Prices for Game and Expansion packs

[May17th]

Maybe GOG is only selling at one price non-location specific and why they are different for you? Have no clue how they do it...

Whatever the reason, the fact is that the price difference is there and they are the only ones that sell more expensive (by 19-20%) and money is money. Potential new customers from Norway might go to Origin, Uplay or Steam and it seems to me that CD Project is ambitious with the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and their GOG Galaxy.

I only hope they notice this and make some changes. There's not much more I can say.

 

[Fly_the_Twister]

Nice try.

But no. You spent all the money on a statue.

I think of it as an investment, just wait 2-3 years and you can sell it for twice as much... ohwait you already can! xD
I ordert it the day it was announce and haven't regreted it yet. though i consider selling it for a lot of money as a valid option.

Hi i wanted to ask if anyone knows if those of us who bought the $150 collectors edition will receive some sort of discount on the Expansion packs coming out?

They now offer a GAME + Expansion bundle for the standard edition and you get the DLC for only $19.99 after subtracting the cost of the game.

it seems a little unfair that they announce this so late and close to the release and not even offer a bundle for those of us who shelled out $150 for the Collectors Edition.

I hope we do get something like a discount off the Expansions.

well i do agree that it seems a bit unfair but who cares. if you bought it to get advantages over other ppl you should become a huge fan of ea.
that cdpr is selling it cheaper with the digital version is because they mostlikly have the most margin with the digital one and they need to build up gog, since gog can be a moneyprinting machin like steam is for valve. and aslong as cdpr keeps a good customer policy and doesn't start with removing content from the game inorder to sell it for more mony i think this business practice is fine, or atleast better than the alternatives (dlcs rippoff, alot of different boni from different merchants etc.)

 

[mhoare1984]

Australian Pricing

I am new to The Witcher series, but I am a long time GOG user, and lurker on this forum. I grew up playing the old games and now have repurchased many of them on GOG as they are legitimate licensed copies of the games that have often been updated to run on modern hardware which is great. My friends have been talking about The Witcher 3 and how good it would be so I thought I'd check it out.

As a software developer myself, I hate piracy and never condone it. However the one thing I hate more is geographic pricing; more specifically the Australia Tax!

Take The Witcher 3 for example, I see it is on Steam for US$53.99 in the USA, but again in Australia we pay the Australia Tax and it is US$75.59. In our local currency based on current AUD to USD exchange rates at the time of this post, that is a AU$68.34 in the USA versus AU$95.95.

Source - https://www.steamprices.com/au/app/292030/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt

Even if you bought it straight from GOG you would still pay AU$80. Sure you mention you get an AU$11 credit for "Fair Pricing" but how is that fair? GOG is meant to be Anti-DRM, and Anti-Region pricing, but this is a not true in this case. CD Projekt own GOG and also own The Witcher 3 so the whole GOG will compensate you for the developer setting region pricing is not true because the company behind both GOG and The Witcher 3 are the one and the same. What is your excuse?

I saw the game available on Green Man Gaming for AU$47 but hadn't noticed the storm going on between the two companies until after I had already purchased a key from Green Man Gaming. I guess the truth to all this will come out in time. Realistically I suspect neither party is completely blameless in all this; the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Consumers like myself will get stuck in the middle though. The key thing here is I would not have bothered buying from Green Man Gaming if your Australian prices on either Steam or GOG were reasonable.

I have contacted Green Man Gaming requesting a refund if the keys do not work and I am still awaiting a reply. I have also politely reminded them that Australia has really good consumer protection laws which will make life difficult for them if their goods are not fit for purpose and they refuse to offer a refund. The way I see it, CD Projekt are also partly responsible for all this, so this polite reminder is extended to them also!

Please stop the Australia Tax and all of these issues will go away!

For people who don't know what the Australia Tax is, it is not a tax collected by the Australian Government! It is just regional pricing where Australian pay a higher price because in the old days before digital distribution, it actually cost more for the logistics to get the goods to our shores. Today with digital distribution however, it just lines the developer's/publisher's pockets!

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

Even if you bought it straight from GOG you would still pay AU$80. Sure you mention you get an AU$11 credit for "Fair Pricing" but how is that fair? GOG is meant to be Anti-DRM, and Anti-Region pricing, but this is a not true in this case. CD Projekt own GOG and also own The Witcher 3 so the whole GOG will compensate you for the developer setting region pricing is not true because the company behind both GOG and The Witcher 3 are the one and the same. What is your excuse?

The culprits are retail distributors (in this case those who distribute in Australia). I.e. it goes like this. CDPR want to release the game digitally. Fine, they set up the uniform price of $60 USD. Then they say - we want to reach wider audience through retail distributors. They find partners for various regions, and those partners say: "We won't work with you, unless we set the price higher and you'd use the same price for your digital release for our region to avoid competing with our distribution".

