GOG.com has revealed, in the announcement for an upcoming preorders launch, that they are implementing a new regional pricing policy.
Previously called Good Old Games, GOG.com is a digital storefront whose specialty is to seek out older games (mostly for PC), recode them for modern computers, and resell them digitally, for cheap and DRM free. Good Old Games rebranded themselves to GOG.com when they expanded their scope to modern day indies and AAA titles. While they are still dwarfed by consoles and Steam, the service is a commercial success, and proof that there was a market for older games.
Previously, GOG.com turned heads when they announced a 30 day money back guarantee for games that did not run properly. Today’s news, however, has not been taken to kindly by the loyal GOG.com fans, as they have expressed in their own forums.
GOG.com explains that this policy was not of their choosing, but a consequence of being able to offer new games. The developers want different prices in different regions, even if the games are only sold digitally, and GOG.com only accepts US dollars for payment.
This seems to be a painfully necessary step for GOG.com to take, to match their ambitions to raise their profile. They did the same thing to Witcher 2, a game their owners (CD Projekt Red) made, apparently to satisfy licensors who also sold their game at retail.
Is the ire of their userbase worth it? I think the users themselves will decide, when GOG.com finally announces the three big titles that allegedly required this policy change.
Image is from Witcher 2.
