Valve explains Orange box deactivations

Dano said:
The 'issue' is that it is cheaper to buy it somewhere else. wether you think it's a big or small issue is neither here nor there, it is however an issue that many feel warrants vocal or fiscal action.
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No.. i believe the issue here is that people feel they are exempt to the rules. And they got punished for it. And what "i think" is my opinion, which i am perfectly entitled to share, as are you, and thus it is very "here" and very "there". thanks.
 
I can't play any steam games at the moment as my steam updater trys to run everytime i open it. Im at uni so the ports are blocked on the network, so it spaz's out and closes down.
Complete mess tbh
 
I'm talking about ripoff britain in general, about how prices are always inflated here. Oh and show me the laws as you put it that valve have enforced?

Yes its a low price to start, but in the global economy that we live are we not free to buy at the cheapest we can? Businesses do, governments do. If a business can get things done cheaper elsewhere, they'll move that business and then ship goods back to the country where they originated from. But you're saying we cant do the same? Yes this is off topic, but its people like you who are happy to be shafted that mean the UK charges higher for practically everything.

I havent even bought the orange box, but if people want to get it the cheapest they can then good luck to them.
 
DampCat said:
No.. i believe the issue here is that people feel they are exempt to the rules. And they got punished for it. And what "i think" is my opinion, which i am perfectly entitled to share, as are you, and thus it is very "here" and very "there". thanks.
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Show me this rule where it says you cant buy games from abroad?
 
DampCat said:
No.. i believe the issue here is that people feel they are exempt to the rules. And they got punished for it. And what "i think" is my opinion, which i am perfectly entitled to share, as are you, and thus it is very "here" and very "there". thanks.
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Ok, so were twisting stuff now are we?

Also, as a side note, I never said you were not entitled to your opinions, I merely pointed out that it has no real bearing on how others feel about the cost difference.
 
lunarwolf said:
What if I live in Thailand then move to another country, then I can't play anymore. This is absurd control.
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If you activate the game in Thailand before you move then i would assume that you are ok.
Same for everyone.
Activate it in the region you purchase it and there should be no problems with moving around after that.
 
thats out of order really they shouldn't be able to tell you where your allowed to buy their games from, i know what website there on about, £9 for full orange box yeah thats damn cheap but its really much the same as the big stores buying levi jeans from abroad where there much cheaper and selling them at under half the uk retail price.

just buy an ati black box voucher, save almost £10 off their steam prices and your not forced into buying games multiple times.
 
This isn't anything new...I bought Aliens versus Predator in the States years ago, got it back to my PC and couldn't run it without setting my pooter to US localisation. And then there's DVDs...virtually every movie is region locked. Valve aren't exactly doing anything special.
 
Moving slightly OT - this thread if nothing else does show that the argument "If software was cheaper nobody would pirate it" (an argument usually thrown around by pirates and thieves) is a load of rubbish.

This software costs next to nothing to buy legitimately yet people are still trying to save a terribly small amount by attempting to break the EULA (and then moaning once they get caught).
 
stoofa said:
Moving slightly OT - this thread if nothing else does show that the argument "If software was cheaper nobody would pirate it" (an argument usually thrown around by pirates and thieves) is a load of rubbish.

This software costs next to nothing to buy legitimately yet people are still trying to save a terribly small amount by attempting to break the EULA (and then moaning once they get caught).
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Huh :confused: Firstly there's a helluva distinction between pirating software where the rightful owners get no money, and buying from another territory.

Secondly, I'd say this goes to prove the argument that "if sw was cheaper no-one would pirate it". Valve are actually releasing the game cheap in territories where piracy is rampant - presumably they've done their sums and come to the conclusion they'll be better off by releasing it cheaper there (but not if everyone buys it at that price!).
 
Dano said:
Ok, so were twisting stuff now are we?
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Not at all, and I didn't intend to imply it, and I certainly never grouped you as a collective with anyone else. This is not meant to be Me vs. The World, because i would lose.

Dano said:
Also, as a side note, I never said you were not entitled to your opinions, I merely pointed out that it has no real bearing on how others feel about the cost difference.
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Appreciated, but i believe the bearing it has is that people are so wrapped up in getting something for nothing that they are missing the fact that there are rules, and REASONS that they exist. I don't claim to know everything and if i come across that way i apologise. It's merely frustrating that people read one line of the first post and jump on the bandwagon, without thinking about the reasons why. People are getting so defensive because they're being "conned" and "stolen from" that no one has stopped and considered why this is happening in the first place.

