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GOG.com Implements Court-Required Changes; Uses Geo-IP to Determine Location for Witcher 2 Purchases

If you’ve been paying attention to news about the CD Projekt RED group, you’ve possibly heard that a French court made a judgement about a few things that were in dispute between CD Projekt RED and Namco Bandai Partners. Most of the decision doesn’t influence GOG.com, but one of the rulings from the court does: according to the findings of the court, the method that we have been using to determine what location a game purchaser is located at when they buy a copy of [url=http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/the_witcher_2]The Witcher 2 (and, as such, what version and price they are presented with) needs to be changed.

GOG.com has stated for a long time now that we believe that the best security is asking only for the minimum of information that we need to successfully transact business with our customers. Our opinion is still that including things like determining your location via Geo-IP, because there are several possible flaws with that system. However, in order to keep selling The Witcher 2, we will need to implement a Geo-IP based system for determining your location, per the orders of the court.

We will be implementing this system immediately; you will see that your local currency’s price is now featured on the product page when you visit it, based on your IP address. Since we've already announced the price for this game would be the same flat price everywhere during the Holiday Sale (which ends on January 2nd, 2012, at 23:59 EST Time), we’re not going to change the pricing for the Witcher 2 until this sale ends.

We remain committed to user privacy and keeping your information as safe and secure as we can. Further, while your profile’s location is, by order of the court, determined via Geo-IP when you purchase a copy of The Witcher 2, you can still set your country location for the forums as you would like, and your location doesn’t matter for buying any other games on GOG.com.

If you have already purchased your copy of the Witcher 2, we won’t be changing anything on your already-bought copy, just as if you had a boxed copy on a physical shelf instead of a virtual box on your GOG.com shelf.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to ask it the comments below, or (if you’re a journalist) drop us an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
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TomNook: Thank heavens for proxies.
I'm always a bit dubious in using proxies to do financial transactions. Though I suppose as long as the ssl certificate of the site I'm doing the transaction shows up as genuine it is probably ok.
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wolfy1889: Hello,
Im sorry if this has been addressed but I haven't been paying much attention lately since my computer broke. But seeing this Geo-IP ruling saying it give versions of Witcher 2 based on location I was wondering if this meant the game had been censored in anyway?
Only if you happen to be in Australia or New Zealand at the time you buy (perhaps also if someone gifts you it from one of those countries, GOG hasn't cleared up that question).
Post edited December 24, 2011 by deonast
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madgernader: What are you smoking?
Also, Did I read a different statement then everyone else?
this is the article that you should have read:
http://kotaku.com/5869908/the-wrong-way-to-stop-video-game-piracy
This is really sad. Honestly I can see why the courts had an issue with what CDprojekt did, but its not right to do something that affects customers.

Although what CDprojekt did was not exactly legal (kind of like EA installing spyware on people's computers) They did what they did for the customers, and that's why I continued to support them in this legal proceeding. Anyway I have no doubt that this might lead to more DRM infractions (you heard me) forced in by a vengeful publisher, which might mean the end of a DRM free game retailer. At this point it will be up to one of us to take up the torch. We need another DRM free retailer if GOG is forced to give up their policy. Someone to put their foot down and say "i will not allow paying customers to suffer through the often privacy violating and time wasting burden of DRM" and to remain a clean legal record to avoid publishers smelling blood in the water.

What we should do is refuse to pay the regional price of The Withcer 2, say to Namco "we will not buy this game unless we are offered a fair price" that might send a message.
D2t, I sure woukd boycott a company for the sins of another in the same corporate family. Thoreau reminds us that only complete disengagement from an organization whose actions have offended us truly absolves us of guilt by association. Someone who disagrees with CD ROJECKT sending out extortion letters MUST boycott gog.com to avoid supplying funding t that very act. The actions enabled by the money we spend is our fault.
Its still a shame that Australia and New Zealand versions are censored. All forms of censorship is wrong. Be it in movies, games, books or even paintings. All these forms of art can be beautiful in their expressions of life, love, and politics. Its a slippery slope when you let one man decide for another what he thinks will be appropriate for him to be exposed too. Once that man realizes he can control the flow of information then he starts to use fear as a way to push his moral beliefs. Pick up any American newspaper and you'll see what I mean. Omission and fear are used too make people not question international banker/business interest and foreign policy. The internet is already starting to be censored across the globe.
I do appreciate what CD Projekt has done in making old games available drm free and working on new systems when some of these games didn't even work on old systems and if this is mainly all Ubisoft's doing maybe CD Projekt should consider dropping them as a publisher before getting rid of their drm-free policy. Being an artist myself I can understand why they may want to protect their creations from theft make it available to console players to expand their customer base but I think customer relations should be held above profit margin.
While there are many good points in this thread, it's still sad for me to see how much s**t is spilled on GOG in this issue even though GOG is the company which probably has the least to do with it than all the other players in the drama, and is actually a victim of the circumstances as well - there's no way GOG can go against this decision (it's a court ruling, so it's basically law), they are forced to obey and basically I don't see much of an option for them except to either choose not to sell the game at all anymore or agree to do as decided by the court. I don't see how there could have been a way for GOG to predict that this would eventually happen - I don't think it was their decision to associate with Namco Bandai either, but probably CD Projekt Red's. GOG, however, tried to do a good thing for everyone (remember, their version is still the only legal DRM-free version of the game!), and they actually did it, but sadly they ended up being forced into this Geo-IP policy through no fault of their own. GOG is already doing maximum they can within their much limited possibilities to be as flexible as only possible - they're not affecting any games that were bought prior to the decision, and they're informing everyone explicitly of the change so, if you object to it, you are free not to buy The Witcher 2 (from GOG or at all). As for boycott, if anyone needs to be boycotted here, it's Namco Bandai. I can even, to a certain extent, understand the decision to boycott CD Projekt products (or possibly The Witcher 2 - even TW2 from GOG) because it's the game affected by the decision, but I don't see why this has to affect all of the GOG catalog, all of which except TW2 is unflawed?.. As for the future, I would like not to make any prognosis as to what will happen with the upcoming GOG titles, especially the newer games, but I don't want to make an assumption that they will be the end of the GOG's DRM-free policy or that they will necessarily become flawed like TW2. Yes, I agree, any of this is a possibility, but I have faith in GOG as a company which has proven during all these years to try to do their absolute best to provide the seamless DRM-free service. I trust that they will do so in the future, as long as they are not tricked into anything or forced into it through court decisions, but like I said, let's not assume the worst. I believe GOG has already made the right conclusions from this particular incident.

