Dragon Age 2 - What Went Wrong @ RPS

[Brother None]

Man, Dartagnan, does Direct2Drive pay you for this? They better

 

[DArtagnan]

Man, Dartagnan, does Direct2Drive pay you for this? They better

Valve pay you, so it seems only fair

 

[Brother None]

Nah. I'm a notorious Valve hater. Also I been in this biz for years now and I've yet to be bribed. It's kind of insulting.

I use any and all DD services whenever they offer extremely delectable deals, and Steam is better at that than D2D (like today, they have GTA IV complete for 10 bucks. Great, only it is NA-only. Typical of D2D). I think I'm not the only one. And I think the general preference to Steam stems more from that than from any perceived laziness or ignorance. Like I said, I use em all. But if I want to buy a game new or outside of special sales time, you betcha I don't use any DD at all because they are very rarely cheapest. Rather than stick to one service or retail, I scour, and 9 out of 10 retail/webshops is cheaper.

 

[DArtagnan]

D2D (like today, they have GTA IV complete for 10 bucks. Great, only it is NA-only.

I can get GTA IV complete for 5.31 British Pounds (6 Euros) - which is incredibly cheap.

I guess you're based in America but not North America, then?

http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/genre.aspx?gid=495

I recommend using a proxy server

Steam has it for 35 Euros

Nah. I'm a notorious Valve hater. Also I been in this biz for years now and I've yet to be bribed. It's kind of insulting.

I use any and all DD services whenever they offer extremely delectable deals, and Steam is better at that than D2D (like today, they have GTA IV complete for 10 bucks. Great, only it is NA-only. Typical of D2D). I think I'm not the only one. And I think the general preference to Steam stems more from that than from any perceived laziness or ignorance. Like I said, I use em all. But if I want to buy a game new or outside of special sales time, you betcha I don't use any DD at all because they are very rarely cheapest. Rather than stick to one service or retail, I scour, and 9 out of 10 retail/webshops is cheaper.

I don't stick to D2D - I use them all, even Steam on very rare occasions.

The reason I'm talking about D2D is that it's consistently been the cheapest for me, where I used to rely on Gamersgate for that.

Not a big difference, but I naturally go for the lowest price.

I have no special love for any kind of retailer - online or not, and I'm just talking from my own experience.

Where are you based?

Because if it's EU - I'm surprised you can find better deals for new games than D2D - and I'd love to hear about where.

 

[Brother None]

I guess you're based in America but not North America, then?

That's weird, I could've sworn it listed NA only. Oh well. I already own it, by the way. I think I picked up GTA IV when it was 5 bucks in summer sale on Steam. A year ago? Whaaaaaaat. *bro fistbumps self*

Also that list of countries for GTA IV again shows what I originally meant by sneering at D2D, which was not about pricing, but rather about their half-assed approach to global coverage. They were the absolute worst in regional restrictions. Well, maybe tied with Impulse.

Because if it's EU - I'm surprised you can find better deals for new games than D2D - and I'd love to hear about where.

Wait, new games? I don't buy new games. If you mean new-ish, then budgetgaming.be. And other specific consumer-search sites. I'm sure you have 'em wherever you live. The advantage of many different retailers are with the good odds that one of them is marking the game down. That happens more actively amongst retailers, including webshops, than on digital download anyway. I have a handful of specific shops I like to check up on too.

Lemme snoop D2D's recent release list... right. Take DAII for UK shoppers (which oddly enough I couldn't find on .eu but can find on .co.uk). It is 28 pounds marked down on D2D.co.uk from a standard 35 GBP. It is 25 GBP on gameplay.co.uk, or 25.50 GBP on Amazon, both free delivery. In fact the UK specifically has some snazzy webshops, all with free shipping. Dutch webshops...slightly less friendly, but the cheapest webshop still has it at the same price as D2D's marked down price. Albeit without including shipping.

Other examples? Crysis 2 is 28 marked down from 35 GBP on D2D, yet budgetgaming lists prices starting at 29.99 EUR. Homefront? 28 GBP marked down from 35, yet Game.co.uk has the special edition for 25. AssCred Brotherhood? 30 GBP on D2D, 20 GBP on game.co.uk (have I mentioned game.co.uk is really good?), making it about 28 EUR including shipping for me.

