Steam ripped me off on Drakensang!
Juarez
it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
pretty box. FU Steam.
Nostromo
-0700, Anno Domini:
>I paid $29.99 USD a few weeks back but this week I see I could have bought
>it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
>pretty box. FU Steam.
Ahhh, the price of instant gratification! ;-p
--
Nostromo
John Lewis
wrote:
>I paid $29.99 USD a few weeks back but this week I see I could have bought
>it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
>pretty box. FU Steam.
>
Or $27.99 courtesy of Newegg with FREE shipping 6 weeks ago......
3 days from ValuSoft warehouse Edison, New Jersey to the West Coast.
John Lewis
Memnoch
Wait till he finds out there are no crowd control spells. Eeek!
Wolfing
eh? but there are, at least 2 that I remember
WDS
> I paid ... FU Steam.
I long ago gave up kicking myself when I see a cheaper price elsewhere.
Your butt will be eternally bruised if you do.
Cavadure
You didn't get ripped off if you can play the game. I'd much rather
not have to worry about install media than have the pretty box. ymmv
Memnoch
Perhaps I didn't play far enough then. I got as far as the bit where you have
to find the secret entrance into a castle before giving up on it. I had no
crowd control spells at that point, or rather spells that affect more than one
target is probably what I should have meant. I only had spells that affected a
single target.
Cavadure
<memn...@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote:
Yeah, I was hoping for an area of effect type spell too. My problem
with the caster are the couple of situations where you are required to
bring along only one other character. The caster was very squishy
with no real crowd control.
Playing this game did make me think back fondly to BG2. I installed
it and I'm doing a run through with a sorcerer, Anomen, Minsc and Jan
Jansen now.
nobody
Sounds like user error to me. Steam didn't force you to buy it...
John Lewis
<toxaris...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Apr 15, 4:56=A0pm, "Juarez" <jua...@mexico.invalid> wrote:
>> I paid $29.99 USD a few weeks back but this week I see I could have bough=
>t
>> it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
>> pretty box. FU Steam.
>
>You didn't get ripped off if you can play the game. I'd much rather
>not have to worry about install media than have the pretty box. ymmv
>
The printed manual is very useful - this is a RPG, not a FPS...
Sure, you can download the manual...to a bunch of stapled pages.
A little inconvenient trying to consult the manual on-screen while
playing the game... especially if alt-TAB is a little erratic....
Oh, and no permanent attachment to a Steam account to to trip over.
(Do I hear a loud sucking noise?). Copy-protection of the retail
version is just the usual disk-based.
John Lewis
Cavadure
> On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:59:03 -0700 (PDT), Cavadure
>
I don't like disk based copy protection. When looking over games to
play, if I'm equally inclined to play one on steam or one on a disk,
I'll always play the Steam game. I open up my game tab and click. No
finding the disk and putting it in the drive. No CD spin from having
a disk in the drive.
When its a game not on my current system, Steam comes out even further
ahead. Click to download and go about my business without worrying
about disk swapping.
Just pointing out that your "trip over" of the Steam account is how I
feel about the disks.
Sheldon England
> I don't like disk based copy protection. When looking over games to
> play, if I'm equally inclined to play one on steam or one on a disk,
> I'll always play the Steam game. I open up my game tab and click. No
> finding the disk and putting it in the drive. No CD spin from having
> a disk in the drive.
>
> When its a game not on my current system, Steam comes out even further
> ahead. Click to download and go about my business without worrying
> about disk swapping.
>
So ... with Steam you can add all of your installed games (Steam or not)
to some list and it then bypasses the CD check as long as Steam is
running? Or does it have to be a Steam game to bypass that check?
Swapping disks isn't the worst problem facing the world ... but it does
annoy me and, like you wrote, is a factor in deciding what to play. In
my game menu I have all games that DON'T have a CD check in one section
to indicate I can play at will and don't have to find the game disk.
- Sheldon
Cavadure
wrote:
The Steam check only works with Steam installed games. There are only
a couple of (non Valve) titles that you can enter the CD key for that
then can authenticate that game to Steam. Most of them you have to
buy from Steam and can't retroactively activate them as a Steam game.
For example I have Civilization IV and I can't purchase the expansion
for it from Steam because I didn't get the original game that way. So
what it comes down to is for most games you have to have purchased
them from Steam to get the Steam authentication benifits.
Werner Spahl
> No finding the disk and putting it in the drive. No CD spin from having
> a disk in the drive.
Ever heard about nocd cracks? I use them for all my games to avoid the CD
swapping and spinning.
--
Werner Spahl (sp...@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships
Nostromo
-0700 (PDT), Anno Domini:
>Playing this game did make me think back fondly to BG2. I installed
>it and I'm doing a run through with a sorcerer, Anomen, Minsc and Jan
>Jansen now.
Nothing beats having Minsc & Jan in your party. Jan & anybody really, he he.
;) (mental note: MUST complete ToB one day *huge Shrek sigh*)
Butt-kicking for goodness - go for the eyes Boo!!! >8^D
--
Nostromo
Ceowulf
You know I never once used Jan, what was he again? A illusionist thief?
I can't see much use for it considering the other characters available,
plus I generally played BG2 with all the traps and locks disabled/open
by default. I got so sick of walking into a place and being mazed *rolls
eyes*.
Are the banters from Jan worthwhile?
--
Ceo-
Wolfing
<memn...@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote:
Well that would make the game too easy. You have a god-like regen
ability so just fight one battle at a time.
There are 2 crowd control spells that I remember (but both are single
target): A sleep, which I never used it since it breaks on attack, and
since my pet did pretty much what it wanted, it was useless, and the
'turn to stone' which saved my bacon a few times.
As for area-of-effect spells, you'll get them just a bit later I think
in Telon, but they're not CC just damage spells.
Cavadure
> On Thu, 16 Apr 2009, Cavadure wrote:
> > No finding the disk and putting it in the drive. No CD spin from having
> > a disk in the drive.
>
> Ever heard about nocd cracks? I use them for all my games to avoid the CD
> swapping and spinning.
>
Finding and installing these cracks is an extra step not needed for
Steam games. I have dozens of games not installed on my latest
computer. Legacy games not purchased through Steam are no where near
as convenient. Swap around CDs for the initial install (hopefully the
media has no damage), find and download the patches (hopefully they
are still easy to find), and look for and install a crack (trusting
that this code is safe) -- if I use your method to eliminate the
subsequent disk swapping and spinning. With a Steam game not
installed on my latest computer, I right-click select install and I'm
done.
Cavadure
> Nostromo wrote:
Jan is the best thief that will stay with you throughout the game. Of
the other two good thiefs one leaves during spellhold and the other
isn't available until after spellhold. He's funny and there are some
fun bits with Minsc's hamster. But you do get tired hearing about
turnips after a while.
MJB
"Cavadure" <toxaris...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:bb788fcc-a80d-433c...@d25g2000prn.googlegroups.com...
On Apr 17, 12:54 am, Werner Spahl <sp...@cup.uni-muenchen.de> wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Apr 2009, Cavadure wrote:
> > No finding the disk and putting it in the drive. No CD spin from having
> > a disk in the drive.