CDPR have a choice - ditch retailers altogether and go pure digital (then they control the price), or they need to give in to this requirement. I personally don't care about retail and prefer it to get lost and not hinder pricing set by developers. And the trend is that it's going to happen sooner or later. But I guess it's not quite there yet, since developers still see retail distribution as worth their effort despite all these skewed pricing problems, while retailers still have the power to set such rules.

 

[YTF]

Guess what?
I've heard the game in Russia is $15??? $20. Well, I don't feel like payin $60 over here soooooooooooooooooooooooo You get the picture? Meh, It doesn't work like that. Usually, if the price is higher locally, there is a reason for it.... locally.

I saw the game available on Green Man Gaming for AU$47 but hadn't noticed the storm going on between the two companies until after I had already purchased a key from Green Man Gaming. I guess the truth to all this will come out in time. Realistically I suspect neither party is completely blameless in all this; the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Consumers like myself will get stuck in the middle though. The key thing here is I would not have bothered buying from Green Man Gaming if your Australian prices on either Steam or GOG were reasonable.

I get the feeling this grey market thing is like new piracy, except some 3rd party is making millions on it. Well, it's a minor step up, I guess, but still...

Sometimes PC market can be its own worst enemy...

 

[dragonbird]

Guess what?
I've heard the game in Russia is $15??? $20. Well, I don't feel like payin $60 over here soooooooooooooooooooooooo You get the picture? Meh, It doesn't work like that. Usually, if the price is higher locally, there is a reason for it.... locally. ..

OK, I live in a country that sometimes, not always, gets the benefits of those reduced prices. I'm sure most people are aware that they're to encourage people in countries where "full price" = "a week's/month's earnings" to buy instead of pirate. The problem with grey market is that it eventually makes the publishers start thinking about region locks. In the end, everyone suffers.

I hate the existence of the type of regional pricing that happens for Australia and for some countries in Europe, where the price increase can't just be explained away by shipping costs or local taxes. If I lived in such a country, I'd definitely be buying everything possible digital, even if I wasn't saving money in the short term, just to register my unhappiness at the retail distributors and to speed up them losing market share. This is market-driven pricing, they charge those prices because they can. The sooner the market decides otherwise, the better.

And, although I know that as individuals, people in the West aren't necessarily richer than those in discounted countries, I'd also beg them NOT to support the grey market in software. I know it feels like a bargain, but it still results in companies feeling forced to take anti-consumer action, like region locks or DRM. Or stop giving those discounts in the first place.

 

[mhoare1984]

Russia is a different case entirely. If you VPN to buy games from Russia, and then attach to your Steam account; you deserve what you get if your account gets banned.

I would hardly expect to pay $20 for a AAA title game in Australia. I would be perfectly find paying US$60 if that was approximately the same price as in other comparable countries like the USA.

If it is the Australian retail distributors that are the problem here, take a stand, let them sell it for whatever they want, but keep the online digital price set correctly regardless.

Australian companies do have high costs, but also high margins. I myself work for a private Australian business and I have no sympathy for them. Adapt or die. We had to do so, we are surviving and competing okay. That is life.

For PC at least most games these days would be purchased via digital distribution. I can't remember the last time I bought physical media, and I bet most other PC gamers are the same in Australia.

The standard Green Man Gaming price was US$59.99 which seems to be in line with the US$60 uniform price mentioned in the post above. I would pay that no problem. The US$75 however I would not as that is approaching AU$100 which in the current market is a joke.

If the developers are truly not getting any money from GMG (I really suspect GMG have just purchased keys from another approved supplier on the sly) then I would be happy to give GOG the US$20 difference between the discounted Green Man Gaming price and the universal US$60 price. At the end of the day all I and other Australians want to ensure we have a key on the release date, and not get price gouged in the process.

if the local Australian distributors are the problem, cut them out of it. If enough developers/publishers do this, then the distributors will have nothing to distribute. They will either have to compete or die. For Australian consumers, the distributors will not fix the problem themselves. Why would they give up their free lunch? If the publisher/developer keep giving into the distributors, nothing will change. The consumers will be stuck in the same place we are now. The developers have to drive the publishers to change. Please stop blaming the distributors and do something about it.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

If it is the Australian retail distributors that are the problem here, take a stand, let them sell it for whatever they want, but keep the online digital price set correctly regardless.

That will happen, when retail distributors will need developers more than developers need retail distributors. Apparently it's not the case for CDPR for some reason. Otherwise they could show retailers to the door with their pricing shenanigans.

Some developers already took a stand however, and only release digitally. And the general trend is clear. It's just the question how soon.

---------- Updated at 01:50 AM ----------

Also, you can ask CDPR what percentage of their sales comes from retail distribution. That could help explain why they still use it.