D2D probably has the various webshops beat on some games, and I'm sure it undersells Steam, but Steam doesn't interest me for normal releases and D2D doesn't really either. It's hard for digital download to keep up with the various discounts and mark downs being flung about by webshops simply because there's so many of them. But what DD does better than webshops is really big, bottom-of-the-barrel sales. Flinging GTA IV complete out there for 10 bucks. Offering King Arthur for 2.50 (I think that was Impulse but I forget). Batman AA for what was it, 7.50, on Steam. That's where the value comes in for DD, but for regular shopping, I'll stick to retail.

 

[DArtagnan]

That's weird, I could've sworn it listed NA only. Oh well. I already own it, by the way. I think I picked up GTA IV when it was 5 bucks in summer sale on Steam. A year ago? Whaaaaaaat. *bro fistbumps self*

It's NA-only probably on the .com site - which is the American version.

Also that list of countries for GTA IV again shows what I originally meant by sneering at D2D, which was not about pricing, but rather about their half-assed approach to global coverage. They were the absolute worst in regional restrictions. Well, maybe tied with Impulse.

I've encountered no regional restrictions, so maybe that's why it hasn't been a problem to me.

Wait, new games? I don't buy new games. If you mean new-ish, then budgetgaming.be. And other specific consumer-search sites. I'm sure you have 'em wherever you live. The advantage of many different retailers are with the good odds that one of them is marking the game down. That happens more actively amongst retailers, including webshops, than on digital download anyway. I have a handful of specific shops I like to check up on too.

Lemme snoop D2D's recent release list… right. Take DAII for UK shoppers (which oddly enough I couldn't find on .eu but can find on .co.uk). It is 28 pounds marked down on D2D.co.uk from a standard 35 GBP. It is 25 GBP on gameplay.co.uk, or 25.50 GBP on Amazon, both free delivery. In fact the UK specifically has some snazzy webshops, all with free shipping. Dutch webshops…slightly less friendly, but the cheapest webshop still has it at the same price as D2D's marked down price. Albeit without including shipping.

I guess I should mention that I don't use regular retailers - because I hate waiting for shipping and relying on delivery to be on time.

Are they really shipping free outside of UK? Because that can't be particularly profitable.

In any case, when a few specific games are very slightly cheaper - it's not really enough of an incentive for me to bother with the shipping hassle.

Besides, I have the 15% off from D2D.

D2D probably has the various webshops beat on some games, and I'm sure it undersells Steam, but Steam doesn't interest me for normal releases and D2D doesn't really either. It's hard for digital download to keep up with the various discounts and mark downs being flung about by webshops simply because there's so many of them. But what DD does better than webshops is really big, bottom-of-the-barrel sales. Flinging GTA IV complete out there for 10 bucks. Offering King Arthur for 2.50 (I think that was Impulse but I forget). Batman AA for what was it, 7.50, on Steam. That's where the value comes in for DD, but for regular shopping, I'll stick to retail.

I can understand if you're not really into new games and you don't mind waiting for shipment, that you'd want to save a few bucks.

I was really only talking about online sites, which is where I can't find anything cheaper. I should probably have made that clearer.

I'm sure there are local retailers in Denmark with the occasionally slightly cheaper game - but I hate waiting for shipment and dealing with DVDs, and I'm especially impatient with new games.

 

[Dasale]

D2D people are a bit dumb, they show you the products then after say you it's forbidden, well done!

 

[Brother None]

I think D2D set out to prove you wrong D. It's got ME2 at 50% off, for 9.99 on the main site (which is ok, I bought it for 10 EUR half a year ago, or summat, maybe 15), but then 17 GBP on .co.uk. That's almost three times as expensive. I know I just said I don't get complaining about USD = EUR policies, but that? That's just...wow.

 

[Dasale]

Well I banned D2D from my sites since some time so I hadn't noticed they had now a uk counterpart. Well I won't be confident in them for following well non AAA games, just a check, Anomaly Warzone Earth, nothing on d2d uk. Gamersgate is currently unbeatable on this point of view and I lost confidence in Steam and indie.