>
> Ever heard about nocd cracks? I use them for all my games to avoid the CD
> swapping and spinning.
>
Finding and installing these cracks is an extra step not needed for
Steam games.
MJB: Downside is you don't actually own the steam games. You're only
renting them for so long as Valve allows you to have them.
I have dozens of games not installed on my latest
computer.
MJB: I have hundreds of games - on actual media - not installed on my
latest computer(s). I don't keep the 'wrappers', so I have all my game
discs and manuals are stored on a shelf in five boxes. They take-up exactly
48 inches wide by 14 inches high of storage space. Hardly a hardship IMO.
Legacy games not purchased through Steam are no where near
as convenient.
MJB: Legacy games - on actual media - are just as convenient. If you are
unable or unwilling to catalog - protect - maintain - your purchases, you
are actually better just renting. Same as a house. Or a car. Or anything
else that you are unwilling to treat any different from toilet paper.
Swap around CDs for the initial install (hopefully the
media has no damage),
MJB: If you are unable, unwilling or just so fumble-thumbs clumsy as to
damage your media - you are better off renting.
find and download the patches (hopefully they
are still easy to find),
MJB: I have been cataloging patches for everyone of my games since before I
was on broadband. And when filefront was about to close down, I filled up
an entire dvd with the latest patches of my most recent aquistions. So far
absolutely no problem. Plus - watching the on-going disaster steam patching
has caused among the total war community with the empire total war fiasco -
your argument is lacking in merit IMO.
and look for and install a crack (trusting
that this code is safe)
MJB: Your only legitemate argument. This is a concern at times, especially
if the cracked exe is notably different in size from the original exe.
-- if I use your method to eliminate the
subsequent disk swapping and spinning. With a Steam game not
installed on my latest computer, I right-click select install and I'm
done.
MJB: Good for you and your support of game renting. Personally, I'm steam
free and intend to remain so. And don't bother with the tired-old 'your
loss, your missing-out on all these great games' argument. It's not my loss
because I've got hundreds of unplayed pc games in my archive - most better
than what is currently being produced for the current mass market. Because
these games were designed for the PC and are not cross-platform crapola.
--
MJB
Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/
Cavadure
> "Cavadure" <toxaristhra...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
Not making an argument to convince anyone to change their preference.
I'm explaining my preference (because some seem to think Steam should
be universally reviled), and that there are some conveniences that
come along with Steam authenticated games.
I understand your preference, but you put more work into your games
than I'm willing too. I want to fire them up and play them when I get
home from work. I may get bit by the "rent" (you do realize that even
your collection of games is licensed IP not owned by you) of the games
someday, but so far so good. Steam's catalog of non-Valve games is
growing all the time, so I see no need to worry any time soon.
MJB
On Apr 17, 7:36 am, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
Not making an argument to convince anyone to change their preference.
I'm explaining my preference (because some seem to think Steam should
be universally reviled), and that there are some conveniences that
come along with Steam authenticated games.
MJB: Unfortunately I live in an area of the USA that has more cows than
people. And if I move one half-mile futher east from my present location I
will NOT be able to get broadband at all. And my phone service for dial-up
would then only get 25.7 'ping' of IIRC - not 33, not 54. So for some of
us the 'digital umbilicus' you so casually rely upon is unreliable and even
unavailable - at any price.
I understand your preference, but you put more work into your games
than I'm willing too. I want to fire them up and play them when I get
home from work.
MJB: Then make the argument for irresponsibility. I understand it, even if
I think it's a teenager's POV.
I may get bit by the "rent" (you do realize that even
your collection of games is licensed IP not owned by you)
MJB: Like to see them collect 'em back
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/ray/nations-boldest-gun-rights-bill-creates-problems
Not saying I agree with the law my governor just signed yesterday, but I'm
just saying somebody trying to take my property is going to encounter more
trouble than just 'hot' words... and posession IS 9/10ths of the law.
<grin>
of the games
someday, but so far so good. Steam's catalog of non-Valve games is
growing all the time, so I see no need to worry any time soon.
MJB: Feel free to trust a corporation's goodwill. This is the first car I
ever bought - a '71 ford Pinto:
http://www.corporatenarc.com/fordpintoscandal.php
This is what a mining corporation - WR Grace- did to one of the most
beautiful places in the world. And now they are busily trying to escape
responsibility for the clean-up.
http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/libby/
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2008/2008-03-11-093.asp
It's been thirty years since I believed anything a corporation told me was
'in my interest'.
Your mileage my, of course, vary.
Cavadure
> "Cavadure" <toxaristhra...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:f1c6d5c9-a9cb-4a3b...@v1g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 17, 7:36 am, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
>
> Not making an argument to convince anyone to change their preference.
> I'm explaining my preference (because some seem to think Steam should
> be universally reviled), and that there are some conveniences that
> come along with Steam authenticated games.
>
> MJB: Unfortunately I live in an area of the USA that has more cows than
> people. And if I move one half-mile futher east from my present location I
> will NOT be able to get broadband at all. And my phone service for dial-up
> would then only get 25.7 'ping' of IIRC - not 33, not 54. So for some of
> us the 'digital umbilicus' you so casually rely upon is unreliable and even
> unavailable - at any price.
Yes, I'm attached to my 10 meg service. :)
>
> I understand your preference, but you put more work into your games
> than I'm willing too. I want to fire them up and play them when I get
> home from work.
>
> MJB: Then make the argument for irresponsibility. I understand it, even if
> I think it's a teenager's POV.
I have a lot of original boxes of games on a nice display case. I
keep the disks in those boxes. But they aren't very convenient when I
get the urge to play a game.
Recently installed BG2 and ToB. Grab boxes. Get the disks. The ToB
disk is in a disk organizer holding my "play disks". Go through the
install. I don't have a cataloged patch system like you, so I
download the patch from Bioware. Now, I can play the game.
I guess you can call prefering to right-click the game in Steam
irresponsible.
I give up the nice box and printed manual, but that's really it. If
the day comes when I'm denied access to the Steam games, I'll resort
to piracy with no pangs of conscience.
>
> It's been thirty years since I believed anything a corporation told me was
> 'in my interest'.
>
> Your mileage my, of course, vary.
>
I don't have a universal mistrust of corporations. Valve can get my
entertainment dollars until they prove untrustworthy.
MJB
On Apr 17, 8:46 am, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
> "Cavadure" <toxaristhra...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:f1c6d5c9-a9cb-4a3b...@v1g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 17, 7:36 am, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
>
> MJB: Unfortunately I live in an area of the USA that has more cows than
> people. And if I move one half-mile futher east from my present location I
> will NOT be able to get broadband at all. And my phone service for dial-up
> would then only get 25.7 'ping' of IIRC - not 33, not 54. So for some of
> us the 'digital umbilicus' you so casually rely upon is unreliable and
> even
> unavailable - at any price.
