Steam pricing v CD keys etc...
- Thread starter easyrider
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2 hour trial on Steam. Refund. Buy on CD Keys.
I'm struggling to image this, tbh. Game development isn't a niche market anymore with companies struggling to make a profit. There's over 2000 games companies in the UK alone contributing billions pounds to the UK economy*. Saving a few pounds by buying alternative keys isn't going to kill the market.
*source - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/08/games-industry-contributes-nearly-3bn-uk-economy/
Why the hell anybody buys direct from Steam is beyond me. I don't usually game much now anyway, but when I do I make substantial savings buying from a key site. No issues, fast delivery.
The prices on Steam are criminal.
If you are feeling the need to be altruistic, then donate the difference directly to the studio. It'll mean Valve take a smaller cut, but no tears there. Let them eat hats.
The prices on Steam are criminal.
If you are feeling the need to be altruistic, then donate the difference directly to the studio. It'll mean Valve take a smaller cut, but no tears there. Let them eat hats.
Keep on doing refunds though and Steam will start rejecting them. Happened to a few people.
Honestly speaking the only stuff I buy directly from steam are the region locked games where I can't get a regional cdkey for.
I game a lot on my main desktop but I also travel a lot and then I take my gaming laptop. I am moving regions all the time.
So unless the key is worldwide I get it from steam.
I game a lot on my main desktop but I also travel a lot and then I take my gaming laptop. I am moving regions all the time.
So unless the key is worldwide I get it from steam.
I do prefer buying on Steam, Origions, Uplay etc, but with the massive hike up, no thanks. Ubisoft seems to have partly combated this with giving you 20% discount codes if you complete a quiz or spend 100 Uplay points which are easy enough to get. But Most games are far overpriced. Just picked up Battletech, been out a while, costs £42 Deluxe edition, same game on CD keys is £15, no contest. Even flash sales are meh. Tyranny flash sale is for £12 for standard version, CD keys £5.
Will pay a little bit more on Steam, etc, but when its 2x-3x as much, no thanks.
Will pay a little bit more on Steam, etc, but when its 2x-3x as much, no thanks.
Soldato
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I've use CD-Keys for years, only buy the odd game here and there from Steam depending if on sale or not. Not only do I find games are a crazy price now but I feel they don't have the same duration as they use to. I've bought many games at retail price, completed in 6 hours and that's it...
Another one here with good experiences buying from CD key sites. Only issue was buying a Max Payne multi-game pack, and Max Payne 2 didn't turn up. I contacted them, they informed me they were short of stock and would get on it, and it arrived the next day.
Those who call using CD-key type sites 'thieving' are those who are of the mindset that "I don't believe anyone should have things/nice things who isn't completely swamped with disposable income, like me". I suspect this plays out in the hardware sections as well.
CD keys isn't Napster, the might of authority and copyright holders isn't swiftly coming down on it despite being around for years, so therefore seems safe to assume it's sanctioned and legal.
Those who call using CD-key type sites 'thieving' are those who are of the mindset that "I don't believe anyone should have things/nice things who isn't completely swamped with disposable income, like me". I suspect this plays out in the hardware sections as well.
CD keys isn't Napster, the might of authority and copyright holders isn't swiftly coming down on it despite being around for years, so therefore seems safe to assume it's sanctioned and legal.
I use CDKeys frequently, never had a problem yet and I certainly don't have crisis of morality by using them.
Game publishers are in the business of making money and the primary reason isn't to make you nice new games and warm cups of coco.
It's to plump up the dividends of their share holders. I'm in business to, the business of saving money and keeping the heating on for my kids and getting food on the table. Not to enrich games pubs like they're some sort of charitable organisation that I somehow owe a debt to. If i can save a pound or two when buying games I will.
Nothing wrong with CDKeys.
Game publishers are in the business of making money and the primary reason isn't to make you nice new games and warm cups of coco.
It's to plump up the dividends of their share holders. I'm in business to, the business of saving money and keeping the heating on for my kids and getting food on the table. Not to enrich games pubs like they're some sort of charitable organisation that I somehow owe a debt to. If i can save a pound or two when buying games I will.