 

[DArtagnan]

I think D2D set out to prove you wrong D. It's got ME2 at 50% off, for 9.99 on the main site (which is ok, I bought it for 10 EUR half a year ago, or summat, maybe 15), but then 17 GBP on .co.uk. That's almost three times as expensive. I know I just said I don't get complaining about USD = EUR policies, but that? That's just…wow.

Hehe, that's a nice way of saying YOU want to prove me wrong. I get that all the time, for some reason.

Why else would you spend time finding exceptions to the rule?

Actually, Steam has it for 20 euros and Gamersgate has it for 20 euros - so D2D remains the cheapest at this point.

But you're right, this is an odd exception as it's supposed to be on sale - and I don't understand why .com is that much cheaper. First time I see that, actually. Maybe there's a US thing going on with Bio? Maybe it's related to the recent "free" version of ME2.

In any case, it's not a new or even new-ish game - and for that kind of game, I have no real idea about D2D versus the others. This is primarily about newly released games - and that's where D2D has been consistent for me.

It's not like I've done amazing detective work on it, though. I'm just going by the ~10 games or so I've bought so far. I compare across 4-5 online sites, and D2D has come out the winner in most cases. That's all I'm saying, really. If people want to ignore that kind of thing - I have no issue with that.

But it doesn't change that they're cheaper than other online sites, in general, for an EU customer. But I'm talking about new and new-ish games, and if you're into the less prominent indie titles or similar - it's definitely not the right place. Gamersgate is much better for that, in terms of what they carry - and gog.com is the best for really old games.

I'd never deny that you'd be able to find exceptions, so I'm not sure what your point really is.

But if I said that they'd be the cheapest in all cases now and in the future - I'm sorry.

Whether you believe it or not, my single motivation about this - has been to make it clear to people that there are alternatives to Steam - and that they'll often find the games (much) cheaper elsewhere. I really hate their kind of greed, and I'm surprised you're letting your eagerness to prove me wrong get in the way of the fact that D2D REALLY is quite cheap in the way I've said with or without exceptions. Aren't you a journalist or something?

Obviously, the people behind D2D are businessmen, and I have no illusions they're not shock full of vices and flaws. But at least their EU prices are not blatantly insane and overtly greedy. I like that aspect, at least.

Most might already know alternatives - but I still suspect there are people who don't really invest in finding the cheapest site, and people who're not really aware of what's out there.

You can point out exceptions until you're blue in the face, but as long as the message is received and people are helped finding cheaper alternatives - there's been a point.

 

[Dasale]

Honestely I don't think you have even quoted the Steam sales the last week or last two week of past year.

I just check d2d, euro section, not uk, not even a single sale on top page. Steam at least is doing the bowl super edition big sale plus many significant sales on indies.

Compare with d2d EU:
http://www.direct2drive.eu/NavigationResults.aspx?dimName1=euonsale&headerText=On+Sale&
Honestly it's ridiculous, both Steam and GamersGate do better. That said I'll change my behavior and will try check sometimes d2d eu. (but that they do a eu section and a uk section, is a very very bad penalty point against them).

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Gamesload (seemingly only active in and for Germany ???) : http://www.gamesload.de/

This is the site that seemingly had that infamous exclusive publishing deal with ValuSoft, being sub-licensed from D3Publisher, the publisher for Puzzle Quest,
resulting in Puzzle Quest being ONLY available as a digital download within whole Germany for 1 year !
AFTER THAT the retail package came out - looong after the hype was gone and they just couldn't get any profits from retail anymore, imho ...

 

[Brother None]

Why else would you spend time finding exceptions to the rule?

What? You asked me to earlier in the thread, and this one just jumped up today and I posted it on GB. As far as I know we were just having friendly conversation on game deals, dude. Well, except for your abrasive attitude towards non-D2D users.
Man, you make it sound like some kind of vendetta. I don't like D2D's lazy attitude towards localization. I never claimed they were beaten by other DD services in pricing. As for "spend time finding exceptions"…huh? All I did was click open their recent release list and compare single-player titles I knew against budgetgaming, and they all came up as available cheaper by way of webshops. That's hardly scrounging for exceptions.

