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[NoMoChokeSJ]

I have to wonder how many people in here claiming GMG is wrong have bought out of region keys to save money.

Seems kinda like the jump to conclusions mat is getting a lot of use. Is there any legitimate proof that GMG is doing something illegal? If not, how can people claim they are in the wrong.

Sounds to me like GMG is making a point and CDPR doesn't like it.

 

[Dr.Acula]

I get why so many games stagger their regions now.

I have to wonder how many people in here claiming GMG is wrong have bought out of region keys to save money.

Seems kinda like the jump to conclusions mat is getting a lot of use. Is there any legitimate proof that GMG is doing something illegal? If not, how can people claim they are in the wrong.

Sounds to me like GMG is making a point and CDPR doesn't like it.

They're probably not doing anything illegal, but CDPR tried to make a contract with them, it didn't work out, but GMG found a way to sell the keys anyway. It's kind of like when a chain restaurant loses its franchise licensing, then goes off brand but continues selling burgers. The franchise is going to say "don't buy from them." Doesn't stop the restaurant from doing business, but I get why the franchise wouldn't like them.

 

[DocSeuss]

I love that subtle backseat moderating.

GMG have agreements with all the other major publishers as an official key seller. This situation with CD Projekt is unique. I guess it's up to each individual to decide whether or not they'll be taking their business elsewhere. As I've stated before, repeatedly, CD Projekt's greed will just further alienate consumers and push them towards more traditionally dodgy key sellers.

The reason why The Witcher 3 is on Steam, Humble, GoG and various other stores is because they (CD Project) set the price. The third for control is real.

There's literally nothing wrong with CDPR deciding what to price their game at. They're the ones who made it, they're the ones who need to make sure it succeeds. It's hardly greed.

Backseat moderating is attempting to control the course of the discussion. I'm not. I'm pointing out that there's a pre-existing precedent for this kind of behavior, and, furthermore, it's looked down on.

Even if all that you said is true, that does not make it right to assume wrongdoing.

Why? What's wrong with doing my best to understand the situation and keep people informed?

I have to wonder how many people in here claiming GMG is wrong have bought out of region keys to save money.

Seems kinda like the jump to conclusions mat is getting a lot of use. Is there any legitimate proof that GMG is doing something illegal? If not, how can people claim they are in the wrong.

Sounds to me like GMG is making a point and CDPR doesn't like it.

Because some of us know the ins and outs of buying games for cheap. There are right ways (buying AMD game cards for $1) and wrong ways (cross-region reselling). The only way I can think that GMG is doing this is by key reselling.

What's more likely:

A) that a business has suddenly decided to go out of their way to obtain a product and sell it at a loss
B) that a business has resorted to a well-known, deeply problematic business practice of reselling games from other regions

All the 'legal' business avenues for the game are above $53 in the West. The only locations we know of for the game for less than $53 are... in other regions.

 

[Delusibeta]

ITT: people believing what looks like a slander campaign from CD Project. I wonder if Green Man Gaming can sue for libel yet?

 

[Kintaro]

At this point, because I don't really care for how CDPR handled this, I can easily just wait 6 months to a year to pick up the game at $10-15 or even less. How would CDPR like that margin?

I got all the damn time in the world.

If these keys are legit, good on GMG.

 

[Wickerbasket]

GAF has banned certain resellers for shady practices, and if GMG is going down this road then fuck 'em. Maybe CDPR wrote a bad contract with whomever GMG is buying from and GMG is in a technical legal right, in which case, CDPR got fucked.

This isn't an example of price fixing though. Price fixing would be agreeing with competitors to set prices, so that Batman, The Witcher, Mortal Kombat etc. all cost 60 bucks. CDPR telling consumers not to buy keys from a third party reseller isn't price fixing. Note that CDPR can't stop them. If it were price fixing, GMG would be selling them for 60 bucks.

