best of our abilities tomorrow. We hear you loud and clear, so please do continue sharing your feedback with us. At the end of the day GOG.com is your place; without you guys it would just be a website where a few crazy people from Europe talk about old games. :)

I end many of my emails with this, but there's rarely a time to use it more appropriately than here:

“Best DRM-free wishes,

Guillaume Rambourg,
(TheFrenchMonk)
Managing Director -- GOG.com”
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CarrionCrow: I envy those who have never had to compromise. Must be nice.
Nothing worthwhile is easy... ;)
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Ichwillnichtmehr: Because we all know, that GOG.com will stick to their core values just like they promised us, right?
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Tankman101: It's because they aren't going to abandon their CORE principle, seeing as how the store is now trying to spread the DRM-Free movement -_-

Also there is no evidence for the statement, slippery slope fallacies ftw?
They have already abandoned one of their core principles.

Saying that they will not abandon another core principles doesn't change that.
When the price difference between regions is caused by tax, VAT and the like I have no problems with it what so ever. Beyond that it gets iffy but to be honest the reason I use GOG is due to DRM-free the price is not my main interest. If this change gets newer games on here I'm good.

If DRM-free becomes a Ubisoft type release (that is released several months after the other platforms) or better I will be very happy. I won't ever get a steam account so anything that is locked to steam is blocked to me and that has resulted in me skipping games I'd really like to have.
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CarrionCrow: I envy those who have never had to compromise. Must be nice.
Why compromise on one of your things that got you to where you are, especially when it's not needed or wanted, and will lose you customers and trust. Doesn't make a bit of sense.
Post edited March 03, 2014 by Krum369
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Giuseppe87: In "future GOG"

Letter from the M.D.: About DRM

Last week we've announced that we're introducing a new client to help monitor our user's gaming experience. This will be implemented with the launch of 3 new AAA titles here on GOG. This is important if GOG is to continue expanding and if we are to partner up with more major players from the gaming industry. We're also thinking of extending this to our entire catalogue because, you know, we can.

However this is not really DRM, as many of you seem to worry. We think it's just a way to enhance our user's experience and a vehicle which will provide us and our partners with much needed usage statistics. We'll also be giving this a nice polish to make you feel like its beneficial to you (achievements, anyone?).

This isn't DRM, because you'll still be able to make copies of the games at your leisure. (It's just that we'll know you're doing it and we'll be informing our partners that you're probably pirating scum).

We continue to support the idea that DRM is shit. But, you know, if a little shit brings more money...

Best (relatively) DRM-free wishes,
...
Well, you know, I wouldn't be against an enhancement of Gog dowloader, as long as it remains optional: better update management, etc...
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Giuseppe87: In "future GOG"

Letter from the M.D.: About DRM

Last week we've announced that we're introducing a new client to help monitor our user's gaming experience. This will be implemented with the launch of 3 new AAA titles here on GOG. This is important if GOG is to continue expanding and if we are to partner up with more major players from the gaming industry. We're also thinking of extending this to our entire catalogue because, you know, we can.

However this is not really DRM, as many of you seem to worry. We think it's just a way to enhance our user's experience and a vehicle which will provide us and our partners with much needed usage statistics. We'll also be giving this a nice polish to make you feel like its beneficial to you (achievements, anyone?).

This isn't DRM, because you'll still be able to make copies of the games at your leisure. (It's just that we'll know you're doing it and we'll be informing our partners that you're probably pirating scum).

We continue to support the idea that DRM is shit. But, you know, if a little shit brings more money...

Best (relatively) DRM-free wishes,
...
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Zoidberg: Well, you know, I wouldn't be against an enhancement of Gog dowloader, as long as it remains optional: better update management, etc...
Sorry we couldn't find internet connection at this time. Please reconnect to internet to play. Our servers might also be so just try again at later time.

Game launch blocked. Please enjoy!
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Giuseppe87: In "future GOG"

Letter from the M.D.: About DRM

Last week we've announced that we're introducing a new client to help monitor our user's gaming experience. This will be implemented with the launch of 3 new AAA titles here on GOG. This is important if GOG is to continue expanding and if we are to partner up with more major players from the gaming industry. We're also thinking of extending this to our entire catalogue because, you know, we can.

However this is not really DRM, as many of you seem to worry. We think it's just a way to enhance our user's experience and a vehicle which will provide us and our partners with much needed usage statistics. We'll also be giving this a nice polish to make you feel like its beneficial to you (achievements, anyone?).

This isn't DRM, because you'll still be able to make copies of the games at your leisure. (It's just that we'll know you're doing it and we'll be informing our partners that you're probably pirating scum).

We continue to support the idea that DRM is shit. But, you know, if a little shit brings more money...

Best (relatively) DRM-free wishes,
...
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scampywiak: What a load of paranoid bullshit.
Nope. It's just a satire of sorts.

That aside, I think it's irrelevant whether you think regional pricing is good or not, whether you're willing to pay a few dozen cents (or a few dollars) more for a game or not. This isn't even remotely about that.