Yes, I'm attached to my 10 meg service. :)
MJB: Out here in 'fly-over' country the high-speed communication the
corporations count on being 'universal' and 'readily-available' sometimes
isn't. So anything that forces me to place reliance upon something that I
might not be able to even get where I might happen to live to do something
as mundane as play a computer game is 'verboten'.
I have a lot of original boxes of games on a nice display case. I
keep the disks in those boxes. But they aren't very convenient when I
get the urge to play a game.
MJB: Whatever. Last week my broadband supplier was down for the weekend
for 'unknown' reasons. It wasn't very convenient for me to NOT be able to
get on-line. And that was for something as mundane as just sending and
recieving emails...
Recently installed BG2 and ToB. Grab boxes. Get the disks. The ToB
disk is in a disk organizer holding my "play disks". Go through the
install. I don't have a cataloged patch system like you, so I
download the patch from Bioware. Now, I can play the game.
MJB: Sounds like a lack of organization on your part. But then again, I
know how to mill flour and make bread. Or kill, scorch, gut and process a
pig. And this summer I'm going to try may hand at brewing beer....
<grin>
I have the official patches for BG2 on a disk with all my baldur gates mods
/ balderdash patches on a seperate disk. I even have a backup of the data
folder - just like for my Morrowind install - so I can pretty much install
the game and copy the back-up data folder in and be good to go. I recognize
it's pretty unusual to be so 'anal' - but it's seems pretty convient to me.
I guess you can call prefering to right-click the game in Steam
irresponsible.
MJB: Not the 'right-click' per se. But the 'relax, let big daddy take care
of you' attitude the corporations want to foist-on everybody. Plus I have
my entire life on my PC - my business records, my financial records, my
personal records, my family and my parent's official documents, photos, my
own artwork and writings and design work. So the notion of letting
somebody - anybody - have access through my firewall to my precious
hard-drive for something as mundane as a 'game' just makes my skin crawl. I
don't have any idea how old you might be but I'm fifty years old - and if
'steam' is somehow, anyhow, is compromised by some malicious chinese or
russian or nigerian hacker / criminal network, I'm fuckin' toast...
<shudder>
It's a simple risk-reward calculation.... and the risk is not worth the
reward.
I give up the nice box and printed manual, but that's really it. If
the day comes when I'm denied access to the Steam games, I'll resort
to piracy with no pangs of conscience.
MJB: And when you get screwed - and you will get screwed - you'll have the
exact same mistrust of corporations and their intentions / motivations I
posess. It's not based on paranoia - it's based on experience....
>
> It's been thirty years since I believed anything a corporation told me was
> 'in my interest'.
>
> Your mileage my, of course, vary.
>
I don't have a universal mistrust of corporations. Valve can get my
entertainment dollars until they prove untrustworthy.
MJB: Mistrust is a healthy response to the new and the unknown and the
utterly un-necessary - it's a survival mechanism that has served our species
very well.
<grin>
Appreciate your being able to keep the discussion civil. Obviously you do
really use Steam for the convienence...
Cavadure
I've baked bread (no flour milling though). I've also brewed beer. I
gave up on the beer hobby when a batch, I thought I'd properly
sanitized the equipment for, grew mould in the carboy.
>
> MJB: Not the 'right-click' per se. But the 'relax, let big daddy take care
> of you' attitude the corporations want to foist-on everybody. Plus I have
> my entire life on my PC - my business records, my financial records, my
> personal records, my family and my parent's official documents, photos, my
> own artwork and writings and design work. So the notion of letting
> somebody - anybody - have access through my firewall to my precious
> hard-drive for something as mundane as a 'game' just makes my skin crawl. I
> don't have any idea how old you might be but I'm fifty years old - and if
> 'steam' is somehow, anyhow, is compromised by some malicious chinese or
> russian or nigerian hacker / criminal network, I'm fuckin' toast...
>
> <shudder>
>
You can lock your Steam client down on the firewall and open it up
only when you want to download games. I'm irresponsible so I don't do
that. :)
I'm 48 btw. As we age we get resistant to change. I like to see the
benefit for something before I like it. I don't like it just because
it's the latest thing. For instance, I don't like the Office 2007
UI. A coworker told me it's just because I'm old, but really I don't
see the benefit of obfuscating the old elegant menu system with the
big circle and ribbon they have now. Steam is a big change from the
old game box days, but I can see a benefit in convenience at least for
myself.
MJB
On Apr 17, 9:38 am, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
>
> MJB: Sounds like a lack of organization on your part. But then again, I
> know how to mill flour and make bread. Or kill, scorch, gut and process a
> pig. And this summer I'm going to try may hand at brewing beer....
>
> <grin>
I've baked bread (no flour milling though). I've also brewed beer. I
gave up on the beer hobby when a batch, I thought I'd properly
sanitized the equipment for, grew mould in the carboy.
MJB: Thanks for the advice about the beer - but I've made 'kraut and made
wine. Beer is just one more step beyond all that... it uses more than just
one main ingredient.
>
> MJB: Not the 'right-click' per se. But the 'relax, let big daddy take care
> of you' attitude the corporations want to foist-on everybody. Plus I have
> my entire life on my PC - my business records, my financial records, my
> personal records, my family and my parent's official documents, photos, my
> own artwork and writings and design work. So the notion of letting
> somebody - anybody - have access through my firewall to my precious
> hard-drive for something as mundane as a 'game' just makes my skin crawl.
> I
> don't have any idea how old you might be but I'm fifty years old - and if
> 'steam' is somehow, anyhow, is compromised by some malicious chinese or
> russian or nigerian hacker / criminal network, I'm fuckin' toast...
>
> <shudder>
>
You can lock your Steam client down on the firewall and open it up
only when you want to download games. I'm irresponsible so I don't do
that. :)
MJB: And that's fine when you downloaded the game off steam in the first
place.
I'm 48 btw. As we age we get resistant to change. I like to see the
benefit for something before I like it. I don't like it just because
it's the latest thing. For instance, I don't like the Office 2007
UI. A coworker told me it's just because I'm old, but really I don't
see the benefit of obfuscating the old elegant menu system with the
big circle and ribbon they have now. Steam is a big change from the
old game box days, but I can see a benefit in convenience at least for
myself.
MJB: Yup. Both my parents are on the downhill-side of 70. And I got the
both of them wired-up and rollin' on the 'net. So I fought the 'why do I
have to change' battle when I put them on a new vista laptop when their
seven year old XP laptop when kaput...
<grin>
I've got zero problem with necessary change - I question whether or not
steam is a change that is necessary. And for me it is not.
Sheldon England
> Sheldon England wrote:
>
>> So ... with Steam you can add all of your installed games (Steam or not)
>> to some list and it then bypasses the CD check as long as Steam is
>> running? Or does it have to be a Steam game to bypass that check?
>>
>> Swapping disks isn't the worst problem facing the world ... but it does
>> annoy me and, like you wrote, is a factor in deciding what to play. In
>> my game menu I have all games that DON'T have a CD check in one section
>> to indicate I can play at will and don't have to find the game disk.
>>
>
> The Steam check only works with Steam installed games. There are only
> a couple of (non Valve) titles that you can enter the CD key for that
> then can authenticate that game to Steam. Most of them you have to
> buy from Steam and can't retroactively activate them as a Steam game.
