Downloading Games (legaly)

[depresion]

I'm not talking illegal stuff here but one of the main legal sources for downloading legal licensed games. This all started when I felt the need to play a bit of good old Deus Ex but couldn't find my old CD. No problem I thought it's getting on a bit but there is bound to be a cheap one kicking about on re-release in one of my local gaming stores, as it turns out I was wrong so I decided to pop on line and check out the alternatives.

Major Games retailer on CD: £4.99 (or 3 for £10)
Major Games Download site: $9.99 (that's £5.28 at the moment)

not what I was expecting ok maybe the CD one isn't the GOTY edition, but it's the same price delivered as the rest of the "Sold out" range is to buy in store. Having looked at that I decided to check out some of the other games up for download:

Sword Of the Stars

Major Games retailer on DVD: £24.99 (not out till Friday)
Major Games Download site: $39.95 (that's £21.10 at the moment but you can't download it outside the USA)


TES4 Oblivion

Major Games retailer on CD: £17.99
Major Games Download site: $49.95 (that's £26.38 at the moment)


I seem to remember reading on here that F.E.A.R. had been made freely available for download from it's publishers yet it's still up at $39.95

I guess this is another one of those cases where logic and expectations don't mesh with reality and it's well worth checking up and shopping around before parting with your hard earned.

[XA04]

FEAR is free for multiplayer only, not the actual game itself.


Those prices seem pretty cheap, the site is probably dodgy.


If your not bothered about CD's you could try www.direct2drive.com You can download games there legally, some are quite cheap too. You may get charged VAT though... but you could probably get around that by saying you live in the USA or something.

[directhex]

the sad fact of the matter is that the download prices are based on the RRP - retail prices are based on low-margin competition. i'm a big fan of download-based games, but i'd rather pop to Game and spend ten quid on Guild Wars than spend £35 on a cd key from the ncsoft website

[depresion]

The download site in question is direct2drive and the DVD site was Play. (I wasn't sure if I should use there names). I hadn't considered having to pay VAT on the downloads, and the only one from play to get VAT charged on it (thanks to Jursey's VAT laws) would be Sword Of the Stars.

If it's only te Multiplayer for FEAR that's free then that makes sence. though Amazon have it £14.99 so still £6 cheaper to actualy get the disk in hand. The only benifit I can see for the extra is that if you have say a 4mbps line and can max it solidly you could have it in under 4hrs. (Not that your ISP would be happy and would probably say that it's a violation of there "fair use" policy to max your connection for that long.)

[kalniel]

It always depends on the game etc. In retail there is the competition to drive down prices, but when games first come out they can be cheaper to download direct. Take Steam for example - HL2 episode one was (and probably still is) far cheaper to get through Steam than in the shops.

[TheBuZZard]

Its the same with music, you can often buy the CDs from the HMV "sale" for £5 but to download all the tracks off itunes or where ever would cost a lot more.

[Flibb]

I tend to buy some bits from steam, mainly mods that are having a crack at making some money. But the rest I buy from play, cdwow, etc. Getting the retail boxed version is often a hell of al ot cheaper than a download. With music I also tend to buy singles via download, and albums from a shop, again the retail pack is a lot cheaper.

The download market seems to be maketed on convenience, rather than price.

[danroyle]

I tend to buy some bits from steam, mainly mods that are having a crack at making some money. But the rest I buy from play, cdwow, etc. Getting the retail boxed version is often a hell of al ot cheaper than a download. With music I also tend to buy singles via download, and albums from a shop, again the retail pack is a lot cheaper.

The download market seems to be maketed on convenience, rather than price.

i always used to buy from play games were really cheap but Ea and a few others have forced there prices so used to get brand new Ea games for 17.99 but now play have to sell them for £25+ so it is not working out as cheap anymore

[Elessar_VPR]

Whilst I am quite happy to d/l games if it's significantly cheaper, only the Steam ones seem worth it (esp. main HL2 releases, Silver package and EP1). In part this is due to places like play offering great prices (much cheaper than places like GAME), whilst still never having to leave the house

Also have to be a bit careful with patches as the D2D versions are not always compatible with the standard patch. At least that was the case with Oblivion, though there is a specific D2D patch available now.

[SittingBull]

FEAR is free for multiplayer only, not the actual game itself.


Those prices seem pretty cheap, the site is probably dodgy.


If your not bothered about CD's you could try www.direct2drive.com You can download games there legally, some are quite cheap too. You may get charged VAT though... but you could probably get around that by saying you live in the USA or something.

Nah Direct2Drive verify your location by your credit/debit card, I had to get an American friend to pay for me to get what I wanted.

And yes, it is rediculous that e-distribution of products actually costs more than buying them from the high street.

[Spiel Burger]

I can't see why the Publishers can't just develop a system where you can download the game from their own website. That way they could charge about £5 less and save on packaging, distribution and retailing costs. I for one would seriously consider losing out on all of the packaging for a £5 saving on RRP.
The Publisher would be in a great position to do this and at least you'd know you wouldnt get shafted with patches etc. They would make a few quid out of it as well.


.

[Kaos_Engine]

I would imagine a lot of publishers are unwilling to go down the download path for their products due to fear of piracy. Or at the very least use that as an excuse not to bother.