To those that bought off GMG, do you already have your key, or will it be sent on launch date? Does it activate on GOG?

CDPR telling all digital services that they have to all sell at the same price is price fixing though. I mean, it's literally the definition; they're colluding with competing digital services to fix the price.

If they're not selling to GMG because they won't follow their price fixing rules, then it makes CDPR look very dodgy.

No legitimate business in their right mind ever offers a product that customers want by going out of their way to obtain those products and then resell them at a loss.

They're not your customers if they're not paying YOU for the games.

Even Pirate Joes has a markup from Trader Joes.

Uh, plenty of business do that. There's even a name for it; it's called a loss leader.

It increases awareness about their site and builds a reputation for being the place to go for games.

GMG couldn't afford to not stock one of the biggest games of the year, it would have hurt their brand.

 

[Messofanego]

I love that subtle backseat moderating.

GMG have agreements with all the other major publishers as an official key seller. This situation with CD Projekt is unique. I guess it's up to each individual to decide whether or not they'll be taking their business elsewhere. As I've stated before, repeatedly, CD Projekt's greed will just further alienate consumers and push them towards more traditionally dodgy key sellers.

The reason why The Witcher 3 is on Steam, Humble, GoG and various other stores is because they (CD Project) set the price. The third for control is real.

If people are so desperate for those cheap prices, then let them go to those dodgy key sellers. As long as they don't complain about it going bad at any point knowing full well what they're getting into.

 

[dani_dc]

No legitimate business in their right mind ever offers a product that customers want by going out of their way to obtain those products and then resell them at a loss.

They're not your customers if they're not paying YOU for the games.

Even Pirate Joes has a markup from Trader Joes.

They would do it to bring in new customers which would, potentially, make them money on the long term.

Much like console makers sometimes sell hardware at a loss, it's about a long term profit rather than short term.

 

[Sijil]

Strange to see people rushing to CDPR's side on this. I mean, if they don't want to deal with GMG directly, that's their right, but they also can't stop GMG from selling the product. If they don't like someone selling stuff cheap, they can piss off? Price fixing is considered an unfair business practice in many parts of the world. They can be unhappy about it, but putting out a statement telling people not to buy from a retailer is a dick move. If they think the keys are stolen, they should investigate and present evidence. If the keys are not stolen or illegitimate then they should shut up.

This isn't price fixing tho, price fixing is done between product competitors, what's happening here is setting a minimum resale price which happens between the product manufacturer and official retailers or distributors. If someone were to breach the set price it is legal to stop business with them, but in this situation GMG isn't even a partner to begin with, so I don't really know the legalities behind this but in our business when someone undercuts the market with our own product we just stop dealing with them.

 

[Zemm]

'CDPR unhappy they can't price fix their latest release, slanders GMG for it'

Would be a more accurate news article title.

 

[Durante]

There's literally nothing wrong with CDPR deciding what to price their game at.

There's also literally nothing wrong with reselling of keys across regions.

 

[Zoned]

I don't care about CDPR deciding not to partner with GMG, but GMG selling these without disclosing the source is shady as fuck. Screw you GMG, I thought you were better than this.

 

[viveks86]

Exactly.

Because they have no right to restrict resale of their product. (Note: restricting resale is different from not enabling resale, just to keep our arguments straight)

They aren't restricting resales are they? Filing for a cease and desist is restricting resale. That won't hold in court anyway. It's well within their right to inform people of an unauthorized resale, which is the case here no matter how you look at it. Customers are free to disregard it and buy as many keys as they want (and resell that too).

 

[DocSeuss]

This isn't price fixing tho, price fixing is done between product competitors, what's happening here is setting a minimum resale price which happens between the product manufacturer and official retailers or distributors. If someone were to breach the set price it is legal to stop business with them, but in this situation GMG isn't even a partner to begin with, so I don't really know the legalities behind this but in our business when someone undercuts the market with our oqn product we just stop business with them.