JumpLead said:
Show me this rule where it says you cant buy games from abroad?
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It's the same rule that applies where you cannot import over a certain amount of goods from any country. They clamped down on booze cruises from Calais because it would ruin sales of alcohol and tobacco; when you enter the UK from any country outside the UK you are allowed significantly less goods than within it. Game's are a product, not a right. They are affected by the same laws that govern every other product coming in to the country. OK, so it's not like you each ordered 100 copies of The Orange Box but the point stands.

Why would they bother selling it in the UK at all if it was OK to just get it from somewhere else for a 1/10th the price? That would be ridiculous business sense. You can't even argue ignorance, because as quoted 100 times in each of these threads, this is an age of Globalisation and Worldwide Trade via the wonders of the internet, and everybody knows that. ESPECIALLY the kind of people that play PC games.

Valve have made, and forgive my french, a bloody good system for distribution, that allows you to shop for products without leaving your seat. Without worrying about fraud and theft. They offered a stupidly low priced package. But Valve are bound by the same laws you are. They still have to pay import tax. They have to limit their imports to the same as everybody else.

People need to stop thinking of this as a punishment and a personal attack by Valve, because it really isn't. These are the laws of our country. "Rip Off Britain" is a product of our government, not of Valve. I dont know why the orange box is more expensive here than in Thailand. People have mentioned Piracy. Maybe it's more than that. Maybe it costs Valve more to be allowed to sell things here. Maybe they *are* just trying to make a quick buck as the economy here is better than for a Thai family. And who can blame them?

In any case, as i said before. Everybody knows there is a risk when buying something cheap from Korea and Thailand and the such. It's the same with products like Photoshop, and Windows! Man windows may aswell have been developed by Nazis. Sometimes the risk pays off, sometimes it doesn't.
 
Its cheaper in Thailand because the av erage wage is less than 60 pounds a month. most pc games are about that price too or less.Any way if u buy it there u should be able to play it anywhere.:cool:
 
The legality of what they did, tax wise, is probably in serious question.

That aside, to get the game on the shelfs valve signed a pact with the devil, EA.

No doubt EA pushed for this, as is their right as the distributor of boxed copies in the US.
 
DampCat said:
It's funny because the only people moaning about it are the people that have had their accounts locked. The people that have had their accounts locked are the people who tried to get away with not paying the already ridiculously low prices like everybody else. It's a really simple rule of life. If you dont want to get told off, dont break the rules. What's to complain about?
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Sry DampCat,

I have a legit Steam account, so don't accuse me of piracy or anything without any clue. (I don't even own one illegal song, yet iTunes won't make life easy for me with its quirky proprietary system)

I do not own Orange Box nor do I intend to. I simply find Steam's and nameless other's business practices dodgy. They really treat customers like fodder, especially us Europeans. If you don't see that or do not care than that is your problem.

I feel compelled to contest at this totalitarian control of what I can and cannot do with my property. EULA is a legal scam anyway => tomorrow steam could get bought by a conglomorate and they could shut the service down and you would lose all since you don't technically own it. I guess that would not bother you.
 
Could you highlight for me the part where i accused you of piracy because i don't remember putting that in there, and i cant find it to take it out.

And i assume you have the same stance over Mortgages? Have you ever tried to move house? it'll cost you £5k for the privelige. How about bank charges? You give the bank all of your savings so they can lend it to others but as soon as you borrow some without asking they rip you a new one. I guess you get angry about that? How about your car? how much road tax do you pay? and how many roads around your area are in pristine condition? What about your income? how much tax do you pay? National Insurance? How many times have you been to court and had National Insurance help you out?

I dont know why you think games are not a product or a service, because the simple fact is that they are. Everything you will ever own, everything you will ever earn and achieve will be a part of the totalitarian control you hate so much. Nothing is free dude. If your parents (and i am not being spiteful here, i would never wish this upon anyone) carked it tomorrow, and left you a house, how much of it do you think you would get? because Will or no Will, you wouldn't get all of it.

Ok, so i'm taking these examples to the extreme. I admit it. The fact is, if you want to buy a product from another person, you have to abide by their terms. And after that, you have to abide by the governments terms. If you dont like the terms that they have set down, then you cannot expect them to let you do whatever you want with their product.

Sucks doesn't it.
 
Its not the person purchasing the game that should be punished. Its the actual seller in Thailand breaking the terms and conditions IMHO.!!

Also look at companies like CDWOW (not sure if I can name retailers, please edit if I cant) but they sell games to the uk but these are sourced from Hong Kong!!! So if I legitimately buy a game from them then potentially they could lock the orange box I bought from themas it didnt originate from the Uk?

Steam is getting too big for its boots in my opinion

Deks
 
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