This is about the fact a precedent has been established: the people in charge of GOG can and have gone back on their word. From this point on I'm not sure why anyone should trust anything they have to say.
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Zoidberg: Well, you know, I wouldn't be against an enhancement of Gog dowloader, as long as it remains optional: better update management, etc...
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Ekaros: Sorry we couldn't find internet connection at this time. Please reconnect to internet to play. Our servers might also be so just try again at later time.

Game launch blocked. Please enjoy!
Well, that means your connection is down. But if you have already the game installed (through the downloader OR manually through the site), you could play your game without any issue.

"AS LONG AS IT REMAINS OPTIONAL", please read the whole post...

Dude, you need to chill out, I'm gutted too at the direction they seem to be taking but they will not use DRM, otherwise they will make no difference with the bigger actors in the industry and just die out... I doubt that's what they want, I at least know that...
Post edited March 03, 2014 by Zoidberg
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CarrionCrow: I envy those who have never had to compromise. Must be nice.
But this is not making a compromise.
This is a full 180 and abandoning one's alleged values.

If GOG had introduced regional pricing on newer titles, and newer titles only, and kept old catalogue pricing as is, we might talk about a compromise.
If GOG would let people to choose which currency they use at checkout, we might talk about a compromise.

But GOG has reversed its previous modus operandi, and has upset a large number of previously happy and loyal customers. It's not a compromise, at least not towards users, who in the end keep the service alive to begin with.

Of course if by "compromise" you mean something like "compromising one's values", then I suppose what you are saying is true.
Post edited March 03, 2014 by PixelBoy
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Zoidberg: Well, you know, I wouldn't be against an enhancement of Gog dowloader, as long as it remains optional: better update management, etc...
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Ekaros: Sorry we couldn't find internet connection at this time. Please reconnect to internet to play. Our servers might also be so just try again at later time.

Game launch blocked. Please enjoy!
If you monitor users "game experience" - how long he plays, wath he plays and so on you collect data in the same way steam does. And is that client going collect data on hardware that we use to play GOG games for then it really goes the way of drm.
Whats the point of all this really?
Post edited March 03, 2014 by Matruchus
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Ekaros: Sorry we couldn't find internet connection at this time. Please reconnect to internet to play. Our servers might also be so just try again at later time.

Game launch blocked. Please enjoy!
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Matruchus: If you monitor users "game experience" - how long he plays, wath he plays and so on you collect data in the same way steam does. And is that client going collect data on hardware that we use to play GOG games for then it really goes the way of drm.
I'm sorry but you are in the wrong there, DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and is a technical means to control access/execution of digital goods.

What you talk about is not drm. Not in the least.

I was only speaking of an improved downloader that could check new versions of installed games (which could be done either automatically or manually) which woud answer some users' needs that they themselves have been asking for...

It wouldn't be an issue as long as it's optional.

And we don't need things like what games we play or how long we play them, or achievments, or collectible cards...
Maybe you GOG guys should do some kind of pinned FAQ Regional pricing topic because I'm not going to read through all this to see the blues' answers.
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CarrionCrow: I envy those who have never had to compromise. Must be nice.
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PixelBoy: But this is not making a compromise.
This is a full 180 and abandoning one's alleged values.

If GOG had introduced regional pricing on newer titles, and newer titles only, and kept old catalogue pricing as is, we might talk about a compromise.
If GOG would let people to choose which currency they use at checkout, we might talk about a compromise.

But GOG has reversed its previous modus operandi, and has upset a large number of previously happy and loyal customers. It's not a compromise, at least not towards users, who in the end keep the service alive to begin with.

Of course if by "compromise" you mean something like "compromising one's values", then I suppose what you are saying is true.
Many of us are thinking along the lines of compromise in the way that we want GoG to continue to grow, instead of sticking to core values that limit their ability to provide a platform for DRM-free digital distribution of games. We want DRM-free distribution to be more acceptable in the industry, even as a preferred option among developers and publishers.

Many of us have to pass up games we would like to play because of DRM infestation. We want GoG releases of those new Titles that are not available because of legal retail issues due to regional pricing , which are most of the AAA games being released.

Many of us are also concerned about the games that are here already in the Catalog being removed because AAA publishers are buying up IP rights, so this compromise might even help to insure their availability here in the future.

And few if any of us like the idea of our community members paying more for games than the rest of us, but we are accepting this compromise as a necessary step to the evolution of the digital distribution revolution of the 21st Century.
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Daliz: Maybe you GOG guys should do some kind of pinned FAQ Regional pricing topic because I'm not going to read through all this to see the blues' answers.
I think this is a superb idea. There were many questions like if gifting will be allowed or not or other questions and they may be answered in part or full but not many people know about. In the next days there should come an official follow up.
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Daliz: Maybe you GOG guys should do some kind of pinned FAQ Regional pricing topic because I'm not going to read through all this to see the blues' answers.
You can see all the blue answers by clicking the little, silver cogwheel on the main forum, or typing "?staff=yes" at the end of the url without any spaces.

Here's the link, though: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/letter_from_the_md_about_regional_pricing?staff=yes