Yeah, CDPR isn't price fixing at all. That's not what this is.

There's also literally nothing wrong with reselling of keys across regions.

...theeen... why is it banned?

 

[duckroll]

There's literally nothing wrong with CDPR deciding what to price their game at. They're the ones who made it, they're the ones who need to make sure it succeeds. It's hardly greed.

It's not about greed, it's about price-fixing. Distributors are generally not allowed to force retail channels to sell at fixed prices or to have distribution rules mandating price protection. It doesn't matter if they're the ones who made it, unless they are the only ones selling it, they cannot control the price. If they attempt to do so by strong arming those who do not comply, that's against the law.

 

[Sijil]

'CDPR unhappy they can't price fix their latest release, slanders GMG for it'

Would be a more accurate news article title.

Setting minimum retail price to distributors isn't the same as price fixing between competitors.

 

[Kintaro]

There's also literally nothing wrong with reselling of keys across regions.

Nah man, it's a beloved developer though. It's different. Or something.

 

[Zoned]

They would do it to bring in new customers which would, potentially, make them money on the long term.

Much like console makers sometimes sell hardware at a loss, it's about a long term profit rather than short term.

New customers? yeah well they release one game in like 5 years. Seems to me that some people are really cheapster if they want day 1 release of a AAA game for 35 bucks that a studio worked for years.

 

[stan423321]

No legitimate business in their right mind ever offers a product that customers want by going out of their way to obtain those products and then resell them at a loss.

They're not your customers if they're not paying YOU for the games.

Even Pirate Joes has a markup from Trader Joes.

This actually occasionally happens. You get profit by also selling something else. See: consoles, eat-all-you-want-but-cannot-drink, F2P...

What? CDPR can't just declare something stolen, that's not how that works. They were legally sold to someone, and if that violated a contract then CDPR can go after the retail partner for violating a contract, but they can't just call the sold item stolen.

This entirely depends on contract wording and jurisdiction details. I don't know what CDPR did, of course, but for example, retail partner could technically not buy the key, but "facilitate distribution of it" or something.

 

[duckroll]

Yeah, CDPR isn't price fixing at all. That's not what this is.

CDPR telling people not to buy from GMG is not price fixing. But it could be a smear campaign that is being enacted because GMG refused to comply with their attempts at price-fixing. That's what it looks like to me.

 

[jurec84]

It's not about greed, it's about price-fixing. Distributors are generally not allowed to force retail channels to sell at fixed prices or to have distribution rules mandating price protection. It doesn't matter if they're the ones who made it, unless they are the only ones selling it, they cannot control the price. If they attempt to do so by strong arming those who do not comply, that's against the law.

I don't get it, how is CDPR price fixing anything? They have a product and choose their retail channels, which have contracts with them. They warned GMG is not among those and that their keys might come from shady sources. Is this really price fixing?

Yes, fixing a price between digital service competitors is pretty much a definition example.

But GOG could lower their margin and sell for a lower price or can't they? They buy keys for an undisclosed price from CDPR and sell them again for a margin of their choice. Do we know the contract among GOG and CDPR has a fixed retail price determined?

 

[Wickerbasket]

This isn't price fixing tho, price fixing is done between product competitors, what's happening here is setting a minimum resale price which happens between the product manufacturer and official retailers or distributors. If someone were to breach the set price it is legal to stop business with them, but in this situation GMG isn't even a partner to begin with, so I don't really know the legalities behind this but in our business when someone undercuts the market with our oqn product we just stop business with them.

Setting a minimum retail price is illegal in the US and UK because it counts as price fixing; I'm not sure about everywhere else. The most they're allowed to do is suggest a retail price.

The reason this is dodgy, and possibly illegal, is because it stifles competition between the competing digital download services. If GMG wants to take a loss to bring in customers, then they should be able to.

I don't get it, how is CDPR price fixing anything? They have a product and choose their retail channels, which have contracts with them. They warned GMG is not among those and that their keys might come from shady sources. Is this really price fixing?

