GOG doesn't rely on steam, and has always prided itself on region free games
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All Russian/Brazillian (or similar) games on Steam now have regional activation locks
- Thread starter Salsa
- Start date
GOG doesn't rely on steam, and has always prided itself on region free games
Sounds it.
I understand why Steam did that, considering the Russia's economy has just tumbled down a hill and is currently making Greece look good. But that doesn't mean I have to be happy with Steam's decision to promote region lock and will continue to argue against Steam's decision.
fluffydelusions
Member
Guess I'm too late to buy witcher 3 for $17 from buy/sell thread 
I'm sure those keys will be region free.
Aren't panel 2 and 3 reversed?
Yeah. #fail
Maintenance
Member
Actually that's wrong, I cannot buy Bully here.
GMG and Humble should not be affected. They tend to sell ROW keys. GOG doesn't sell keys period.
My guess is that this isn't retroactive, even for preorders. Valve must be worried about the ruble's rapidly declining value and the implications it will have on purchases going forward.
They have good reasons to region-lock Russian keys, but they can also get rid of cheap key-vendors altogether because it would be bad PR to single out Russia. It's a "crisotunity" for Valve
They have good reasons to region-lock Russian keys, but they can also get rid of cheap key-vendors altogether because it would be bad PR to single out Russia. It's a "crisotunity" for Valve
I haven't bought games from Russia, all my steam games are from steam or otger sites that sells ROW keys.
But that lock that makes Brazilian keys useless is shit..fu***ng shit.
What if Nuuvem starts to sell ROW keys with an advertising at his site like other ones do? That sounds logical...
I'm from Spain and the main market wjere i buy games is Amazon.com, so unless they locked the US keys for the rest of the world i'm fine with it.
But that lock that makes Brazilian keys useless is shit..fu***ng shit.
What if Nuuvem starts to sell ROW keys with an advertising at his site like other ones do? That sounds logical...
I'm from Spain and the main market wjere i buy games is Amazon.com, so unless they locked the US keys for the rest of the world i'm fine with it.
John Caboose
Member
Fuck region-locking anything.
I feel bad for people where were only able to get region locked games through this method.
It's definitely not going to make me quit buying games on Steam since they can be had for a fairly cheap price through Green Man Gaming and Steam Sales. This is really going to bother those that liked getting new games for ridiculously cheap prices. It was good while it lasted I guess.
This is definitely not a reason for the second group I mentioned to throw a hissy fit. It really makes them sound ridiculous.
It's definitely not going to make me quit buying games on Steam since they can be had for a fairly cheap price through Green Man Gaming and Steam Sales. This is really going to bother those that liked getting new games for ridiculously cheap prices. It was good while it lasted I guess.
This is definitely not a reason for the second group I mentioned to throw a hissy fit. It really makes them sound ridiculous.
fluffydelusions
Member
So who wants to buy a Russian key and give it a try in the US/Europe?
You can give me one and I'll try it
The biggest issue will be when people want to give a game away, now they will only be able to give it to someone from their region.
Maintenance
Member
Thanks, forgot about GOG being region free.
Haunted
Member
Why would you throw your money away?So who wants to buy a Russian key and give it a try in the US/Europe?
No, you will not lose access to your games.
My guess is that this isn't retroactive, even for preorders. Valve must be worried about the ruble's rapidly declining value and the implications it will have on purchases going forward.
They have good reasons to region-lock Russian keys, but they can also get rid of cheap key-vendors altogether because it would be bad PR to single out Russia. It's a "crisotunity" for Valve
Nuuvem is a "cheap key-vendor"?
Aren't they? Nevemind then. I apologize. I just thought that with GOG and other services that these games were immune to this stuff.
No. It is going to affect future purchases. As long as you redeemed them already you should be fine.
No, once a game is in your library it will stay in it.
Bronetta
Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
You're right. Time to stealth edit and hope no one notices <_<
$6 a month, or an affordable $50 a year.
It's been mentioned a couple times already, but this probably has more to do with the Russian currency than any sort of new policy.
That is to say, if everyone took advantage of buying keys through Russia, the end result would be that American consumers gain nothing, the publishers lose out a little, and the Russians lose out a lot... until they get good at pirating games. Arguably, there's a little more to this story, since publishers don't want to turn Russia into a thriving den of piracy (more than it is already) but I don't think that would affect the outcome too much.
I do have my own complaints about region locking in terms of software freedom, but I don't think the economic argument against it is very good.
This ignores the basic economics. The proceeds of cheap games to Russians are nothing more than icing on the cake for games that have already been mostly paid for by higher-priced sales in wealthier nations. If everyone just bought at the Russian price, there's no way that most games could be profitable. So, if game companies find themselves in the position that they are only really able to sell at one price everywhere in the world, they're going to sell it at the American price.
That is to say, if everyone took advantage of buying keys through Russia, the end result would be that American consumers gain nothing, the publishers lose out a little, and the Russians lose out a lot... until they get good at pirating games. Arguably, there's a little more to this story, since publishers don't want to turn Russia into a thriving den of piracy (more than it is already) but I don't think that would affect the outcome too much.
I do have my own complaints about region locking in terms of software freedom, but I don't think the economic argument against it is very good.
Solid Samus
Banned
Sigh this is the very reason you should read the thread butyour games are safe
As much as I like cheap games, I can't really get upset about this. Companies need money to stay in business. If everyone buys the Witcher 3 for $15, CD ProjektRed will face more difficulties making their next games.
There's always waiting for Steam Sales, as well, if one needs to.
There's always waiting for Steam Sales, as well, if one needs to.
Or 5 billion Rubles.
You can give me one and I'll try it
Sorry, in the EU myself. ;p
AC Unity is 18 via key sites and 60 via the Steam store. Hard to fault people for trying to save a lot of money.
lol steam is not about valve making great games, steam is about steam being a graet service in general. no need to get wild and crazy
This is a sign for your country to not sell Nazi artifacts from German WWII era warships.
Witcher 3?
CDProjekt added a new Witcher 3 sub, and changed the old one, so that un-redeemed RU/CIS copies could not be gifted or traded to non RU/CIS accounts. You have the older sub which could be gifted/traded to non RU/CIS accounts. If you had left the game as a gift in your inventory, it would be blocked from being traded.
Face it Tiger..
Banned
SCUST
Guy LeDouche
Banned
That's what I'd expect. I guess Valve can't just set prices to be based on a near-real-time conversation rate to USD or something and just charge like 40 billion rubles or whatever for Euro Truck Simulator 2.
Spacejaws
Member
But Origin say you can get banned for doing this. Using a VPN to unlock the game early they don't care but purchasing from another country cab get your account banned. Or at least I found this out through the reddit for unlocking Dragon Age early, a user posted his discussion with Origin support where they got confused, thought the user was asking if using a VPN to purchase a game was bannable and they told him purchasing through a VPN on another store can get accounts banned.
I've never heard of it happening though if that means anything
So they've turned into shit because they stopped people buying off a grey market? I feel like Steam is the best thing to happen to PC gaming. Ever. And it's improving every year.
I've never heard of Nuuvem before, but they are currently selling Witcher 3 for 90BRL which is about 26 Euro. If I can buy that code either normally or via VPN and activate it on Steam, than yes, Nuuvem is a "cheap key-vendor, at least from Valve's point of view.