Game UK - Why these guys are ruining your consumer experience on Steam in the UK. - Games

[QUOTE=TempestWales;31916134]There where a few more. Hunted The Demons Forge Singularity (I think this was one, I remembered that you could get it everywhere on Steam but the UK couldn't) What I hate is that GAME is holding some publishers to ransom by threatening to remove those publishers CONSOLE games if they don't comply with the STEAM embargo. So if you are going to boycott GAME and their website, you need to do it for console games too. I'm not going to boycott GAME but only because I haven't used them in over three years after they quite frankly they gave up on PC gaming, and I don't expect to pay for FULL PRICE console/PC games 3 years after they were released. *EDIT* Just something else I remembered, I have a friend who used to work at GAME, he told me if you can get an employee to type in an APOSTROPHE into any of the fields when they register you in store, due to the age of the system, the backoffice server will crash and will take at least a day or two to fix. So remember Baba O'Reilly wants a GAME Loyalty Card![/QUOTE] Some older ones might just be because there were a few publishers (Ubisoft definitely if I remember correctly) who didn't make their games available in the UK (And some other places? Maybe Europe as a whole?) for several months after they started to be sold in the US. Stuff like Assassin's Creed. That was just publishers being publishers though as far as I know.

Only reason I bought PC games in Game shops is because they're dirt cheap most of the time. Guess I'll just buy them in a different store now. Thanks OP!

-snip-

[QUOTE=jaybuz;31916251]Your location is stored in a cookie so using a different tab could have changed the cookie then when you refreshed back to the previous tab it changed. This is only if you viewed the store in your web browser and not the steam client.[/QUOTE] Same tab. I tried checking to see if Skyrim was available to me and that was still blocked so I'm still leaning towards that the games for a moment (for whatever reason) were suddenly available to UK users.

I think it's a good thing Homefront isn't available in the UK.

[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;31917475]I think it's a good thing Homefront isn't available in the UK.[/QUOTE] It's not the matter of if the games good or not, it's the fact they're doing it, just as bad as apple with the suing, can't handle competition so they try everything to cripple it. Unfortunately with this sort of thing entices piracy, most game retailers in the uk deal with console games, so if i wanted a game like skyrim I'd either have to go to game or gamestation (which have horrible prices and are too far away for my location) or torrent it, and I'd expect Piracy will come out on top.

I'm convinced they're stopping publishers from putting shit on Steam (despite not selling them themselves) so people are eventually forced to buy console versions, which they can only get retail.

I wonder what would have happened if this strategy started before Portal 2's launch. Just thinking about how that would have played out makes my head spin.

[QUOTE=Political Gamer;31918151]I wonder what would have happened if this strategy started before Portal 2's launch. Just thinking about how that would have played out makes my head spin.[/QUOTE] Wait what has Portal 2 go to do with Game effectively blackmailing THQ and Bethedesa?

[QUOTE=Political Gamer;31918151]I wonder what would have happened if this strategy started before Portal 2's launch. Just thinking about how that would have played out makes my head spin.[/QUOTE] It was happening well before that. And they couldn't exactly approach Valve and say "Hey you're releasing a major game soon, could you please not sell it on your own digital distribution system for a while because we want an advantage over you." This delay stuff is deals between the Publishers and the Retailers, the Publishers have the final word on whether to release and when to release games on Steam, so Valve doesn't have a say in the matter.

[QUOTE=Chubbs;31918349]Wait what has Portal 2 go to do with Game effectively blackmailing THQ and Bethedesa?[/QUOTE]I does't I was crafting a "what-if" to look into how Game might have reacted. Let me set the stage if anyone else is confused. Valve owns Steam and any Valve game on steam is published by Valve. However, EA takes care of all Valve retail publishing. Now where things get tricky is that since all Valve games have Steamworks like Homefront did would that mean Game would force EA to force Valve to take its own games off steam. It would get even more tricky if Valve refused because that would leave the question of would Game only pull Portal 2 or would they pull everything EA like how they threatened THQ. I bring this up because if DOTA2 ends up being sold at retail (even though I doubt it will) using EA as the publisher and Game still has this policy things could turn ugly very fast. [QUOTE=cheesedelux;31918370]It was happening well before that. And they couldn't exactly approach Valve and say "Hey you're releasing a major game soon, could you please not sell it on your own digital distribution system for a while because we want an advantage over you." This delay stuff is deals between the Publishers and the Retailers, the Publishers have the final word on whether to release and when to release games on Steam, so Valve doesn't have a say in the matter.[/QUOTE]Ah well that put things in a slightly different perceptive. My worry is that as more publishers bow to their whim and their balls grow bigger and they start to really go after steam.