Yes, fixing a price between digital service competitors is pretty much a definition example.

 

[Zoned]

It's not about greed, it's about price-fixing. Distributors are generally not allowed to force retail channels to sell at fixed prices or to have distribution rules mandating price protection. It doesn't matter if they're the ones who made it, unless they are the only ones selling it, they cannot control the price. If they attempt to do so by strong arming those who do not comply, that's against the law.

But isn't this important that GMG tried to keep customers in dark by not disclosing the source itself, and then putting NAMCO logo just to mask it to make it look legal.

 

[Durante]

They aren't restricting resales are they? Filing for a cease and desist is restricting resale. That won't hold in court anyway. It's well within their right to inform people of an unauthorized resale, which is the case here no matter how you look at it. Customers are free to disregard it and buy as many keys as they want (and resell that too).

If they were saying that it's an unauthorized resale, that would be fine and dandy. And most gamers (rightfully) wouldn't give a shit.

The way they are wording it implies that the keys are stolen, which is slander.

...theeen... why is it banned?

I believe some sites are banned because there was decently sourced suspicion of them obtaining keys illegally.

 

[MarcoZombieCannon]

New customers? yeah well they release one game in like 5 years. Seems to me that some people are really cheapster if they want day 1 release of a AAA game for 35 bucks that a studio worked for years.

I know I consider things like this when I buy games

Most consumers do

Seriously, we don't owe them anything based on the amount of time they spent on it. If someone thinks $38 is a better price for TW3 than $53 or $47, then that's up to them.

 

[dani_dc]

Setting minimum retail price to distributors isn't the same as price fixing between competitors.

Steam, Uplay,Origin, GOG and GMG are all competitors, setting a "minimum retail price" a between all competitors is still price fixing.

New customers? yeah well they release one game in like 5 years. Seems to me that some people are really cheapster if they want day 1 release of a AAA game for 35 bucks that a studio worked for years.

If GMG (or any other retail) wants to sell at a loss so they can get new customers then that's their own concern, how long CDPR worked on the game is completely irrelevant to that business decision.

 

[boskee]

I love that subtle backseat moderating.

GMG have agreements with all the other major publishers as an official key seller. This situation with CD Projekt is unique. I guess it's up to each individual to decide whether or not they'll be taking their business elsewhere. As I've stated before, repeatedly, CD Projekt's greed will just further alienate consumers and push them towards more traditionally dodgy key sellers.

The reason why The Witcher 3 is on Steam, Humble, GoG and various other stores is because they (CD Project) set the price. The third for control is real.

Oh the greed. They sell that game as cheap as 14 dollars in some region because they're greedy. They sell it cheaper than 99% of other AAA games on all platforms because greed. mmkay

 

[DocSeuss]

It's not about greed, it's about price-fixing. Distributors are generally not allowed to force retail channels to sell at fixed prices or to have distribution rules mandating price protection. It doesn't matter if they're the ones who made it, unless they are the only ones selling it, they cannot control the price. If they attempt to do so by strong arming those who do not comply, that's against the law.

However, that's not what they're doing. As we can see, they've only utilized storefronts where they control the price the whole time.

Literally every storefront the game's not on are storefronts that control the price themselves.

It would be one thing if, like, Amazon and Gamersgate and Uplay and Origin were all like "mwahahaha, let's all price this identically," but we're not seeing that. We're seeing them utilize Humble/Steam/GoG--platforms that are open to the developer to set the price on. Wanting control over how your product is sold is fine.

We have no evidence whatsoever of price fixing. None. At the very least, someone, somewhere, would have caved.

We do, however, have a CD Key Reseller refusing to tell us where they got their keys from, which is red flags for almost every site that's not GMG and has been for ages.

