NS2 out as DVDrom

Lumier · January 2008

<div class="IPBDescription">for 1 purchase option</div>so i was thinking that hopefully it comes as 3th party DVD game like few others are (DoD ,RO ) cause some people still dont have credit cards or paypals and still want to play ns2. i red that it comes to steam for purchase but thats my point easy to earn few extra cash if sell it bit higher thatn steam at least im buying <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
well anyway what do others think??? and sos my bad english

CanadianWolverine · January 2008

I think Steam is breaking new ground, have you seen most of the games they are getting on there now? Quite the impressive gallery of games now.

I think retail is a sad excuse to have other people's fingers in your pie. Retail IMHO appeals to those who don't game in the first place and results in titles like Barbie games being best sellers at censorship crazy (not to mention deplorable business practices) outlets like Walmart. I like the way Valve treats their employees and our games better. IMHO, Steam is the iTunes of games, especially since games have been mainstream for a while now.

corpsman · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I think Steam is breaking new ground, have you seen most of the games they are getting on there now? Quite the impressive gallery of games now.</div>

Direct download sites do the same thing. They haven't broken any ground...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>I think retail is a sad excuse to have other people's fingers in your pie.</div>

I don't remember seeing cheaper prices on Steam then where I shop [online].

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>Retail IMHO appeals to those who don't game in the first place</div>

Correct. Because before there was Steam noone played games. Ever. In fact, I don't even think games existed before Steam... I might be wrong, but Ill have to get back to that one... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/nerd-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::nerdy::" border="0" alt="nerd-fix.gif" />

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>...and results in titles like Barbie games being best sellers at censorship crazy (not to mention deplorable business practices) outlets like Walmart.</div>

Have you seen the sales numbers for titles like The Sims and "Barbie"? Those are high because of a long list of gaming changes made over the last "few" years. Males between the ages of 14 and 25 are no longer the only people who play dude. And Walmart carries those because [like Blockbuster] they are in America, where everything has a commity assigned to it, and everything which isn't ran through our new "2008 politically correct machine" isn't good for young people. They sell it because just like Americas new backbone, they are WEAK!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>IMHO, Steam is the iTunes of games, especially since games have been mainstream for a while now.</div>

"...since games have been mainstream for a while now." ...huh? And <i><b>your</b></i> a gamer??

whocareswc · January 2008

nice flame...

it wasted a good 3 minutes of my work day

Harimau · January 2008

heh.

i'm of the same attitude as whocareswc.

realistically, i think that steam is breaking new ground, but it (or similar platforms, and it's not even just PC - for steam-like distribution, there's xbox live and sony's online distribution system) won't be the standard for game sales/distribution for a few years to come. so for now, retail is still <b>in.</b>
but realistically, for THIS game, for a game that's to be played over steam, using an online connection, that caters to and aims towards players of steam games - it makes sense to sell it and allow it to be downloaded over steam, with retail being a secondary (at least time-wise) consideration.

CanadianWolverine · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(corpsman @ Jan 22 2008, 09:24 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668172"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>...</div>

I could think of a lot of different responses to your post, but seeing as you have already been called on being a flamer, I'll clarify only a few points:

In my own experience, those other download sites for games don't hold a candle to the radiant experience I have had with Steam.

And by games being mainstream, I mean as more than just something referred to when there is violence in high schools and given air time on things like Much Music or its own tv channel aka G4. Gaming has not always been vogue and you know it: how long ago was it that those who played games could only possibly be in the eyes of the media children or look like they are an supporting role in Revenge of the Nerds?

