You can't really be serious in todays market climate.. The accountants would love that plan
4,99$ For Babylon
- Thread starter MoonFlare
- Start date
You can't really be serious in todays market climate.. The accountants would love that plan
-PET-
Chieftain
I'm glad I can finally been able for getting this. Even that I got the Collectors Edition (retail) ...
guspasho
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2005
- Messages
- 367
Because they are greedy
s. They want to move us away from a system where we own what we buy (nobody owns Babylon because it's download-only, you can't resell it like you can your special edition) and they want to experiment with how much they can bilk us for content using something that would have otherwise been in the original game.winthrowe
Warlord
Because they are greedy
read your licence agreement for Civ IV, or even Civ I. You don't own software, and never have, unless you write it yourself. The only difference now, is that they can enforce the rights that they've always reserved. You can't resell your special edition, either. It is tied to your steam account, and reselling your account it's against the steam subscriber agreement you agreed to when you installed.
If you really cared that much about it, you would be using and helping out FreeCiv, FreeCiv.net or another open source game that protects your freedoms. As it is, Firaxis is a business division of a large entertainment company that had a bad financial year, and needs to make a living to keep fixing this game and delivering expansions.
Optional paid DLC is one way that they can manage to give everyone free bugfix and AI patches. Welcome to gaming in the 21st century. If you don't like it on the corporate side, the GNU Gamers can always use a hand.
Pangur Bán
Deconstructed
Winthrowe, as far as I know, the legality of such license agreements is questioned among lawyers. There is certainly something not right. You buy the game before you even read a license agreement with certain reasonable expectations of what you can do, expectations of which the license agreement may assert a denial. No one really knows if all these denials are legal, and we won't know unless there are court cases.
guspasho
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2005
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- 367
Strange, I was assured by the people at Gamestop that I could sell the game back to them used if I wanted. I realized that I would have to activate the game through Steam but I assumed that Steam had a way to permit resale of the game. Of course it wouldn't be the first time they gave someone misinformation in order to secure a sale.
Can anyone verify if Gamestop snookered me before I call them myself?
guspasho
Prince
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2005
- Messages
- 367
I believe there have been a few cases where after-sale EULAs have been ruled unenforceable. And, I believe the first sale doctrine has yet to be challenged successfully.
I could be wrong about both, though.
Valkrionn
The Hamster King
They did. Once it's been activated, it cannot be resold. All steam games work that way, as do other digital methods, and it is the ONE major drawback in the system.
winthrowe
Warlord
They may buy it back from you, but they'd be idiots and its useless to whoever buys it.
well, I know at least one case where after sale EULA was successful, involving an ebay seller and autodesk/autocad, but you're right, depending on jurisdiction, part or all of your EULA may not be enforceable, consult an actual lawyer in your area, blah, blah......
But looked at at face value, you agreed not to do those things in order to obtain a license to play the game.
That's not inherent in digital distribution, it's technically possible to have game licences as giftable/sellable/tradeable objects. Publishers just don't want this, so any system that allows this has few publishers and titles, and thus negligible marketshare. IMO, steam doesn't seem bad from a used game buyer's perspective, I bought Civ4+BTS+Col on sale for 15 or 20 bucks last year, that felt much like when I had to go out to the mall and grab a used console game cheap.
Pangur Bán
Deconstructed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Corp_v._Zamos
This is interesting. Reading between the lines, Microsoft appear to have bribed the student they tried to sue to drop his counter-case against them [for deceptive sales practices] before a ruling could be issued. One of these days some great man will go all the way with such corporations!
Valkrionn
The Hamster King
I never said it WAS inherent to the system, just that all such systems I am aware of have that limitation. For exactly the reason you said.
And yeah, from a buyer's perspective it's not bad at all; It gives some amazing discounts after the game has been out for a while. The drawback is that you can't sell the game.
winthrowe
Warlord
I certainly acknowledge that is an issue for some. Personally, I'm a digital packrat and still have my Outpost cd which came up in the worst disappointments of all time thread (although I think of it more fondly)
You may not be able to sell a special edition completely, but I am pretty sure you're still well within your rights to sell the physical content of it. Considering the game part of the special edition is identical to the regular edition, you'd probably manage to sell the physical content to a collector who already owns the game. You'd just have to be very clear that it does not come with the game license, in your sale terms.
Valkrionn
The Hamster King
Who in their right mind would buy a game that cannot be used?
If it's been activated to your steam account, it cannot be transferred.
I suppose someone who bought the digital and wanted a physical copy of the game may pay a few bucks for it...
As I said, a collector. i.e. someone interested in the physical content of the pack. The miniatures and art book etc. I'd pay money for that, even though I have the game already.
You do realise the special edition came with some cool stuff that isn't attached to the steam account?
You do realise the special edition came with some cool stuff that isn't attached to the steam account?
Valkrionn
The Hamster King
Ah, true, forgot about those.
I suppose you could get something for them.
I suppose you could get something for them.
I considered buying the special edition but there was one main thing that convinced me not to:
Civ5 boxed cost $40 to order.
Civ5 Special Edition boxed cost $130 to preorder.
Lol, no thanks. But if someone wanted to sell me the goodies for 10 dollars or so, I'd be listening.
Civ5 boxed cost $40 to order.
Civ5 Special Edition boxed cost $130 to preorder.
Lol, no thanks. But if someone wanted to sell me the goodies for 10 dollars or so, I'd be listening.
I plan to send Firaxis a check that will make up the difference up to $50. Any true fan would do the same.
If we don't pay for the product they produce, we won't have Civ in the future. I'd send even more money their way, but $50 for a DLC seems like a reasonable amount since that is what I paid for the full game.
What argument could you possibly have against that???? The more money we give the better product they can make in the future!
If we don't pay for the product they produce, we won't have Civ in the future. I'd send even more money their way, but $50 for a DLC seems like a reasonable amount since that is what I paid for the full game.
What argument could you possibly have against that???? The more money we give the better product they can make in the future!
I know right! As companies are becoming richer and bigger, we're getting increasingly great games like Spore and The Sims 3! Some already great games are definitely getting better like how Modern Warfare 2, with its lack of dedicated servers and all kinds of awesome non-features, totally beats Modern Warfare 1 (CoD4).
EDIT: Tried to make the sarcasm clearer.