[QUOTE=Political Gamer;31918471]Game would force EA to force[/QUOTE] Nobody strong arms EA, not even EA!

GAME are nobs in every aspect one day I saw a man who was heavily bearded and wrinkled (in otherworlds of an obvious 40+) get asked for to show his ID when buying gears of war 2 or something he was well pissed off

[QUOTE=Leg of Doom;31919108]GAME are nobs in every aspect one day I saw a man who was heavily bearded and wrinkled (in otherworlds of an obvious 40+) get asked for to show his ID when buying gears of war 2 or something he was well pissed off[/QUOTE] That's a very colloquial way of speaking.

[QUOTE=Dr Bob;31919213]That's a very colloquial way of speaking.[/QUOTE] ez blad don't b h8in on colloquialisms or mans hed get baxed u herzegovinia?

[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;31919409]ez blad don't b h8in on colloquialisms or mans hed get baxed u herzegovinia?[/QUOTE] [img]http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/lexicon-evolved.jpg[/img]

I fucking hate Game, they took over Gamestation and ever since they have gotten worse, Gamestation used to stock all sorts of random shit, it was normal from them to have like 15 Dreamcasts, god knows how many Sega Megadrives an shit in their window, now they just have advertisements or the odd ps3/360 on show. Turned a once great store into another money grabbing hell hole. Fuck even Blockbuster does better deals that Gamestation now.

Game is pretty good in my opinion, mostly because they replaced all the shit game stores around here :v: [editline]24th August 2011[/editline] ohgodwhat 855 guests viewing

[QUOTE=Dr Bob;31919213]That's a very colloquial way of speaking.[/QUOTE] It's writing you can't see speach

what's this? 940 guests..

[QUOTE=juGGa;31920226]what's this? 940 guests..[/QUOTE]Thread was posted on reddit and rockpapershotgun

Cinemas do this. I have worked for the ODEON and they demand that no physical (and I think that now includes digital) version of any movie can be released for at least 4 -6 weeks after it has been released in cinemas. Those distributors that dont adhere don't get their films shown (this has happened with a couple of Disney movies in the past, which has cost Disney dearly, without the ODEON taking much of a hit on revenue). What this means is that the distributors lose out significantly with the retailers not seeing a huge dent in sales, especially with seasonal media (if the ODEON doesn't show one blockbuster over summer there are at least 3 more that come out in and around the same week, so people will see those). The same can be said with games, because of the highly season based game release schedule. If GAME doesnt stock, say Skyrim because of this deal, they will still sell plenty of the other AAA titles coming out, they may lose out on their niche, but gamers on the fence of what to buy will likely just buy something else. Couple this with the fact that digital distribution hasn't impacted in the UK as it has in the States, you have a legitimate reason as a developer and distributor to be concerned that your game wouldn't bring in the numbers that you need.

[QUOTE=Indecisi0n;31920702]Cinemas do this. I have worked for the ODEON and they demand that no physical (and I think that now includes digital) version of any movie can be released for at least 4 -6 weeks after it has been released in cinemas. Those distributors that dont adhere don't get their films shown (this has happened with a couple of Disney movies in the past, which has cost Disney dearly, without the ODEON taking much of a hit on revenue). What this means is that the distributors lose out significantly with the retailers not seeing a huge dent in sales, especially with seasonal media (if the ODEON doesn't show one blockbuster over summer there are at least 3 more that come out in and around the same week, so people will see those). The same can be said with games, because of the highly season based game release schedule. If GAME doesnt stock, say Skyrim because of this deal, they will still sell plenty of the other AAA titles coming out, they may lose out on their niche, but gamers on the fence of what to buy will likely just buy something else. Couple this with the fact that digital distribution hasn't impacted in the UK as it has in the States, you have a legitimate reason as a developer and distributor to be concerned that your game wouldn't bring in the numbers that you need.[/QUOTE] I thought that's always been the norm in the film industry? Besides that isn't really a fair comparison. ODEON only do films which is effectively one revenue stream. The idea is you go see new releases in the cinema on the big screen etc. With Game this is totally different. They sell games and peripherals for various platforms via brick and mortar stores as well as an online store (albeit these are sent via postal methods). They are not confined to a single "product" in this sense and have various revenue streams. Out of everything Game sells they sell very few PC related items especially compared to that of consoles. They have no valid reason to pull a stunt like this.