>
Ah. Okay. Thank you for clarifying. I thought I may have overlooked some
value there.
> Swap around CDs for the initial install (hopefully the
> media has no damage), find and download the patches (hopefully they
> are still easy to find), and look for and install a crack (trusting
> that this code is safe)
>
This is precisely why I have been reluctant to use cracks ... I am
paranoid about what else I might be downloading. If there was somewhere
a trusted list of cracks that I could safely use I might be more
inclined. The lesser evil so far has been swapping disks. And I have a
LOT of games.
In any case, I appreciate your comments. Much obliged.
- Sheldon
Wolfing
My problem with Steam, Impulse, and whatever else downloaded solution
is that, even though games there cost a lot less to distribute, in
most cases, they still cost the same as the boxed version with manual,
box, physical disk, etc. For example, Elven Legacy in Impulse was
$29.99 (download), but I ordered it from Amazon (or was it buy.com?)
and it cost me $28.99 with free shipping. As long as that continues,
I'll prefer my boxes.
Cavadure
I think the reason for this is publishers not wanting to seriously
undercut and piss off their retailers. That being said, I've got some
very good deals from Steam weekend sales items. The last one was Tomb
Raider Anniversary for $5. I keep a lookout for deals like this.
MJB
>
> My problem with Steam, Impulse, and whatever else downloaded solution
> is that, even though games there cost a lot less to distribute, in
> most cases, they still cost the same as the boxed version with manual,
> box, physical disk, etc. For example, Elven Legacy in Impulse was
> $29.99 (download), but I ordered it from Amazon (or was it buy.com?)
> and it cost me $28.99 with free shipping. As long as that continues,
> I'll prefer my boxes.
I think the reason for this is publishers not wanting to seriously
undercut and piss off their retailers. That being said, I've got some
very good deals from Steam weekend sales items. The last one was Tomb
Raider Anniversary for $5. I keep a lookout for deals like this.
MJB: That's something else I wonder about - the real viability of steam as
a platform for small developers. Just for example I'd use 'World of Goo'.
It's available on-line for 20$ from the developer, 2d boy. I saw the game
in a dvd case at Walmart for 15$. I recall hearing a blurb somewhere that
it is / was available for 5 bucks on steam. I wonder how much 2d boy is
making on every 5$ purchase of world of goo from steam?
<shrug>
Make the price cheap enough and I suppose I won't care if I'm not owning the
software anymore. That's okay with play-and-forget games. I wonder how
well it will work with other sorts of products?
Cavadure
> "Cavadure" <toxaristhra...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
That $5 price was a weekend sale price. Not permanent. I paid $20
for that game on Steam before the sale.
Steam is going strong with lots of loyal customers. If you play Team
Fortress 2 or Counter Strike Source theres always is buzz around
weekend sales and what not. I remember all the buzz on the TF2
servers about Left4Dead when it came it out. I think Valve has loyal
customers and good business model. More and more publishers are
signing on for Steam distributions. I imagine there are sales numbers
drawing them in.
MJB
On Apr 17, 3:41 pm, "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote:
> "Cavadure" <toxaristhra...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> the
> software anymore. That's okay with play-and-forget games. I wonder how
> well it will work with other sorts of products?
>
That $5 price was a weekend sale price. Not permanent. I paid $20
for that game on Steam before the sale.
MJB: Still wonder what 2d boys cut was...
Steam is going strong with lots of loyal customers. If you play Team
Fortress 2 or Counter Strike Source theres always is buzz around
weekend sales and what not. I remember all the buzz on the TF2
servers about Left4Dead when it came it out. I think Valve has loyal
customers and good business model. More and more publishers are
signing on for Steam distributions. I imagine there are sales numbers
drawing them in.
MJB: And I think I have an understanding of who the loyal customers of
steam are now. Team Fortress 2. Counter-strike source. Left 4 dead.
Don't own them. Wouldn't play them if somebody gave them to me as a gift.
So if that is the sorts of games Steam is selling - it is utterly and
competely irrelevant to my interests in pc gaming.
<shrug>
I am not the target audience. Odd feeling, that...
Juarez
news:6054c051-5326-43d8...@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
Great, I start a thread on Steam rip off prices and you guys turn it into a
thread on Drakensang spoilers that I don't want to see.
Juarez
news:49e6cbb3...@news.verizon.net...
> Or $27.99 courtesy of Newegg with FREE shipping 6 weeks ago......
> 3 days from ValuSoft warehouse Edison, New Jersey to the West Coast.
>
> John Lewis
>
That's still more than $29.99 CAD and you had to pay shipping charges too.
Shipping from USA to Canuckland is at least ten bucks.
29.99 CAD
=
24.7647 USD
Juarez
news:gs7e8m$dpq$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> I long ago gave up kicking myself when I see a cheaper price elsewhere.
> Your butt will be eternally bruised if you do.
I know, but for a download version I expect some serious kind of discount
and not pay more than a boxed version with a real hc manual.
Juarez
>You didn't get ripped off if you can play the game. I'd much rather
>not have to worry about install media than have the pretty box. ymmv
You left out the hc manual. Are you aware of just how much extra it costs to
produce a pretty box and hc manual. The extra cost is huge and the fact no
saving is passed on to us for a download only version is just not right.
Juarez
>I don't like disk based copy protection.
That's what game cracks are for.
Juarez
The Steam check only works with Steam installed games. There are only
a couple of (non Valve) titles that you can enter the CD key for that
then can authenticate that game to Steam.
Yea, with ETW I had no choice. Bought boxed copy for less than Steam
download only version but still am tied into Steam so don't need the CD and
the fuckers never included an hc manual either, just some cheesy useless
flow chart.
Juarez
news:gsan1k$lci$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> This is precisely why I have been reluctant to use cracks ... I am
> paranoid about what else I might be downloading.
In all my years of using gamecopyworld to get game cracks I have ever only
came across one time that one of their servers tried to get me to download
and run a trojan instead of the game crack. That was easy to figure out
because it was an .exe file instead of a .zip or .rar file with an .nfo in
it and running Avast on it identified it as a trojan file. Simply went back
and chose another server and got the correct crack. I expect some idiot
dickhead from a game company uploaded it and not a real game cracker.
Juarez
news:gsb0i...@news7.newsguy.com...
>I wonder how much 2d boy is making on every 5$ purchase of world of goo
>from steam?
It is better to sell lots for cheap than very few at a high price. Many
companies have made tons of money using this economic model. I have quite a
few games I bought just because they were dirt cheap and never would have
even considered if they were priced high. Take a look at eSim Games, they
make a great hardcore tank sim that they sell for $125.00 via a snail
mailing DVD method only that comes with a stupid USB dongle for DRM. If they
could swing deals with Steam, Gamer's Gate etc. and sell the game at a more
reasonable price like $49.99 they would make a boat load of more money and I
would actually buy the game.
Juarez
You can lock your Steam client down on the firewall and open it up
only when you want to download games. I'm irresponsible so I don't do
that. :)
I've got a better method than that. I have a DocSys cable modem and it has a
standby switch on top to disco your internet connection. I just start Steam
to play a game and then press the button. to block any internet access.