EDIT: I have a personal bias--last time I bought something from GMG, I tried to cancel, they refused, then they proceeded to tell me that Steam didn't matter and I shouldn't care where I got the game from. In my eyes, they've been getting shadier the past couple of years, and I no longer do business with them.

 

[hamchan]

Buying Witcher 3 from GMG now. Bought many games from GMG, no problems with them at all. CDPR even saying they decided not to sell keys to GMG, seems like they didn't leave GMG much choice but to find an alternative supplier. It's one of the biggest PC games of the year after all, GMG can't skip it.

 

[HowZatOZ]

ITT: people believing what looks like a slander campaign from CD Project. I wonder if Green Man Gaming can sue for libel yet?

For fucks sake please stop
With this drive by trolling. You are not helping the discussion, at all.

Hell this discussion should be about the actual keys and where the hell GMG got hen. It is no ones business but GMG and CDPR as to their contract and the pricing of games (which again, is not price fixing).

 

[stan423321]

New customers? yeah well they release one game in like 5 years. Seems to me that some people are really cheapster if they want day 1 release of a AAA game for 35 bucks that a studio worked for years.

We're talking about GMG potentially selling W3 at loss or low profit, so you also consider buying other things at GMG which are not sold at loss or low profit.

 

[FLAguy954]

So let me get this straight. GMG is buying the keys from a third party, but is still paying for them, and then selling them at their own price? So CDPR is still making their money from every copy GMG sells? Then what the hell is the issue here? That GMG has a standard policy that they are circumventing for one of the biggest games of the year? Is that really worth complaining or getting worked up about?

Yeah because some people have morals/ethics that align more with their favorite developer. There is a failed understanding how business works here and that even our favorite companies don't follow their 'policies' to the fucking tee.

 

[Xando]

Where does the idea come from that CDPR sets prices for resellers? They sell keys to steam or whoever for a fixed price and steam can sell it for 10€ and take a loss if they want to.

 

[publicpwnerer]

There's literally nothing wrong with CDPR deciding what to price their game at. They're the ones who made it, they're the ones who need to make sure it succeeds. It's hardly greed.

Backseat moderating is attempting to control the course of the discussion. I'm not. I'm pointing out that there's a pre-existing precedent for this kind of behavior, and, furthermore, it's looked down on.



Why? What's wrong with doing my best to understand the situation and keep people informed?

I think digital stores and key sellers (legitimate ones, GMG, Getgamesgo etc) have different methods of buying & selling.

This is purely speculation, but digital stores (Steam, Origin etc) give the publishers/developer a specified percentage of the sale price, whether it's full price or on sale (correct?), whereas key sellers negotiate a set price for a set amount of keys, then sell those keys at their own prices.

After quickly checking, Getgamesgo and Gamersgate (Swedish / EURO legit key seller) don't have The Witcher 3 keys either, despite selling The Witcher 1 and 2. CD Projekt are well within their rights to deny key sellers and sell their digital product for almost a 30% markup on retail (In some regions / countries) on Steam, GOG and Origin etc...but they shouldn't expect consumers to lie down, due to whatever good will they've garnered in the past.

As someone that spends thousands of dollars on games each year (legitimately), and owns all current platforms, barring the Wii U, I'm pretty fucking disgusted at the sheer greed of company that touts itself as "consumer friendly" and "for the gamers".

Oh the greed. They sell that game as cheap as 14 dollars in some region because they're greedy. They sell it cheaper than 99% of other AAA games on all platforms because greed. mmkay

What the fuck are you talking about? The Witcher 3 (On the Australian steam store) is currently $75 USD dolars, which translates to $94 Australian dollars. The game at retail is anywhere between $69-79 AUD.

Couple that with the fact that they're denying not just GMG, but all legitimate key retailers (GMG, Getgamesgo, Gamersgate) that won't play ball with their disgusting mark up. If I go to the Humble Bundle store, Origin, Steam or GOG, all of them are marking it up to the $75 USD set price. Australian consumers as well as those from other regions (that have a significant markup) have been buying from GMG and various other legitimate key sellers due to their fair, non regional pricing for most games AAA games.

