ZFR: Do you understand what regional pricing means?

Regional pricing (Steam style):
Each region pays fixed prices, regardless of the exchang rate. e.g. a game costs 12 CAD and 10 USD, and these prices stay fixed. Note that unless the exchange rate is exactly 1.2 one side is always "unfairly" paying more that the other (At the moment on Steam, those paying in CAD are favoured).
Advantages: fixed prices. Disadvantages: one region always pays more than the other.

Non-regional pricing (GOG style):
Prices are not fixed, but are adjusted according to the exchange rate. So if the exchange rate is 1.3 then the prices are 13 CAD and 10 USD. If next week it changes to 1.1, prices become 11 CAD and 10 USD.
Disadvantages: prices change. Advantages: all regions pay same amount (excluding tiny fluctuations and rounding.. etc).

Back when the dollar was weak, the regional pricing meant that non-US paid much more for a given game, so GOG made it one of their selling points NOT to include regional pricing. And except for Russia, they mostly kept this model. Because at the moment CAD is weaker, you have to pay more extra for a given good.

So Canadians are not treated unfairly by GOG. What's happening is that all regions (except Russia) are treated fairly by GOG, while Steam at the moment is giving them regional pricing discount.
Should the Canadian dollar get stronger, the GOG games' prices on in CAD will drop, while on steam they'll remain same.

itchy01ca01: I've just resigned myself to the fact that, as a Canadian, we will get ripped off, throughout our lives, on certain things that Americans can take for granted.

ZFR: At the moment (as of today):

For No Man's Sky:
Canadians pay 66.49 CAD on Steam
Canadians pay 75.49 CAD on GOG
Americans pay the equivalent of 77.45 CAD on both stores

The way I see it, if anyone it's Americans who are getting ripped off.

ZFR: GOG needs to stay competitive with steam by sticking to their principles.

ZFR: GOG keeps updating their rates. I believe it's mothly or so? (I suppose it's dependent on how the rates fluctuate), but either way, the GOG rates are fairly close to real rates at all times. I'm saying "farily" because it's not updated in real time, and there is also the case of rounding prices to x.x9 which accounts for a bit of difference.
The euro prices kept changing as the exchange rate changed, and the same thing will happen to new currencies.

PaterAlf: And let's better not talk about many Europeans who have to pay 89.28 CAD here (and probably the same or even more on Steam).

ZFR: Correct, though to be fair they get the equivalent of 11.78 CAD of store credit back, so taking that into account Europeans pay the equivalent of 77.50 CAD on GOG (89.28 - 11.78 store credit) and 89.28 CAD on Steam

To summarize:

GOG:
Canadians: 75.49 CAD
Americans: 77.45 CAD
Europeans: 77.50 CAD

Steam:
Canadians: 66.49 CAD
Americans: 77.45 CAD
Europeans: 89.28 CAD

Now, about getting ripped off...

ZFR: How so? If store A is selling something for Canadians for 10 CAD, while store B is selling it for 8 CAD, then instead of saying that store A is ripping Canadians off, why not say that that store B is giving the Canadians a special discount.

rampancy: The problem is that traditionally (at least when it comes to brick-and-mortar retail), manufacturers have charged Canadian retailers 10-50% more for the same goods sold through American retailers. Tarrifs and fuel costs are an obvious reason for higher prices in Canada vs. the US for the same goods sold, but it still doesn't fully account for the steep markups. All in all, these factors don't arguably provide a credible explanation, especially with the CAD improving lately vs. the USD...other than, apparently, "because we can".

For the reasons given above this doesn't really have much relevance for Steam or GOG, where the determining factor is the exchange rate more than anything else, but it hopefully should give some insight as to why we Canadians can be a bit bitter when it comes to comparing US vs. CDN pricing across the same chains selling the same merchandise (e.g. the backlash against J.Crew and Target when they moved into Canada.)

rampancy: For the reasons given above this doesn't really have much relevance for Steam or GOG, where the determining factor is the exchange rate more than anything else, but it hopefully should give some insight as to why we Canadians can be a bit bitter when it comes to comparing US vs. CDN pricing

tinyE: That just puzzles me. You think Steam would cost more everywhere because their games come loaded with all those great DRM extras.

All GOG gives out is fucking avatars and the occasional manual.

BTW how come I haven't heard O'Canada once during the NHL Playoffs this year? :P
I KID! I JOKE!

WAY OT, Gothfather, is your avatar Siouxie Sioux?

itchy01ca01: That's low bro!

itchy01ca01: That's low bro!

itchy01ca01: But I will agree that we have it better off than AUS.
They get fucked over on EVERYTHING gaming related.