Juarez
news:gs7l76$dsv$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> Sounds like user error to me. Steam didn't force you to buy it...
I'll remember that next time I am looking forward to a new game and will
make sure I buy it at the store instead of via Steam. How do you like them
apples, Steam employee posting as nobody?
Nostromo
-0700, Anno Domini:
I'm actually more interested in LOTRO at the mo, if you want to go even
further OT...? ;-p (just be grateful they're still talking about the same
game & not the pre WWI Romanian Communist movement :).
Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
-0700, Anno Domini:
They justify their own greed by rationalising to us that it's much more
'convenient' for us to instantly d/l a game online, & crap like they have
infrastructure costs to cover (who doesn't in the internet age?), which is
utter BS considering if they had half a brain they'd just use torrents (I'd
rather donate some of my unused upload b/width than pay
double/triple/quadruple to scum sucking leeching middlemen for a game title
any day). Yes, I like a nice box & HC manual like the next guy, but I'm just
as happy with an identical full colour PDF manual these days (I do most of
my reading on a small 13" Thinkpad or my PDA these days anyway).
So yes, I agree 1000%, there's no ethical justification for them charging us
through the nose for a distribution medium that probably costs them a
fraction of total cost to market. It's just typical big business market
control tactics & greed, & to a lesser extent, trying to keep their
retailers happy. Personally, I'm happy to see the bricks & mortar game
distribution die a quiet death if it means games cost 1/4 of what they do
now & what they're actually worth imo. I, for one, would buy a helluva lot
more 'impulse buy' titles if they were AU$20 a pop rather than $70-90. Greed
is G(o)od yet again it seems, without wanting to start yet another economic
debate ;). Why can the indy devs charge $20-30 for something they put in
just as much time & effort into for their labours of love (if not much more
in many cases!) than the larger devs/publishers? PC gaming (& gaming as a
hobbyist 'artform' in general) died when it became a commercial enterprise
first & foremost, a few short years back. Once it followed suit & overtook
the movie/music industry it was all over really. It's ALL about ROI & profit
these days, pure & simple.
--
Nostromo
Michael Cecil
<sheldon...@netscape.net> wrote:
>This is precisely why I have been reluctant to use cracks ... I am
>paranoid about what else I might be downloading. If there was somewhere
>a trusted list of cracks that I could safely use I might be more
>inclined. The lesser evil so far has been swapping disks. And I have a
>LOT of games.
>
>In any case, I appreciate your comments. Much obliged.
I've never found any malware from gamecopyworld, but I still run each nocd
through virustotal just to be safe. Sometimes I just use an image of the
disc instead.
--
Michael Cecil
mac...@gmail.com
Mark Morrison
wrote:
Then why did you buy it off Steam in the first place ?
I don't understand people who download (purchased) games and then
bitch about the lack of physical content.
You knew you were just buying an electronic version and you know the
price you were paying for it. If you now regret it, that's your fault
for not shopping around, not Steam's fault for the price you were
willing to pay for it.
Mark Morrison
wrote:
I really like Steam, but having said that, I would never buy a new
release on Steam, as they charge the same price, or more, as Amazon,
etc. I'd rather wait 2 days for the postman to bring it (and get it
cheaper, and on a DVD). Get the NOCD crack, and away you go.
What Steam is great for is older games that are on sale, and games by
smaller developers that I would never have heard of otherwise.
I bought both Shadowgrounds games on Steam, and loved that - if it
hadn't been for Steam, the odds are I'd have never heard of them, and
the makers would have lost out on 2 sales.
Regie_Satanis
> I paid $29.99 USD a few weeks back but this week I see I could have bought
> it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
> pretty box. FU Steam.
I just checked the Futureshop.ca website and it's not in their
database. I've been looking for that game for a while now. Finally
found a copy at a local EB Games for $29.99 Canadian. After
provincial sales tax and gst it wasn't that much cheaper than Steam.
I don't need the box. The manual is handy though. If I didn't own
Drakensang already I would have bought if off Steam. It's no big deal.
If you wait long enough there's always a good chance of getting it
cheaper somewhere else.
On average I didn't think Steam was noted for being the cheapest place
to buy games anyway.
Shawk
Coma for 5yrs? Sorry man. Want me to list some other things we've all
discussed a hundred times over those 5yrs to bring you up to speed?
Pibbur Dragon
> Thus spake "Juarez" <jua...@mexico.invalid>, Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:47:49
> -0700, Anno Domini:
>
>> "Wolfing" <wolf...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:6054c051-5326-43d8...@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> Great, I start a thread on Steam rip off prices and you guys turn it into a
>> thread on Drakensang spoilers that I don't want to see.
>
> I'm actually more interested in LOTRO at the mo, if you want to go even
> further OT...? ;-p (just be grateful they're still talking about the same
> game & not the pre WWI Romanian Communist movement :).
>
Hey! What's wrong with the pre WW1 Romanian Communist movement? Their
role in the aquisition of Southern Dobrudja should not be underestimated!
> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
>
Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
---
Pibbur
Kyle Haight
Pibbur Dragon <oopsREM...@tele2CA.PSno> wrote:
>
>> (just be grateful they're still talking about the same
>> game & not the pre WWI Romanian Communist movement :).
>>
>
>Hey! What's wrong with the pre WW1 Romanian Communist movement? Their
>role in the aquisition of Southern Dobrudja should not be underestimated!
This sounds like my cue to write a really long, historically detailed
and utterly off-topic post. Sadly, I got nothing.
--
Kyle Haight
Kyle Haight
Zaghadka <zagh...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:12:00 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, Juarez wrote:
>
>>It is better to sell lots for cheap than very few at a high price.
>
>
>It is better to have sustainable, reasonably reliable profits than it is to
>depend upon unreliable flashes in the pan. That's the only rule I know.
Indeed. Otherwise you wouldn't have product differentiation. Cisco
sells a lot of low-end consumer networking gear at relatively low prices.
We also sell high-end gear that costs a *lot* more. It does a lot more,
too. There's a lot less volume at the high end. (At one point we rolled
out a new high-end core router called the CRS-1; we used to joke that when
we sold the second one we'd call it the CRS-2.)
Finding the ideal price-point for a given product is not always obvious.
You cut the price, you will sell more -- but you'll make less on each
sale. At some point the reduced per-unit profit overwhelms the extra
sales volume. Figuring out what that point is is not easy.
--
Kyle Haight
Nostromo
22:16:49 +0200, Anno Domini:
>Nostromo skrev:
>> Thus spake "Juarez" <jua...@mexico.invalid>, Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:47:49
>> -0700, Anno Domini:
>>
>>> "Wolfing" <wolf...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:6054c051-5326-43d8...@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
>>>
>>> Great, I start a thread on Steam rip off prices and you guys turn it into a
>>> thread on Drakensang spoilers that I don't want to see.
>>
>> I'm actually more interested in LOTRO at the mo, if you want to go even
>> further OT...? ;-p (just be grateful they're still talking about the same
>> game & not the pre WWI Romanian Communist movement :).
