With the ongoing brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, many more companies are taking action and now GOG has made a big announcement with their store.
Here's the statement they provided about the decision to suspend activities in Russia and Belarus
In light of the Russian military invasion in our neighboring country of Ukraine, until further notice, we made the decision to halt all sales in Russia and Belarus.
Effective March 3rd, 2022, we suspend sales of all games distributed on the GOG platform on the territories of Russia and Belarus. While buying products on GOG is not possible, users from the affected territories can still log in to their accounts and keep access to purchased items.
The entire CD PROJEKT Group stands firm with the people of Ukraine. While we are not a political entity capable of directly influencing state matters, and don’t aspire to be one, we do believe that commercial entities, when united, have the power to inspire global change in the hearts and minds of ordinary people. We know that players in Russia and Belarus, individuals who have nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine, will be impacted by this decision, but with this action we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak about what is going on in the heart of Europe.
GOG has also recently, which I missed (sorry!), been helping a few developers give 100% of the sales money to charity. This includes games like This War of Mine, Slipways, MouseCraft and more. It's not up for much longer though.
Quoting: x_wingQuoting: slapinI disagree, helping Ukraine stand now will save both Ukraine and Russia. Losing Ukraine will end up as long standing
problem for both Europe and world. Also China will benefit from everything.
It all depends on what you refer as "helping". Helping to evacuate is one thing, giving more guns and forcing people to fight a war they don't want to is another.
Ukraine needs weapons and support, not trash talk from cheap cowards.
Quoting: slapinQuoting: x_wingQuoting: slapinI disagree, helping Ukraine stand now will save both Ukraine and Russia. Losing Ukraine will end up as long standing
problem for both Europe and world. Also China will benefit from everything.
It all depends on what you refer as "helping". Helping to evacuate is one thing, giving more guns and forcing people to fight a war they don't want to is another.
Ukraine needs weapons and support, not trash talk from cheap cowards.
Indeed. Being pacifist is nice and all, but fighting against Russian invasion at the moment is much better alternative. It's Russia that's forcing people to fight war people don't want to fight.
Without giving weapons there's soon no need to evacuate. If we go to back to glory days of Soviet Union, borders will be closed and nobody is allowed to leave the country.
Quoting: Geppeto35Quoting: johndoethe internet is the only way for russians the SEE/READ the truth instead of Putins propaganda.
Aaah, mentioning "the truth". ... as if we didn't know today that's a very relative concept.
I suppose you feel that you always are on the side of the truth, and others, with different opinions and feelings, are always on the side of propoganda?
War, war never changes. First victim of war, the empathy. First winners of war, a self-centred view of the world and the fact that the "others" gradually, but quickly, pass from 'another me' to 'stupid aliens'.
No political leaders are clean in this (his)story, and, if we have to rank the dirtiers, Putin is for sure at the top of this list. But so many why? (example: why NATO after the end of USSR continues to behave as if it was not ended? Why Ukraine could not remained a neutral country?).
The trouble for russian people is that Putin is basing its propaganda on true facts (even if minor to our western eyes: far-right ukranian militias that killed russian and this Dombass war that is running for now more than 8 years, with some ukrainian army exactions). Putin, ukrainian and western leaders are both ranking the importances of some more or less minor true facts to justify their own decisions.
Rational external people (European people for example), should send them back-to-back and support every path that favours de-escalation, for the sake of life, civilians. ...But also for the sake of some of these young russian conscripts that clearly don't want to do this war (and that can be our own children...they didn't choose to be soldiers). I prefer these russian conscripts in tanks that refuse to crush ukrainian that block their way or deliberately obey orders the more stupid way to make their tanks and squadrons impotent than these young europeans joining the ukrainian resistance with the will to truly fire and kill invaders. An invading army can't keep an invaded country, especially with such unmotivated police and soldiers. But go give reasons to these unmotivated russian conscripts to avenge a friend or a beloved, or to feel stuck between the need to save their lives and their will to not arm civilians, and we will be all fucked.