Actually, Steam has it for 20 euros and Gamersgate has it for 20 euros - so D2D remains the cheapest at this point.

By 70 cents, for one day only. And I bought it for 10-15 Euros ages ago, so once again DD remains not the cheapest option as per usual

I'd never deny that you'd be able to find exceptions, so I'm not sure what your point really is.

My point? I've just been replying to your claims, really, not trying to make a point. If I wanted to make any point, it's that if you have to take care of your gaming budget like I do, you're best off checking amongst many DD services and webshops, and not preferring one to all others.

If D2D is better at one specific situation (new releases in the EU) in general, that's cool. I haven't been denying that. Just realize many of us don't buy new releases. Or when we do buy them by cheaper ways, webshops or likely deals. Dismissing everyone in the EU who doesn't prefer D2D as suffering under "ignorance and apathy" is a bit much. You seem to really dislike Steam. That's fine. But as I mentioned, I use pretty much every DD retailer out there, and Steam consistently comes out on top in catalog (except indies for which you gotta prefer GG) and in sales, which is where I buy most my games.

Aren't you a journalist or something?

The heck does that have to do with anything? I'm not a games shop reviewer. Besides, over at GB we just love deals, any deals. Regardless of retailer.

…Actually come to think of it, that above deal is weird again. Buy it from .com, available worldwide, and it's 45 USD, buy it from .co.uk, available worldwide, and it's 51.50 USD, buy it from .eu, it's 45 EUR, a whopping 64 USD. Crazy. I have to wonder, D, when you buy from the .co.uk site do you regularly check against the .com prize? It seems worthwhile if it's not region-locked.

I just check d2d, euro section, not uk, not even a single sale on top page.

I think something is wrong with the .eu site. It fails to list a lot of titles listed on .co.uk that are available in many Eurozone countries, it doesn't list any deals. Just another bit of D2D's worldwide release issues. Use .co.uk instead.

 

[DArtagnan]

What? You asked me to earlier in the thread, and this one just jumped up today and I posted it on GB. As far as I know we were just having friendly conversation on game deals, dude. Well, except for your abrasive attitude towards non-D2D users.

I'm neither friendly nor unfriendly - I just try to stick to the point. But I'm relatively amiable as a person, though my approach to debates is probably not a good demonstration. I find emotional bias gets in the way of my point - so I like to stay neutral.

What are you imagining I have against non-D2D users? I'm trying to point out the advantages of D2D for the sake of non-D2D users.

You're probably referring to what I've said about Steam, which has nothing to do with being abrasive against anyone, except perhaps Valve.

Man, you make it sound like some kind of vendetta. I don't like D2D's lazy attitude towards localization. I never claimed they were beaten by other DD services in pricing. As for "spend time finding exceptions"…huh? All I did was click open their recent release list and compare single-player titles I knew against budgetgaming, and they all came up as available cheaper by way of webshops. That's hardly scrounging for exceptions.

You can be friendly and want to prove me wrong at the same time, can't you?

You're taking the time to post here with exceptions - which tells me you have something you want to prove. Especially since you're not talking about new games, which is all I've been talking about.

By 70 cents, for one day only. And I bought it for 10-15 Euros ages ago, so once again DD remains not the cheapest option as per usual

As per usual? Are you still forgetting that it's not a new game we're talking about?

My point? I've just been replying to your claims, really, not trying to make a point. If I wanted to make any point, it's that if you have to take care of your gaming budget like I do, you're best off checking amongst many DD services and webshops, and not preferring one to all others.

We already went through it - and you're the one going at it again. I'm not preferring one to all - as l said twice already - I'm just going for the cheapest version at all times. This is how I've come to my conclusions about new releases on D2D.

If D2D is better at one specific situation (new releases in the EU) in general, that's cool. I haven't been denying that. Just realize many of us don't buy new releases. Or when we do buy them by cheaper ways, webshops or likely deals. Dismissing everyone in the EU who doesn't prefer D2D as suffering under "ignorance and apathy" is a bit much. You seem to really dislike Steam. That's fine. But as I mentioned, I use pretty much every DD retailer out there, and Steam consistently comes out on top in catalog (except indies for which you gotta prefer GG) and in sales, which is where I buy most my games.