>>
>
>Hey! What's wrong with the pre WW1 Romanian Communist movement? Their
>role in the aquisition of Southern Dobrudja should not be underestimated!
HAH! That was a trick statement - Romania wasn't Communist until after WWII
(no movement even to speak of until 1944), so now we know you're a hack Pib!
;-p (Some nice peaches came out of Dobrudja, but that's about it :)
It was in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) that Romania gained Southern
Dobrudja (according to Wiki), but Marxism (in particular Bolshevism) wasn't
an influence at all in pre WWI Romania...but I come from a neighbouring
country with a long line of 'rewriting' history, so I could be way off the
garden path ;). The period between the great wars was their most prosperous
in modern times, until the Soviets dragged them out of neutrality & into the
fray in 1940 & got their Communist claws into them after WWII. The rest, as
they say, is history, but who knows what the truth of it actually is...?
>> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
>> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
>>
>Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack!!!
--
Nostromo
Shawk
> On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:12:00 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, Juarez wrote:
>> news:gsb0i...@news7.newsguy.com...
>>> I wonder how much 2d boy is making on every 5$ purchase of world of goo
>> >from steam?
>>
>> It is better to sell lots for cheap than very few at a high price.
>
>
> It is better to have sustainable, reasonably reliable profits than it is to
> depend upon unreliable flashes in the pan. That's the only rule I know.
>
>
This was out a month or so back. Found it interesting...
http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
Shawk
> nearly identical price, in light of that lack. ;^)
But was he aware of that lack when he made the decision to purchase at
that price?
Ceowulf
Woo never knew about virustotal, thanks for that. I've recently been
zipping around anti virus programs quicker than probably recommended.
First AVG, then CA Trust, now Avast. For malware I use Malwarebytes, but
I've not paid for it so am not using the protection component, for which
I'm relying on Spybot S&D.
Not sure if Avast is really any good, I know AVG was a big pile of crap.
More viruses are designed to fuck with AVG than it can actually cure :/
CA might have been very good, but was a bitch to keep up to date and way
too expensive to be worthwhile.
--
Ceo-
Mike S.
wrote:
>This was out a month or so back. Found it interesting...
>
>http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
Thanks for the link. I always assumed Steam was going to be a huge
flop but it seems to be working.
Mark Morrison
wrote:
He would have to be, unless he was expecting them to post out the
manual, seperately ?
Pibbur Dragon
Nostromo skrev:
> Thus spake Pibbur Dragon <oopsREM...@tele2CA.PSno>, Sat, 18 Apr 2009
> 22:16:49 +0200, Anno Domini:
>
>> Nostromo skrev:
>>> Thus spake "Juarez" <jua...@mexico.invalid>, Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:47:49
>>> -0700, Anno Domini:
>>>
>>>> "Wolfing" <wolf...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:6054c051-5326-43d8...@v4g2000vba.googlegroups.com...
>>>>
>>>> Great, I start a thread on Steam rip off prices and you guys turn it into a
>>>> thread on Drakensang spoilers that I don't want to see.
>>> I'm actually more interested in LOTRO at the mo, if you want to go even
>>> further OT...? ;-p (just be grateful they're still talking about the same
>>> game & not the pre WWI Romanian Communist movement :).
>>>
>> Hey! What's wrong with the pre WW1 Romanian Communist movement? Their
>> role in the aquisition of Southern Dobrudja should not be underestimated!
>
> HAH! That was a trick statement - Romania wasn't Communist until after WWII
> (no movement even to speak of until 1944), so now we know you're a hack Pib!
What? Just because I make things up?
> ;-p (Some nice peaches came out of Dobrudja, but that's about it :)
>
*Homer voice on* ...peaches....
> It was in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) that Romania gained Southern
> Dobrudja (according to Wiki), but Marxism (in particular Bolshevism) wasn't
> an influence at all in pre WWI Romania...but I come from a neighbouring
> country with a long line of 'rewriting' history, so I could be way off the
> garden path ;). The period between the great wars was their most prosperous
> in modern times, until the Soviets dragged them out of neutrality & into the
> fray in 1940 & got their Communist claws into them after WWII. The rest, as
> they say, is history, but who knows what the truth of it actually is...?
> h.
I know what the truth is. At the very least I can make something up.
>>> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
>>> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
>>>
>> Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
>
> I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack!!!
>
Hasta la vista
---
Pibbur
Nostromo
03:37:05 +0200, Anno Domini:
>> HAH! That was a trick statement - Romania wasn't Communist until after WWII
>> (no movement even to speak of until 1944), so now we know you're a hack Pib!
>
>What? Just because I make things up?
People making shit up in csipgr??? Never!!!
>> ;-p (Some nice peaches came out of Dobrudja, but that's about it :)
>>
>
>*Homer voice on* ...peaches....
He, he, even though I detest the Simpsons, that's the exact same thing that
popped into my head when I wrote that lol!
>> It was in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) that Romania gained Southern
>> Dobrudja (according to Wiki), but Marxism (in particular Bolshevism) wasn't
>> an influence at all in pre WWI Romania...but I come from a neighbouring
>> country with a long line of 'rewriting' history, so I could be way off the
>> garden path ;). The period between the great wars was their most prosperous
>> in modern times, until the Soviets dragged them out of neutrality & into the
>> fray in 1940 & got their Communist claws into them after WWII. The rest, as
>> they say, is history, but who knows what the truth of it actually is...?
>> h.
>
>I know what the truth is. At the very least I can make something up.
Is that a corollary or a tautology? :-/
>>>> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
>>>> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
>>>>
>>> Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
>>
>> I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack!!!
>>
>Hasta la vista
Daymn. And here I thought someone really would really bite on the Romanian
Communism theme *sniff*. There need to be more politico-economic crpgs based
around Communism I reckon - plenty of Capitalism ones already. <G>
--
Nostromo
Scatter
> MJB: Not the 'right-click' per se. But the 'relax, let big daddy take care
> of you' attitude the corporations want to foist-on everybody. Plus I have
> my entire life on my PC - my business records, my financial records, my
> personal records, my family and my parent's official documents, photos, my
> own artwork and writings and design work. So the notion of letting
> somebody - anybody - have access through my firewall to my precious
> hard-drive for something as mundane as a 'game' just makes my skin crawl. I
> don't have any idea how old you might be but I'm fifty years old - and if
> 'steam' is somehow, anyhow, is compromised by some malicious chinese or
> russian or nigerian hacker / criminal network, I'm fuckin' toast...
I use two machines, one for entertainment and one for important stuff
(and that one doesn't run windows very often). It's a nice security
measure. A windows machine connected online is always vulnerable to a
certain extent as there are so many exploits targetting it.
As for steam - I succombed to it when I saw an orange box in a bargain
bin and have had a great time playing the games in it and various
mods. I have not however purchased anything by download (although I am
considering Vampire The Masquerade as it's unavailable to get any
other way around here).
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
>>This was out a month or so back. Found it interesting...
>>
>>http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
>
>Good link. I'm more likely to go to Stardock's Impulse first, though.