Nothing wrong with CDKeys.
Same here, with some exceptions. I'll buy from GOG if they have it even if it's cheaper elsewhere because of the company's policies. I'll buy any CD Projekt game I'm even vaguely interested in from GOG at whatever price they charge at the time because of the company's policies. Come to think of it I still haven't played Witcher 2, which I bought on release for that reason. I pre-ordered Fallout 4 and all the DLC for it, sight unseen at full release price. Somewhere around £70 for that. I view gaming in terms of cost per hour and it's cheap entertainment even at full price if the game is good. I also pre-ordered Test Drive Unlimited 2, which was a perfect example of why pre-ordering is almost always a bad idea. They shipped a non-functioning early beta release on launch. That's not hyperbole - it was labelled as version 0.6.1 or thereabouts and didn't function at all for 2 weeks after launch (and hardly at all for some more weeks after that).
But nearly all my games are at least a year old and cost me buttons. I rarely pay more than £10 for a game and often much less. I'm having fun with Divinity 2: Ego Draconis at the moment. IIIRC it cost me £4 from GOG for the developer's cut version with the DLC during one of their numerous sales.
Soldato
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What game is 4.99 on CD Keys and 59.99 on Steam? It sounds like you are just making stuff up.
Real games are about 20 quid cheaper than steam, so 20 quid less goes to steam and stays in my pocket. Why pay more for steam?
Soldato
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I have used a variety of CD key sites over the years.
-Greenman Gaming
-CDkeys
-G2A
-Kinguin
-CD CJS Keys
-HRK Game
-G2Play
-Gamersgate
I have purchased way in excess of 150+ keys over a number of years and I have had ZERO problems*
*CD CJS keys caused me an issue once, but it was ultimately resolved.
Sure it is a grey market, and there is always the danger that a key might get taken away from my account at some stage if its listed as being 'stolen' etc, however as a % of the money I have saved whilst using them its still more than worth it.
I would never knowingly buy a CD key if it was stolen, and I go under the assumption that 99.99% of keys are legit, so my conscience is pretty clean on the basis that if it does turn out that way, I might lose a few quid.
Am I screwing developers? Well I can only go on the basis of the budgets of some AAA titles indicate that I am not, and I have a couple of very close friends in the US who work as senior developers in the video games industry. One works for Bungie and the other works for Thekla inc (The Witness, Braid etc). These guys are certainly not short of money.
Until someone tells me that what I am doing is illegal....I will continue.
-Greenman Gaming
-CDkeys
-G2A
-Kinguin
-CD CJS Keys
-HRK Game
-G2Play
-Gamersgate
I have purchased way in excess of 150+ keys over a number of years and I have had ZERO problems*
*CD CJS keys caused me an issue once, but it was ultimately resolved.
Sure it is a grey market, and there is always the danger that a key might get taken away from my account at some stage if its listed as being 'stolen' etc, however as a % of the money I have saved whilst using them its still more than worth it.
I would never knowingly buy a CD key if it was stolen, and I go under the assumption that 99.99% of keys are legit, so my conscience is pretty clean on the basis that if it does turn out that way, I might lose a few quid.
Am I screwing developers? Well I can only go on the basis of the budgets of some AAA titles indicate that I am not, and I have a couple of very close friends in the US who work as senior developers in the video games industry. One works for Bungie and the other works for Thekla inc (The Witness, Braid etc). These guys are certainly not short of money.
Until someone tells me that what I am doing is illegal....I will continue.
Soldato
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Gamersgate isn't grey market either, at least they are listed on Ubisoft's authoritised resellers list.
They are SLIGHTLY cheaper than Steam (they used to be quite a bit cheaper), however I still assume that they are a key site because you get a key to activate? Unless I am missing something.
GMG are fine to use. I remember at one point they did have an issue with sending out keys for a pre-order and sourced them elsewhere to meet demand. This caused issues and resulted in them being removed from Reddit's /r/GameDeals. This has now been sorted and they have proved where they source the game keys, /r/GameDeals have a high standard to what is required to be featured on the sub-reddit.