So please don't let this one bump in the long and difficult DRM-free road become GOG's doom.
To Agetian: Not all here are blaming Gog.....many here recognise it's Namco's fault and are putting blame where blame is due. :)

In short....Namco=Bag of Donkey Dicks

I hope they get buttloads of ass coal for Christmas.
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TheFrenchMonk: You know Leroux, we (as GOG) are the first people to be disappointed with that decision. Still - being a responsible and professional company - we did need to respect the court's decision and apply the requested changes.

We are stubborn and will always do our best for gamers. We proved that hundreds of times in the past, whether distant or recent. Be (more than) sure we will keep on fighting for you guys in the future ;)
So in regards to the "newer" titles you are planning to release in 2012, according to the above quote you would have no problems with us outraged Australians circumventing this issue via a US VPN.

Still find it strange that GreenMan gaming (http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/rpgs/the-witcher-ii-assassins-of-kings-digital-premium/) can sell it to us without price gouging whereas you can't.
It is my understanding (and if someone has a source that shows otherwise please correct me) that this issue is raised largely due to the contracts signed with respect to the port of TW2 onto the xBox 360. From what I know of the situation I believe some of the problems currently present will be able to be avoided by CDPR in future due to more specific contract terms (they're still a newer/growing firm and some aspects of how draconian companies like Namco can be is thus new to them as well).

With regards to greenman they may be exempt due to the type of distribution license they have (these things can be very finite when it comes to law) or they may have simply not been served with an injunction yet. I hope it's the first.

I would love to hear from GOG directly regarding the question of gifting games and which version/price is payed (in other words is the version determined by the location of the buyer or the recipient or is there a check in both cases and if so how?)

With regards to TW2 being edited, version 2.0 contains access to all content for all regions (DLC included). So unless the court ruling somehow forces CDPR to write new code for an additional patch beyond 2.0 editing some of the content out you'll be getting the same game (once patched) no matter what version you buy. AFAIK 2.0 is still intact and available to all users (on the PC that is).
As long as this doesn't cause the prices of the games to rise from $9.99 to €9.99, like Steam did I am fine.

I don't suddenly want to end up paying a higher price than the others (like what happened with steam)
That sucks. As a UK resident that is frequently irritated by the high prices charged in this country, I really admired what GOG had done.

It also sucks that now i've read that post about GOG sending threat letters, I'm gonna have to boycott the only DRM-free game store. You have many wonderful business ethics and then you threaten people for large, bank-breaking sums of money... :c
*off topic open*

- GOG is a digital distribution platform, as you all know :)
- CDP RED is the development studio responsible for The Witcher franchise.
- Both companies only share one thing: the same mother (holding) company.
- Each company is therefore operating separate business. Different staff, different services, different audiences, different purposes, different everything.

Bottom line: GOG is not sending any letter to anybody. No idea how such a funny idea could come to life, but I think it was worth sharing some clear explanations :)

*off topic closed*
Hi Gog

Can you then please fix the bug that makes only the censored Australian version of The Witcher 2 available to New Zealanders? We do not have a law prohibiting the sale of R-rated videogames in New Zealand.

Thanks.
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TheFrenchMonk: Bottom line: GOG is not sending any letter to anybody. No idea how such a funny idea could come to life, but I think it was worth sharing some clear explanations :)
I'm not sure if you'll be able or willing to answer any of the following (as it relates to the financial and management structure of GOG and CDP), but I'll go ahead and throw it out anyway. Are the finances of GOG and CDPR self-contained, or do they both feed into the same holding company? How much (if any) say does the management at the holding company have over the actions of GOG and CDPR? Do certain policies within each of these companies need to be run by or greenlit by an overall management team, or is each company basically free to do as they please?

Overall, what I'm trying to get a sense of is whether any money spent through GOG could end up enriching those who had a hand in the decision of CDPR to send out letters demanding payment from suspected pirates.
..

Oh, and one more thing: I'm about to move to a different country. Will the Geo-IP immediately determine my new location and apply the Does-Not-Live-In-The-Crappy-Hemisphere bonus when I log in from my new home?