>
>In return, I will share with you some O'Shaughnessy:
>
>"We are the music makers,
>And we are the dreamers of dreams,
>Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
>And sitting by desolate streams;—
>World-losers and world-forsakers,
>On whom the pale moon gleams:
>Yet we are the movers and shakers
>Of the world for ever, it seems."
Very nice, though I prefer this one:
"Oompa Loompa doompadee doo
I've got another puzzle for you
Oompa Loompa doompadah dee
If you are wise you'll listen to me
What do you get from a glut of TV?
A pain in the neck and an IQ of three
Why don't you try simply reading a book?
Or could you just not bear to look?
You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no
You'll get no commercials
Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah
If you're not greedy you will go far
You will live in happiness too
Like the Oompa
Oompa Loompa doompadee do"
;-p.
--
Nostromo
Pibbur Dragon
> Thus spake Pibbur Dragon <oopsREM...@tele2CA.PSno>, Mon, 20 Apr 2009
> 03:37:05 +0200, Anno Domini:
>
>>> HAH! That was a trick statement - Romania wasn't Communist until after WWII
>>> (no movement even to speak of until 1944), so now we know you're a hack Pib!
>> What? Just because I make things up?
>
> People making shit up in csipgr??? Never!!!
>
You know, I don't really make things up, I just tell things like they
ought to be. With a slight Norwegian twist.
>>> ;-p (Some nice peaches came out of Dobrudja, but that's about it :)
>>>
>> *Homer voice on* ...peaches....
>
> He, he, even though I detest the Simpsons, that's the exact same thing that
> popped into my head when I wrote that lol!
>
Defiler! I can accept you minor disagreements with FO3. But this!
>>> It was in the peace Treaty of Bucharest (1913) that Romania gained Southern
>>> Dobrudja (according to Wiki), but Marxism (in particular Bolshevism) wasn't
>>> an influence at all in pre WWI Romania...but I come from a neighbouring
>>> country with a long line of 'rewriting' history, so I could be way off the
>>> garden path ;). The period between the great wars was their most prosperous
>>> in modern times, until the Soviets dragged them out of neutrality & into the
>>> fray in 1940 & got their Communist claws into them after WWII. The rest, as
>>> they say, is history, but who knows what the truth of it actually is...?
>>> h.
>> I know what the truth is. At the very least I can make something up.
>
> Is that a corollary or a tautology? :-/
>
Yes.
>>>>> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam rip instead
>>>>> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG> *duck*.
>>>>>
>>>> Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
>>> I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack!!!
>>>
>> Hasta la vista
>
> Daymn. And here I thought someone really would really bite on the Romanian
> Communism theme *sniff*. There need to be more politico-economic crpgs based
> around Communism I reckon - plenty of Capitalism ones already. <G>
>
Let's get Bethsoft on that project.
---
Pibbur
MJB
"Scatter" <us...@eeepc-r.domain_not_set.invalid> wrote in message
news:SCgHl.5178$y61....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>
> I use two machines, one for entertainment and one for important stuff
> (and that one doesn't run windows very often). It's a nice security
> measure. A windows machine connected online is always vulnerable to a
> certain extent as there are so many exploits targetting it.
MJB: Odd that I was sort-of planning on doing the same thing this winter -
before Fallout 3 and Empire Total War flamed-out IMHO. Considering my three
year old plus single core machine (with XP) is perfectly stable and useful
right now for everything EXCEPT running new(er) games, I was planning (and
accumulating parts) to build a new multi-core computer. I had originally
planned on building a multi-use computer but have sort of moved toward
constructing a game-only system using a LAN box. The small size of the box
is appealing, but I am plenty concerned about cooling - picking the right
components is obviously crucial.
>
> As for steam - I succombed to it when I saw an orange box in a bargain
> bin and have had a great time playing the games in it and various
> mods. I have not however purchased anything by download (although I am
> considering Vampire The Masquerade as it's unavailable to get any
> other way around here).
MJB: Guess I just don't play often enough (or with enough interest /
intensity) to justify 'on-line' connections when I want to play a computer
game. Everything I read about steam and the services it provides seems
geared towards creating a on-line community among a particular kind of
enthuasist (ie, young and undistracted) and facilitating multi-player
gaming in said on-line community. So if I've resisted the MMORPG bug so
far, I'm not certain I wished to be exposed to the 'steam virus'.
--
MJB
Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/
Sheldon England
> I've never found any malware from gamecopyworld, but I still run each nocd
> through virustotal just to be safe. Sometimes I just use an image of the
> disc instead.
>
Thanks for the pointer. I will investigate this.
I'm not sure if IU have space for disk images. Now that games are all 50
Gb, my drive space is limited for the first time and I have even started
removing games I don't play so often to make space for the new ones.
Much obliged, as always. :)
- Sheldon
Nostromo
>> He, he, even though I detest the Simpsons, that's the exact same thing
>> that
>> popped into my head when I wrote that lol!
>>
> Defiler! I can accept you minor disagreements with FO3. But this!
South park has the yanks taking the piss out of themselves much better &
less sanitised than The Simpsons ever will. And if they *really* want
someone to parody their culture fair & square, just ask the rest of the
world <G>.
>>> I know what the truth is. At the very least I can make something up.
>>
>> Is that a corollary or a tautology? :-/
>>
> Yes.
No.
>>>>>> Otherwise, I could suggest that you should have just got a Steam
>>>>>> rip instead
>>>>>> of letting them rip you, but that would just be rubbing it in <EG>
>>>>>> *duck*.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Where did you go? *looking around* Nostromo?
>>>> I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaack!!!
>>>>
>>> Hasta la vista
>>
>> Daymn. And here I thought someone really would really bite on the
>> Romanian
>> Communism theme *sniff*. There need to be more politico-economic crpgs
>> based
>> around Communism I reckon - plenty of Capitalism ones already. <G>
>>
> Let's get Bethsoft on that project.
Now YOU'RE just tryin to take the piss! ;-p
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
> On Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:48:49 +1000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, Nostromo
> wrote:
>
>> Thus spake Zaghadka <zagh...@hotmail.com>, Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:21:25 -0500,
>> Anno Domini:
>>
>>>> This was out a month or so back. Found it interesting...
>>>>
>>>> http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
>>> Good link. I'm more likely to go to Stardock's Impulse first, though.
>>>
>>> In return, I will share with you some O'Shaughnessy:
>>>
>>> "We are the music makers,
>>> And we are the dreamers of dreams,
>>> Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
>>> And sitting by desolate streams;—
>>> World-losers and world-forsakers,
>>> On whom the pale moon gleams:
>>> Yet we are the movers and shakers
>>> Of the world for ever, it seems."
>> Very nice, though I prefer this one:
>>
>>
>> Oompa Loompa Doompadee Dah
>> If you're not greedy you will go far
>> You will live in happiness too
>> Like the Oompa
>> Oompa Loompa doompadee do"
>>
>> ;-p.
>
But of course Monsieur Zaghadka! ;)
(it's scary how much trivia you can pull off Wiki in under 30 secs heh)
--
Nostromo
Juarez
news:K7OdnemProWGtnfU...@bt.com...