EDIT: TL;DR In summary: They would rather strongarm a key retailer by denying them their product, try to coax the small minority that will pay a 30% markup on Steam, Origin, GOG etc rather than allow competitive non-region pricing, and everyone else can get fucked.

 

[Deleted member 59090]

New customers? yeah well they release one game in like 5 years. Seems to me that some people are really cheapster if they want day 1 release of a AAA game for 35 bucks that a studio worked for years.

It's $33 at retail today, $38 on GOG so looks like even CD Projekt considers it a fair price.

 

[duckroll]

But isn't this important that GMG tried to keep customers in dark by not disclosing the source itself, and then putting NAMCO logo just to mask it to make it look legal.

Sure. It could well turn out that there is no good guy here. Maybe GMG got their keys from a really shady source. Maybe none of the keys will work on release day. We don't know. The entire thing smells like business gone sour, and CDPR does not sound convincing at all that they are acting for the benefit of consumers.

 

[Buzzman]

Where does the idea come from that CDPR sets prices for resellers? They sell keys to steam or whoever for a fixed price and steam can sell it for 10€ and take a loss if they want to.

Are you sure you know how Steam works?

 

[Messofanego]

Can we get a referendum on whether or not this is price fixing?

I'm not knowledgable about business, so just give it to me straight like a pear cider made from 100% pears.

 

[Sijil]

Setting a minimum retail price is illegal in the US and UK because it counts as price fixing; I'm not sure about everywhere else. The most they're allowed to do is suggest a retail price.

The reason this is dodgy, and possibly illegal, is because it stifles competition between the competing digital download services. If GMG wants to take a loss to bring in customers, then they should be able to.

Yes, fixing a price between digital service competitors is pretty much a definition example.

There are two types of price fixing , horizontal and vertical, the former is among product competitors and is illegal, the latter is between manufacturer and distributor and is not illegal, per US law, see resale price maintenance.

http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/p...restrictions-are-two-different-animals/#note7

Now obviously I'm not qualified to say which description applies to this situation but it looks to me like the latter.

 

[Violet_0]

I fail to see why GMG are supposed to be the bad guys in this situation. They buy the keys from other sites, sell them at a lower price, and CDPR is still getting paid?

 

[Dr.Acula]

If CDPR gave a block of keys to someone to sell in a specific market or through a specific channel, and sold that block of keys on the that condition (not for resale) then CDPR have a right to be pissed. It's like "not for resale" OEM software like Windows.

Whoever sold these keys to GMG likely broke some kind of contract with CDPR.

Are GMG sending the keys out now, or will they go out on launch?

If this third party violated its agreement with CDPR, CDPR could have contractual recourse to invalidate the keys, so buyer beware I guess.

I really don't know, there's not a lot of info.

 

[Durante]

Here's what I think triggered all of this, and why CDPR is the shady party here.

CDPR decided not to give GMG keys because they know that GMG routinely take a hit on their distribution margin, a hit which is larger than other digital distributors. Since in this case GoG are a digital distributor themselves and get to keep that entire cut, someone else enticing customers by charging less would reduce their revenue.

So GMG decided to source the keys from retail copies. And now CDPR is engaging in slander to make it appear is if GMG is selling stolen keys.

 

[Zoned]

Steam, Uplay,Origin, GOG and GMG are all competitors, setting a "minimum retail price" a between all competitors is still price fixing.



If GMG (or any other retail) wants to sell at a loss so they can get new customers then that's their own concern, how long CDPR worked on the game is completely irrelevant to that business decision.

But you are ignoring the fact that GMG didn't disclose anything about this. They even put NAMCO logo to make it look legit. This is not how genuine retail shop works.

 

[DocSeuss]

Where does the idea come from that CDPR sets prices for resellers? They sell keys to steam or whoever for a fixed price and steam can sell it for 10€ and take a loss if they want to.