I stand by what I said, Unknown Worlds made a good call going with Steam over retail.

locallyunscene · January 2008

I'd like to see an NS2 DVD but really it just takes money out of the devs pocket if they sell at the same price as on Steam. What would be profit is tied up in shipping, packaging, quality control testing(for discs), etc. It's feasible, just not as profitable.

invader Zim · January 2008

i tollerate steam but i dont like it much, cos it crashes out and updates badly and locks me out sometimes, it doesnt like letting me play in offline mode, and it takes control away from the user and gives it to valve. If valve decieded to create steam mk2 and get rid of the steam we know they could make alot of games redundant. but i spose its supposed to be secure, and has its own section of the market. If i had a choice between a disk i could buy and downloading id go for the disk. I like to buy something that exists in the real world as well as data. I always buy music cds over downloads (but thats partly due to the quality of midi files over mp3 compression).

CanadianWolverine · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(invader Zim @ Jan 23 2008, 11:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668218"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>i tollerate steam but i dont like it much, cos it crashes out and updates badly and locks me out sometimes, it doesnt like letting me play in offline mode, and it takes control away from the user and gives it to valve. If valve decieded to create steam mk2 and get rid of the steam we know they could make alot of games redundant. but i spose its supposed to be secure, and has its own section of the market. If i had a choice between a disk i could buy and downloading id go for the disk. I like to buy something that exists in the real world as well as data. I always buy music cds over downloads (but thats partly due to the quality of midi files over mp3 compression).</div>

Did you know Steam lets you back up your games to a disk, whether that be a CD burn, DVD burn, or whatever other source of storage you use.

I haven't had the same problems as you are describing, if I had I would probably feel the same as you about it. Were those problems recent or a while ago? I know I had problems like that a few years ago.

digz · January 2008

I hope NS2 sticks with digital distribution via steam, or uses the valve approach on shelf. I'd hate to see this game pirated by customers who -would- pay to play it, but would rather steal it, which I think any other form of media makes easier. If steam is required to play the game it offers a level of rights management most software doesn't have.

obsid · January 2008

While I think steam is a good choice because it will give them a higher share of the returns, I dont think it has to be the only choice. But dont think for a moment that steam makes games harder to steal, you can as we speak find torrents for HL2 and EP1 and EP2 and portal and anything else on steam. (Id give you the links but I dont think the mods would like that much).

digz · January 2008

Really? I was under the impression it was near impossible to pirate those games because of the dependency on steam?

PseudoKnight · January 2008

I did a small poll at a non-steam oriented site and 35% preferred digital distribution over retail assuming the game was available on either and on their favorite digi-distro service. However, I did notice that people who generally like digital distribution tend to buy more games than those who don't. I haven't done a poll on it yet, but that's my impression. It's definetly gaining ground and now that Steam is mature, it's starting to become mainstream. As a fan of digital distribution, I consider retail purchases antiquated.

Right now I'm downloading an update to a game through a website and it's annoying. It's amazing how spoiled I have become with the ease-of-use Steam has introduced. It's becoming to the point where I will seriously consider not buying a game at all unless it's on Steam or Gametap. If a game has good Steam integration, it's hard NOT to buy it. I have a friend who has a hard time not buying those big publisher packs or the sub $10 games. He even gifted me Geometry Wars for Christmas. (which brings up another point -- it introduces new ways to buy or demo games with free weekends, guest passes, and gifting... and in the future, subscriptions)

PseudoKnight · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(digz @ Jan 24 2008, 05:55 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668330"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Really? I was under the impression it was near impossible to pirate those games because of the dependency on steam?</div>They're still pirated, but sales are higher because of how easy it is to purchase and download a game through Steam. (and in the case of VALVe games, the impression of an investment in free mods and confidence in quality) The same thing is happening with music downloads. The rate of purchases is increasing as they make it easier to download and use the songs across all their devices. (elmination of DRM being a huge component of this, which doesn't apply to Steam for the most part because you can only play those games on computers that can support Steam anyway)

schkorpio · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lumier @ Jan 23 2008, 12:25 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668095"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>some people still dont have credit cards or paypals and still want to play ns2. i red that it comes to steam for purchase but thats my point easy to earn few extra cash if sell it</div>

well i say those people should get with the times. unless you live in a 3rd world country and there is no such thing as a bank. i guess there are those people who don't have credit cards because they are under 18, but why not ask your parents? or get your parents to get a temp card for a one of use if they don't feel safe on the net. I'm pretty sure you can still get debit cards if you are like 15 and are working at maccas or something.