 

[dragonbird]

That will happen, when retail distributors will need developers more than developers need retail distributors. Apparently it's not the case for CDPR for some reason. Otherwise they could show retailers to the door with their pricing shenanigans.

Some developers already took a stand however, and only release digitally. And the general trend is clear. It's just the question how soon.

---------- Updated at 01:50 AM ----------

Also, you can ask CDPR what percentage of their sales comes from retail distribution. That could help explain why they still use it.

Well. you can ask, of course. Doesn't mean they'll tell you. And developers "taking a stand" and only releasing digitally would simply lose them sales, and penalise those with 1MB internet connection. Asking others to make sacrifices for principles isn't really fair.

We know from all of the kerfuffle when GOG introduced regional pricing that it was because, right now, retail distributors still have power. The reason they have that power is because physical media are still desired by some, and the only viable option for those without high-speed internet, and because it isn't viable for a company like CDPR to set up a global distribution for physical media. Don't underestimate what's needed here - there's the arrangements for worldwide manufacturing or shipping (whichever is most cost-effective), the regional shipping, the contacts, contracts, relationship management with the retailers themselves, localisation, rating approvals.... It's a totally different industry to game development, and unless you're a big publisher with games rolling out every month, you need to work with those who have the expertise. So yes, right now, the distributors have power over developers who aren't tied to big publishers. Forcing the distributors to give up on DRM was probably as far as CDPR could push, regional pricing was the compromise. Which, of course, they tried to ease as much as possible through the GOG credits.

 

[Engagerade]

Spoiler

I think it's a shame that the shop that is created by the same company that is behind The Witcher 3 does not give me as a new consumer a fair price on the Expansion Pass when you consider that they set the price 19% higher than their competitors:

It may be for reasons that I do not know, something about my country. I'm just saying that it does not look good for somebody who is new to GOG and live in my country when every competitors sell the Expansion Pass for 19% less.

Believe me, I did not mention this here because I didn't want to use or buy from this company services.
I mention this here because I want to give GOG a chance and I feel that this price is unfair.

It's 230 kr on my uplay page, which is a considerable difference even though we live right next to each other.

Off topic
Varför i helvete har inte steam inte svenska kronor också, gillar inte att behöva räkna i euro! View attachment 13655

 

[mhoare1984]

Well I got a response from GMG as per below. Someone is clearly lying;GMG or CDPR; I am still undecided.

Hi mhoare1984,
Thank you for your ticket.
I appreciate your interest in the Gamespot/CDPR situation that has recently developed. We have made a public statement in regards to this matter, which, Gamespot have posted, you will also find a copy of the statement below.
STATEMENT - from Paul Sulyok, CEO Green Man Gaming
Green Man Gaming (GMG) has an official contract with, and has been an approved retailer of CD Projekt S.A. (CDPR) products since 11th August 2011. Following a 6 month dialogue with CDPR about the launch of The Witcher 3, we were disappointed that despite the offer of significant cash advances, and other opportunities to officially work together, (we even offered to fly to Poland to discuss in detail how we could and wanted to support this launch), CDPR chose not to engage with a number of significant, reputable, and successful retailers, including ourselves, as they instead focused on supporting their own platform GOG.
We at GMG sincerely believe in getting games to gamers, and offering them a range of buying options to suit their preferences is critically important to this industry; we often go above corporate profits and commercial gain to make this happen. We, like millions of customers, are huge fans of The Witcher series, and have been eager for the launch of this amazing title. We believe that CDPR’s desire to support their own platform by working with retail outlets that would not conflict with their own is greater than that of meeting the demands of their audience, therefore we made the decision to indirectly secure the product and deliver it to our customers. To do this, we reached out to third parties and retailers that were approved by CDPR, to legitimately pass these keys onto our customers. This means that at some point, revenue has been passed directly onto CDPR, and any additional discount on the title is absorbed by us, as we want as many people enjoying The Witcher 3 as possible.
We would heartily welcome a renewed dialogue with CDPR, and are keen to continue to not only support the launch of The Witcher 3, but to keep celebrating and bringing the whole catalogue of CDPR titles to a worldwide audience, as we have done since 2011.
A couple of things to note:

• Our keys are from an official and authorised source and revenue has been passed through to CDPR.
• Your keys will be with you for release.

Please let us know if you have any other queries regarding this matter.
Kindest regards,
Jordan.
Green Man Gaming & Playfire
Customer Service

 

[May17th]

@Engagerade, 230 swedish kroner is 207,74 norwegian kroner, so you pay 22% more than me. Interesting.

I mean it's actually interesting as everything is more expensive in Norway than Sweden.
Just not the Expansion Pass on Uplay, haha.

Ah! The perks of living in Norway finally appears.. :band:

Update: Just noticed that Uplay Shop added the tax on the end before you click confirm purchase, so the correct price is actually 212,50 norwegian kroner! 3 norwegian kroner more than GOG.com!