"West" is walking on a very narrow path, with massive consequence for European (and less for Americans...it is quite far from them). Russian people may aggregate even more around this politically-finished so little time ago (and rumour says with declining health, terminal-cancer) Putin, or revolt against him. I would not be the western leader that bets on one of these two possible options with insurance and determination, currently. Not on what should or will do russian people about Putin, and not betting if this KGB mad mind will or not send nuclear missiles when he will end cornered (by his economy or his people).
In addition, russian people are resilient people. Russia just signed free trade with china (some researchers on geopolitics even say that it would be the true cause of this war): they have food, gas and oil, they can trade with the world-factory that is china, without any dollar/swift and without any interference from the rest of the world, ... I won't even bet on the fact that they will care of commercial sanctions.
...so carrying on GOG decision? Same results: will it upset russian people against Putin or against GOG and western companies that fit and give reality to Putin's propaganda?
Simple fact is Russian government is full of shit, always was. One tsar after the other. Maybe european leaders are disgusting also, but they are sure as shit not the ones starting the wars this century, it's Russia and USA. And Russia is certainly the worse of the two, by a long shot.
Quoting: 14And here I thought political comments were against the rules.
At least as far as the article goes, we are not far into offtopic territory. It would be hard to not to discuss about politics when article discusses about sanctions.
Quoting: AnzaQuoting: 14And here I thought political comments were against the rules.
At least as far as the article goes, we are not far into offtopic territory. It would be hard to not to discuss about politics when article discusses about sanctions.
Quoting: Posting rules- Politics is important, it affects everything and everyone. However, be mindful of what you talk about and spread. If it is likely to cause arguments, don't post it. Most of the time, political chat isn't really needed here. Obviously if we cover something political, that is inviting respectable debate keeping all the other rules in mind.
Political discussion is fine when it's topical, disinformation and arguments are not.
Quoting: slapinUkraine needs weapons and support, not trash talk from cheap cowards.
Do whatever you want with your life, but do not force people to fight when they have other priorities.
Quoting: AnzaIndeed. Being pacifist is nice and all, but fighting against Russian invasion at the moment is much better alternative. It's Russia that's forcing people to fight war people don't want to fight.
Without giving weapons there's soon no need to evacuate. If we go to back to glory days of Soviet Union, borders will be closed and nobody is allowed to leave the country.
This is not about being pacifist but being rational. A lot of people aren't willing to fight, why force them? Maybe for some people a piece of land is worth their life, but for many other the life of a son or having your father alive worth's way more.
You need to get some perspective on this conflict. Ukraine doesn't have a chance to win unless western super powers get directly involved, but that will not happen for obvious reasons. So, the only valid strategy against Russia is to use their weakness and right now that weakness is economic. The best we can do is to save as many lives we can.
Last edited by x_wing on 5 March 2022 at 1:50 pm UTC
Quoting: tuubi"Disinformation"? I see what you did there.Quoting: AnzaQuoting: 14And here I thought political comments were against the rules.
At least as far as the article goes, we are not far into offtopic territory. It would be hard to not to discuss about politics when article discusses about sanctions.
Quoting: Posting rules- Politics is important, it affects everything and everyone. However, be mindful of what you talk about and spread. If it is likely to cause arguments, don't post it. Most of the time, political chat isn't really needed here. Obviously if we cover something political, that is inviting respectable debate keeping all the other rules in mind.
Political discussion is fine when it's topical, disinformation and arguments are not.
Quoting: 14What do you mean? Isn't that exactly what "be mindful of what you [...] spread" is about?Quoting: tuubi"Disinformation"? I see what you did there.Quoting: AnzaQuoting: 14And here I thought political comments were against the rules.
At least as far as the article goes, we are not far into offtopic territory. It would be hard to not to discuss about politics when article discusses about sanctions.
Quoting: Posting rules- Politics is important, it affects everything and everyone. However, be mindful of what you talk about and spread. If it is likely to cause arguments, don't post it. Most of the time, political chat isn't really needed here. Obviously if we cover something political, that is inviting respectable debate keeping all the other rules in mind.
Political discussion is fine when it's topical, disinformation and arguments are not.
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