(oh and as if you will want to sell ns2) if you do, you can set it up as a seperate steam account, different from all of your other games.

think outside the box a little and ns2 will be yours <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />

lol your english is better than some people here even though its their first language <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /> btw

Scythe · January 2008

Introversion (The makers of Uplink, Darwinia, Defcon) now distribute their games for download from their website, over steam, and they ship boxes to stores directly. They have the boxes printed out for them and they have them folded, glued and filled by hand. I'm not sure how these sales compare to digital distribution, I imagine the margins would be a lot thinner, but having stuff on shelves is a powerful force.

--Scythe--

Harimau · January 2008

What sort of force, Scythe? I guess it could be a form of advertisement. It's easy to pick up a box, because the name and cover interested you, look at the back, see the price, and see if it's worth getting - or at least you'll know it exists now, so you might look up more info for it elsewhere.

Is bopo compatible with Steam? My friend was making a number of online purchases with his bopo 'credit card'. If it is, then that's a solution to the 'no credit card' dilemma.

<a href="http://www.bopo.com.au" target="_blank">bopo</a> "my money, my way" is an Australian service. "bopo cards are Australia's first fully functional prepaid Visa card. bopo offers the convenience of a credit card but is not linked to a bank account."
I imagine though, that there'd be a similar service available in other countries.

schkorpio · January 2008

well there is also an option of printing NS2 gift vouchers, kind of like those itunes istore things you see near counters. That way it could remain in the store, you pay in the store, then enter an unlock code to redeem it and download ns2 over steam <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />

Scythe · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(schkorpio @ Jan 27 2008, 07:59 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668538"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>well there is also an option of printing NS2 gift vouchers, kind of like those itunes istore things you see near counters. That way it could remain in the store, you pay in the store, then enter an unlock code to redeem it and download ns2 over steam <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" /></div>

Not a bad idea, but counter-top space is probably one of the most coveted areas for game distributors. I also suspect that a tiny slip of paper that's functionally a game would feel a bit cheap and flimsy.

What about making it a step closer to an itunes-like arrangement and have just a credit-card-shaped thing with a scratch-off on the back to reveal a key you type into steam. There'd be some funky Cory art on the front. Man, that's something I'd stick to my monitor. Or possibly a normal-game-box-sized piece of thick card that unfolds to reveal the code on the inside, along with more awesome art. It'd be shrink-wrapped to prevent peekers, obviously.

Here's some quick credit-card-shaped things I threw together. This'd be the front side, the back would have all the fine print and the scratch-off thing.

<img src="http://tjhowse.com/nscc/cc1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

<img src="http://tjhowse.com/nscc/cc2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

<img src="http://tjhowse.com/nscc/cc3.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Damn those look cool.

--Scythe--

P.S. The hive one didn't turn out very well considering Cory's concept is more of a vertically-oriented picture. Doesn't lend well to the credit-card shape.

schkorpio · January 2008

heh awesome sauce! i have a credit card, but i'd buy one of those for novelties sake <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />

N_3 · January 2008

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scythe @ Jan 27 2008, 04:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1668592"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Not a bad idea, but counter-top space is probably one of the most coveted areas for game distributors. I also suspect that a tiny slip of paper that's functionally a game would feel a bit cheap and flimsy.</div>

didn't wow sell it's pre-paid card things by packing them in boxes? could work just the same

Harimau · January 2008

lol those pre-paid card concepts look pretty slick.

obsid · January 2008

HL2, and CS source and all the other games on steam also sell in stores. They just have the cache files on the CD so you dont have to DL it. The problem is the higher % that the distributer and seller take, but you know if the game costs more in the stores then online, unknown worlds makes the same amount of money.

NS2 out as DVDrom

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