GAME.co.uk Download PC games now!!

ocelot20 · 02-12-2008, 6:44 PM

Ok am not sure if this is good or not but game.co.uk have a new service where instead off buying the game and wait for it to be delivered you can pay them and download it. Now I have had a look at it and nearly all the download games are £5 more than the disc versions.

For exsample:

Flatout UC Disc version Download Version.

GTA IV Disc version Download Version.

Scorz · 02-12-2008, 7:07 PM

It's the same with Steam me personally i would rather have the box so i don't mind waitig a few days. But i spose it's priced like that purely for the convenience.
What i have noticed though lately is how hard it is to pick up PC games so i guess this is the future of things to come.

Usama · 02-12-2008, 9:21 PM

Id rather just buy it on disc.

Goooner · 02-12-2008, 10:07 PM

Me too. Unless it was significantly cheaper to download, why bother?

I've never been able to understand why the downloads are more expensive than buying the boxed game on disc.

Miss Chief · 03-12-2008, 12:44 AM

This bugs the hell out of me. used to be that companies complained that manufacturing distribution and packaging made up a 'significant' portion of game prices. now when they have none of that the games are the same RRP?

asimmd · 03-12-2008, 8:54 AM

I agree with Skytec,they have no retail costs to pass on,we do the work in downloading the software and writing it to DVD, yet they want us to pay more for the convenience.

Personally,I don't trust downloading games,I would much rather have a box with DVD inside,then if there is a problem it can go back,the small print on most downloads says that once you pay for it,that's it,no return,no refund and if you have a problem what you going to do,who are you going to complain to?

Sorry for the rant but until all games are sold in a Steam like way,which would stop a lot of piracy, where the game stays on the server,there will always be a need for the box.

Alan

JohnG · 03-12-2008, 9:34 AM

They are taking the **** asking for more money for a downloaded copy ! I recently upgraded my Acid Pro4 software to Acid Pro 7 by download and got it £20 or so (excluding postage) cheaper than the boxed version. That's how it should be.

Bretto · 03-12-2008, 1:07 PM

Totally agree with the above comments.
Who ARE they trying to kid asking more for a download over boxed games????
Would anyone even fall for this?

I don't mind downloading if it's a) cheaper or b) significantly earlier release time (as I did with Sins of a Solar Empire)

WildeKarde · 03-12-2008, 2:38 PM

Downloading can be good but only if it's a least competitive.

Look at left4dead for example - how many pre-ordered from amazon due to the price being lower than steam? Quite a few I'll bet

WoW is the same - did I see right to download the new expansion is £29.99 compared to £17.99 at amazon?

Even older games tend to be priced too high compared to a trawl through amazon marketplace and get the actual game disc for a lower cost.

If this is the future then it needs to become a viable alternative based on price.

NiggyG · 03-12-2008, 3:47 PM

I think the price hike is partly to cover the expense of building the distribution system. I'd expect downloaded games to be cheaper than physical copies in a years time.

Would you be able to sell on a donloaded game? I'm guessing not. I think a major reason for the recent push on DRM and the like is to kill the second hand market and not to protect sales as is claimed.

Miss Chief · 04-12-2008, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiggyG

I think the price hike is partly to cover the expense of building the distribution system. I'd expect downloaded games to be cheaper than physical copies in a years time.

Would you be able to sell on a donloaded game? I'm guessing not. I think a major reason for the recent push on DRM and the like is to kill the second hand market and not to protect sales as is claimed.

EA have been doing downloadable games for years, they were the same price as RRP for battlefield 2, 2142 and the expansion packs!

I pre-ordered L4D on steam. I paid close to £30. I'll never pre-order a digital download copy again unless they sort the pricing out!

EA also told me that unless I paid an EXTRA £2 to 'safeguard' my Spore creature creator for two years I'd only be able to re-download it for 6 Months.

Bretto · 04-12-2008, 9:31 AM

"EA also told me that unless I paid an EXTRA £2 to 'safeguard' my Spore creature creator for two years I'd only be able to re-download it for 6 Months."

Just the sort of marketting that'll put anyone with half a brain cell off downloading legally. You buy something, you should be able to keep it forever, either on your hardrive to copy and replace when needed or downloadable from a website.I'll stick to disks thank you very much!

heathen666 · 04-12-2008, 9:50 AM

I'd gladly pay an extra £5 for a game if it meant I didn't have to deal with the DMR nightmare everytime I buy a game!!!

NiggyG · 04-12-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skytech

EA also told me that unless I paid an EXTRA £2 to 'safeguard' my Spore creature creator for two years I'd only be able to re-download it for 6 Months.

That's ripping you off to the extreme! I'm guessing they wouldn't delete the record in the db after the 6 months. So effectively your paying extra for one datetime field in a record to be different. With no extra cost cost to EA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by heathen666

I'd gladly pay an extra £5 for a game if it meant I didn't have to deal with the DMR nightmare everytime I buy a game!!!

I wouldn't, thats giving in to the bully. Your paying more for someone not to do something. In most cases the DRM is not removed from the downloads anyway.

mcbain1212 · 18-12-2008, 10:58 AM

Prices are a bit of a joke! I'd definitely rather purchase the boxed game

Sinzer · 18-12-2008, 3:35 PM

For me its alright, I live in Germany and the street prices are awful and online ordering is more expensive too.

Being able to download english versions of games a little more expensive is ok for me.

Plus Left 4 Dead the boxed version is censored here, the steam download version isn't.

Knyght_byte · 19-12-2008, 6:49 AM

Steam is more expensive for UK people at the moment due to Gordon and his lovely friends the Bankers......this time last year, buying a game on Steam in the UK was around the same as buying it cheap from Amazon, but getting it straight away, not having to worry about scratching the disc etc. The only thing you can try and blame on Valve is that they havnt established a UK base yet so they can charge UK customers in £'s. Although they do still charge the same as the shops in America pretty much.

EA have no excuse, they have a massive UK presence so could easily put the games out cheaper, they already run massive servers so the distribution system would cost them bugger all.

The ONLY reason the games still cost the same as the shops is because the shops moan and whinge at the publishers if they discount online (I say discount, read it as 'remove massive retail markup') and the whole industry suddenly thinks 'omg shops are right, we cant discount or the shops will close and we'll sell less product'. Of course the shops wouldnt shut, their profit comes from Console games not PC games......but they still want that extra bit of profit from PC games so they moan and whinge. Shame really, most PC gamers will be online, there are very few that wont be that buy modern games so getting the game from a shop or online store just isnt necessary, OCD should be ftw but isnt.