> Coma for 5yrs? Sorry man. Want me to list some other things we've all
> discussed a hundred times over those 5yrs to bring you up to speed?
>
Cunt, I've been reading/posting on all the Usenet gaming groups since 1993.
How about you?
Juarez
news:kfoku4dvhh2canb6t...@4ax.com...
> What kind of specious nonsense is that, dude? ;^)
Take it up with Walmart if you disagree.
Juarez
> Good link. I'm more likely to go to Stardock's Impulse first, though.
Not me. I'll take Gamer's Gate over both Stardock and Steam. Gamer's Gate no
longer requires any front end software to be installed.
Juarez
news:t0uiu4lff3vfrrqui...@4ax.com...
>Yes, I like a nice box & HC manual like the next guy, but I'm just
> as happy with an identical full colour PDF manual these days (I do most of
> my reading on a small 13" Thinkpad or my PDA these days anyway).
Guess I now need to get one of those too just so I can read the manual while
I learn to play the game. I have some games that are just too complex to
play without having a manual open in front of you.
Juarez
> just as much time & effort into for their labours of love (if not much
> more
> in many cases!) than the larger devs/publishers?
Yea, a game really has no justification for costing 3 - 4 times the amount I
pay for a DVD movie because the cost to produce a movie is well beyond the
cost of a game to produce.
Juarez
news:kajju4ha32r3fanu7...@4ax.com...
> Then why did you buy it off Steam in the first place ?
Impulse buy, no other reason. But that doesn't negate the fact the Steam
version is a rip off compared to what I can now buy the boxed version for.
Are you perfect and have never bought any product that you see a month later
selling elsewhere for much less? If you do do you blame yourself for getting
ripped off? If you do then you are a stupid cunt. Well, you're a cunt for
sure just due to the tone of your post but stupid is up for debate.
Juarez
> But was he aware of that lack when he made the decision to purchase at
> that price?
No I wasn't. I didn't even know if the game was going to be released to
retail where I live. There are plenty of games that are download only now
and not released to retail.
Juarez
> What Steam is great for is older games that are on sale, and games by
> smaller developers that I would never have heard of otherwise.
Which is what I thought Drakensang was.
Juarez
I see that game selling for cheap at retail stores quite often. I figured
it must be crap if the price dropped so quick.
Juarez
news:921bd3b1-0e26-4d33...@q33g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
On Apr 15, 4:56 pm, "Juarez" <jua...@mexico.invalid> wrote:
> I paid $29.99 USD a few weeks back but this week I see I could have bought
> it at Futureshop for $29.99 CAD and that includes a printed manual and a
> pretty box. FU Steam.
FS doesn't list a lot of games they sell on their web site. I think they
hired a monkey to design their site because their search engine really
sucks. They have Drakensang on their shelves.
Pibbur Dragon
Zaghadka skrev:
> On Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:12:00 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, Juarez wrote:
>> "MJB" <mrt...@OLDsguy.com> wrote in message
>> news:gsb0i...@news7.newsguy.com...
>>> I wonder how much 2d boy is making on every 5$ purchase of world of goo
>> >from steam?
>>
>> It is better to sell lots for cheap than very few at a high price.
>
> What kind of specious nonsense is that, dude? ;^)
>
> It is better to have sustainable, reasonably reliable profits than it is to
> depend upon unreliable flashes in the pan. That's the only rule I know.
>
> *Both* marketing models are valid to achieve those ends.
>
Jeff Vogel, the man behind Spiderweb's indie games has two interesting
blogs about this:
http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2009/04/indie-games-should-cost-more-pt-1.html
http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2009/04/indie-games-should-cost-more-pt-2.html
His main point is that if he lowered his prices he would sell more
games, but probably not enough to cover the lost revenue per item.
Sounds reasonable to me.
larsg
Juarez
> What kind of specious nonsense is that, dude? ;^)
I think this backs up my point very well.
http://www.edge-online.com/features/valve-are-games-too-expensive
On the PC-only Steam service, a wide range of prices are attached to games,
and attractive weekend deals throw more pricing variability into the mix.
Although Valve was initially afraid that volatility or variability in
pricing would confuse or anger its customers--or even cannibalize retail
sales--Newell says that was not all the case.
In fact, it dramatically increased sales. Illustrating his point, Newell
showed the results of a Left 4 Dead promotion Valve ran last weekend, which
cut the price of the game in half to $25. The discount (and promise of new
content for the game) rocketed sales of the game on Steam by 3,000 percent.
Pibbur Dragon
But a movie (including box office income) usualy sells far more than a game.
---
Pibbur
Michael Cecil
wrote:
Noob!
Oh, BTW, Plonk!
--
Michael Cecil
mac...@gmail.com
Nostromo
That's pretty impressive. Last count there were like 70,000 groups, with
15-20K+ very active.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
And a dvd movie has no justification in costing more than a dollar or
two to rent & probably about $5 to buy. But here we are...& we're the
ones who let it get this way. DVDs are the single largest entertainment
industry scam of the past 20 years. Remember when all the sheep rushed
out to 'refresh' their VHS collections with shiny new DVDs, at twice the
price per movie lol? Those indestructible DVDs that are now throwing up
CRC/data read errors all over the place after 10+ years lol.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
Get a colour printer...? :-/
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
I think we all know that there's more than one set of genitalia flapping
in the wind here. Question is, male or female...? ;-p
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
But his prices ARE reasonable to begin with (being half the price of a
commercial title or less), especially considering how much ROI & replay
value a gamer gets playing them (if you're not a graphics whore that is :).
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
And we're back to Capitalism, usury & those other evil little greedy
things that inflate the 'value' of goods far beyond what's reasonable &
rational. And as consumers we just keep paying, while wondering why the
world economy is imploding & Britney is still making millions off
royalties & CEOs of bailed out companies are still being paid $million+
bonuses for the great work they've done. Oh Brave New World! (actually,
it's getting pretty old really).
--
Nostromo
Help Desk
news:gso7di$7mb$3...@news.motzarella.org...
> That's pretty impressive. Last count there were like 70,000 groups, with
> 15-20K+ very active.
>
> --
> Nostromo
I said "gaming" groups, dipshit. There are only 7 top tier gaming groups
worth my time. Well, 6 really because the Adventure group is only an
occasional interest.
Help Desk
news:49ef699b$0$4356$c83e...@anchorman-read.tele2.net...
> His main point is that if he lowered his prices he would sell more games,
> but probably not enough to cover the lost revenue per item. Sounds
> reasonable to me.
>
> larsg
Valve disagrees and their data proves he is wrong too. The designers and
publishers at eSim may make a good tank sim but marketing wizards they are
not.
Help Desk
> Get a colour printer...? :-/
You git. I have both a B&W laser printer and a decent color printer. What
your pee brain is forgetting is that ink for computer printers is the most
expensive liquid known to man.
Help Desk
> But a movie (including box office income) usualy sells far more than a
> game.
I haven't seen the data that proves that but I do know that the gaming
business makes more money then the movie business.