Ehm, I think you're confused now. Maybe you should go back and read again.

I'm not saying NOT using D2D is ignorant.

I'm saying I can only come up with those explanations for people using Steam as their primary DD - if they're from EU. This is with sales excepted. Unless there is some other explanation for going for the most expensive retailer, I'd have to call it ignorance. I used to be ignorant like that myself, before I bothered to check around. This is what I'm trying to rectify for people who're still bent on Steam.

When I say ignorance is a possibility - it's not meant as an attack on people. To me, it's the natural state of any man to be ignorant about most things - and it shouldn't be taken personally. Some people, I know, like to believe they know everything from the outset - but such a position makes things harder to learn, so I personally just accept that I'm ignorant about a LOT of things.

Lots of people are buying new games from Steam as if they didn't know how expensive it is compared to other distributors.

But if you agree D2D is generally the cheapest for new releases for an EU customer, then there's really nothing more to say. We agree at last

The heck does that have to do with anything? I'm not a games shop reviewer. Besides, over at GB we just love deals, any deals. Regardless of retailer.

D2D is cheap exactly like I've described from the start. When it comes to new games and when you compare to other DD - not webshops with shipping and time delays.

…Actually come to think of it, that above deal is weird again. Buy it from .com, available worldwide, and it's 45 USD, buy it from .co.uk, available worldwide, and it's 51.50 USD, buy it from .eu, it's 45 EUR, a whopping 64 USD. Crazy. I have to wonder, D, when you buy from the .co.uk site do you regularly check against the .com prize? It seems worthwhile if it's not region-locked.

I do that most of the time, yeah.

For new games it seems very even in terms of price - for some reason.

But lately, I haven't bothered to check .com - as my experience has been that most cheap offers are region locked - and I rarely go for sales in any case. I'm mostly about new games, since I have a ton of old games in my backlog - and I don't really need more. Unless they're REALLY cheap - and for that, I tend to use gog.com - like when I bought Realms of the Haunting a few days ago.

 

[Brother None]

But if you agree D2D is generally the cheapest for new releases for an EU customer, then there's really nothing more to say. We agree at last

I never disagreed. But you're right, I've been arguing about fringe details, not with your core point. Still, together we've kept this thread up top for days now, which can only raise awareness about alternatives to Steam. So

 

[skavenhorde]

The sooner D2D dies a horrible death the better. I can't stand that place. Once I tried to buy a game for my sister through them and couldn't do it because of my location.

Steam, Impulse and GamersGate are leagues better than that company.

 

[DoctorNarrative]

The sooner D2D dies a horrible death the better. I can't stand that place. Once I tried to buy a game for my sister through them and couldn't do it because of my location.

Steam, Impulse and GamersGate are leagues better than that company.

Every company follows regional release restrictions, so I don't know why that's a slight on D2D specifically. Go to the Steam forums and read the endless bitching of people in regions they don't often sell to. Impulse is supposed to be the worst when it comes to not getting foreign sale rights.

 

[Maylander]

This is like Apple vs Microsoft all over again..

 

[skavenhorde]

The simple fact is that I have had little to no problems buying games from Steam, Impulse or GamersGate while D2D has been annoying to deal with. I've never bought a game through them. Not from lack of trying, but because they don't want my business. That's fine with me because I have four other online dealers who will deal with me. I forgot about GoG earlier. I never had one problem with them.

It's funny you mentioned Impulse because I've bought a lot of games through them and hardly ever had a region restriction. Sure, I've had the odd game that wasn't available worldwide, but nothing like D2D.

Not sure what games these people are bitching about on Steam because my library is quite full. I hardly ever had a game that I was interested in region locked. The only game I ever wanted and couldn't get through Steam or Impulse was X-Com. So I bought it through GamersGate who didn't have it region locked.

@Maylander It would be like Apple vs Microsoft if Apple couldn't to sell their product to certain areas.

 

[DArtagnan]

I'm certainly detecting a somewhat strong hatred towards the cheaper of the two, but to each his own.

The only time I've had regional issues with D2D has been when I used .com - as I wasn't aware of the EU specific URL.

But, as long as there is awareness of possible alternatives - I'm happy.