[QUOTE=Political Gamer;31920253]Thread was posted on reddit and rockpapershotgun[/QUOTE] Hellooooo guests!

Speaking of Reddit, retailers being all grumpy in the US too: [url]http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/report-gamestop-opening-deus-ex-copies-removing-free-game-code.ars[/url]

This is why I couldn't per-purchase skyrim? Well fuck you very much Game. Seriously with the ease you can get games in [I]other ways[/I] these days if I want to buy the game on Steam where it's nice and easy fucking let me. Now you're saying I have waste my time and petrol money driving all the way to town if I want to play when it comes out? This is a joke.

[QUOTE=cheesedelux;31921258]Speaking of Reddit, retailers being all grumpy in the US too: [url]http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/report-gamestop-opening-deus-ex-copies-removing-free-game-code.ars[/url][/QUOTE] Wow. I really wish all these companies would just die and make room for the better services.

[QUOTE=Teddi Orange;31921085]I thought that's always been the norm in the film industry? Besides that isn't really a fair comparison. ODEON only do films which is effectively one revenue stream. The idea is you go see new releases in the cinema on the big screen etc. With Game this is totally different. They sell games and peripherals for various platforms via brick and mortar stores as well as an online store (albeit these are sent via postal methods). They are not confined to a single "product" in this sense and have various revenue streams. Out of everything Game sells they sell very few PC related items especially compared to that of consoles. They have no valid reason to pull a stunt like this.[/QUOTE] Oh yeah, I agree completely that this is backwards. The point I am trying to make, is that Steam does pose a verifiable threat to GAME (look at whats happening in the [URL="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/report-gamestop-opening-deus-ex-copies-removing-free-game-code.ars"]States[/URL]). GAME seem to be trying to handle this in a slightly different way, by using a model that has been put in place, tried and tested. Despite the growth of console games, there is still a large market for PC games and I would argue that because GAME doesn't have a huge selection of them versus Steam (and also the convenience), there is a lot more sales through Steam then there are through any of the GAME markets (I would also argue that because of the penetration of Steam in the PC gaming online market GAME would see a very small percentage of PC sales through their website). At the end of the day, this feels like a natural reaction. Steam threatens the currently well established system by doing something far better and in a cleaner way and they are starting to get attacked. Not only by brick and mortar but also by the distributors (Origin). What seems to be happening though, is instead of finding new and innovative ways to attract customers they are alienating them instead in a hostile attempt to quash something that, as I mentioned before, at its root, is far better than what they have. I hate everything about it and I wish that corporations would realise that by caring for their customers they can automatically increase their revenue. Instead of what seems to actually be happening.

[QUOTE=Indecisi0n;31922456]Oh yeah, I agree completely that this is backwards. The point I am trying to make, is that Steam does pose a verifiable threat to GAME (look at whats happening in the [URL="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/report-gamestop-opening-deus-ex-copies-removing-free-game-code.ars"]States[/URL]). GAME seem to be trying to handle this in a slightly different way, by using a model that has been put in place, tried and tested. Despite the growth of console games, there is still a large market for PC games and I would argue that because GAME doesn't have a huge selection of them versus Steam (and also the convenience), there is a lot more sales through Steam then there are through any of the GAME markets (I would also argue that because of the penetration of Steam in the PC gaming online market GAME would see a very small percentage of PC sales through their website). At the end of the day, this feels like a natural reaction. Steam threatens the currently well established system by doing something far better and in a cleaner way and they are starting to get attacked. Not only by brick and mortar but also by the distributors (Origin). What seems to be happening though, is instead of finding new and innovative ways to attract customers they are alienating them instead in a hostile attempt to quash something that, as I mentioned before, at its root, is far better than what they have. I hate everything about it and I wish that corporations would realise that by caring for their customers they can automatically increase their revenue. Instead of what seems to actually be happening.[/QUOTE] Competition is good though. It [I]should[/I] encourage the vendor to offer better deals for the consumer instead of using brutish tactics to try and remove the competition. I agree with what you're saying with Steam but at the end of the day, that's Games own fault. They've never provided more than bare minimum and they've never cared to try and expand either. Technically we're agreeing just in other words :v:

[QUOTE=Teddi Orange;31922746]Competition is good though. It [I]should[/I] encourage the vendor to offer better deals for the consumer instead of using brutish tactics to try and remove the competition. I agree with what you're saying with Steam but at the end of the day, that's Games own fault. They've never provided more than bare minimum and they've never cared to try and expand either. Technically we're agreeing just in other words :v:[/QUOTE] Absolutely