Because they don't sell keys to Steam for a fixed price. Steam takes a cut, CDPR sets the price. I think there's an arrangement that Steam can do flash sales at a loss to Steam, but most of the time, it's totally up to CDPR in regards to price.

Steam will advise you on a good price point, and they have the sales data to back it up. I remember reading about someone who wanted to sell his game for $5 and Steam was all "no, no, you need to do this for $10, trust us, it'll do better," and it did. But Steam won't control how you price stuff.

Sure. It could well turn out that there is no good guy here. Maybe GMG got their keys from a really shady source. Maybe none of the keys will work on release day. We don't know. The entire thing smells like business gone sour, and CDPR does not sound convincing at all that they are acting for the benefit of consumers.

That would be a first for CDPR. This is the company that gave free games to one region because they were forced to sell their game at a price they didn't want. They have a history of acting for the benefit of their customers. GMG does not.

Here's what I think triggered all of this, and why CDPR is the shady party here.

CDPR decided not to give GMG keys because they know that GMG routinely take a hit on their distribution margin, a hit which is larger than other digital distributors. Since in this case GoG are a digital distributor themselves and get to keep that entire cut, someone else enticing customers by charging less would reduce their revenue.

So GMG decided to source the keys from retail copies. And now CDPR is engaging in slander to make it appear is if GMG is selling stolen keys.

I just don't see a case where GMG is suddenly good and CDPR is suddenly evil. That's a weird role reversal.

 

[Zoned]

Here's what I think triggered all of this, and why CDPR is the shady party here.

CDPR decided not to give GMG keys because they know that GMG routinely take a hit on their distribution margin, a hit which is larger than other digital distributors. Since in this case GoG are a digital distributor themselves and get to keep that entire cut, someone else enticing customers by charging less would reduce their revenue.

So GMG decided to source the keys from retail copies. And now CDPR is engaging in slander to make it appear is if GMG is selling stolen keys.

Well even EA did the same thing with Origin. In particular, they don't allow STEAM to sell their games. Viewing as a publisher, I don't see the problem with that. Why reduce my profit when I have my own store to sell games?

 

[d9b]

But you are ignoring the fact that GMG didn't disclose anything about this. They even put NAMCO logo to make it look legit. This is not how genuine retail shop works.

Why would they reveal their supplier? U mad? The fact remains, keys they are selling are not illegal. Gamespot and CDPR are not good guys in this case, I think. Very messy altogether.

 

[Catatafish]

I buy oranges from Wal-Mart, but I can't sell them to my neighbor. I am so confused? Is not that 100% legal?

 

[dani_dc]

There are two types of price fixing , horizontal and vertical, the former is among product competitors and is illegal, the former is between manufacturer and distributor and is not illegal, per US law, see resale price maintenance.

http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/p...restrictions-are-two-different-animals/#note7

Now obviously I'm not qualified to say which description applies to this situation but it looks to me like the latter.

But in this case CDPR is not just a developer, they have their own service, GOG, which competes directly with Steam, Uplay and Origin for the sale of Witcher 3.

Which means CDPR is fixing the price of the product between their service and several of their competitors.

If GMG sells Witcher 3 for a lower price that impacts GOG ability to sell the game at a higher price. By cutting GMG out of the picture GOG doesn't has to compete with other services because they all agred on the same price.

But you are ignoring the fact that GMG didn't disclose anything about this. They even put NAMCO logo to make it look legit. This is not how genuine retail shop works.

If they are getting keys from Namco (which they might, we do not know the source of the keys at this moment) how would it not be legit?

 

[hamchan]

I just don't see a case where GMG is suddenly good and CDPR is suddenly evil. That's a weird role reversal.

I don't think we should be labelling either side "good" or "evil".

 

[Qvoth]

Strange to see people rushing to CDPR's side on this.

Exactly