buying games on line

[lord of the mark]

thats what everyone says is the thing to do.


But that covers a multitude of possibilities, from dling a game from a service like Steam, to just placing an order to have a game sent to you. The former means you have have decent broadband, and patience with the DL, and you dont get a disk, while the latter means you have to wait for the game to arrive, and pay postage and handling.

You can buy brand new games, back list items, or buy used games from places like Ebay.

You can buy from a publisher, or from an online store.


So, how do you buy online? Mainly for new games, or do you buy new games in stores but use the internet for those hard to find older games? Do you prefer the DL service, or ordering a disk? Do you prefer established corporate sellers, publishers, or Ebay type sellers?


Note well: im thinking here of actual game purchase, not ongoing payments for an MMO subscription, and of course not piracy.

[Quillan]

I have done all of the above. Personally, I prefer to have a hard copy in my grubby little hands, so the only things I've downloaded have been expansion packs from Steam. Steam is an exception, though, in that the downloaded game is registered to your Steam account, so in the future I can download it again if I have to. I've bought used games off eBay (got System Shock 2 that way) and ordered online for delivery from Amazon and EB.

[snoopy369]

I really like direct2drive, for new games where i'm willing to pay full price. It doesn't seem to drop price fast enough, though, so this is only for things i'm paying full price for anyway.

Otherwise, amazon, and of course other DL options are great too (if i get galciv2 it'll be online from their website/dl version).

[El_Cid]

Amazon has not let me down so far.
I like having an actual disk+manual/box etc - it just feels like i got something for my money, and i worry if i mess up a harddrive and dont have a disk.

[Skanky Burns]

I prefer getting something extra for my money - a box and manual and such. Otherwise I am just paying to get the exact same product that any pirate gets.

For MMOs on the other hand, I don't mind d/l the game. Since I don't tend to join these the first day they start, by the time I do join they have large amounts of patches to download to get the game up to speed.

Ebay is a good source of games, especially older games. I got a boxed copy of Hardwar years after other stores had stopped selling it.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
I prefer getting something extra for my money - a box and manual and such. Otherwise I am just paying to get the exact same product that any pirate gets.

I do get something more than the pirate...

A legal copy of the game ...

[snoopy369]

Anyway, DL version is far superior.

* Most games come with not much manual and a worthless plastic or paper box, ONLY
* Oh, and a CD/DVD that you happen to have to have in the stupid $#%# drive...
* DL version doesn't require a cd in any drive

[dunk]

Re: buying games on line

Originally posted by lord of the mark
while the latter means you have to wait for the game to arrive, and pay postage and handling.

Amazon will ship orders of over $25 for free in the US. That's where I like to purchase my games online. I also like to get all of the accoutrements to my games, so I like the box.

[Aabraxan]

I like having the CD & manual. Don't care about the box. And I don't even need a paper manual. PDF works just fine. If I want a paper copy, I'll print it. But I've always wound up uninstalling and reinstalling all of the really good games, so I've got to have the CD. I like Amazon, which is where I've bought most of my games. I typically buy new copies of older games. I've never bought a used game off of Ebay, but I think SMAX may have to be my first.

[DrSpike]

Amazon. I also have purchased keys for MMOs online.

[Kinjiru]

I like the idea of DLing games, but it seems that only Stardock does it "right".

Direct2Drive is a pain in the rear because they scramble the DLL's meaning that any patch the developer makes will NOT work with the D2D version. The dev has to make a seperate D2D patch, and often, they don't (witness Oblivion).

When seeking the physical product, GoGamer ( http://www.gogamer.com ) has great service and good prices, especially with their weekly specials.

Amazon also has good prices usually, but you will almost never get a title on release day through them.

I have had some decent luck on ebay when seeking older titles.

[DrSpike]

You can download MMO clients easily as well, since they aren't usually worried about piracy.

[Adagio]

I've only bought a game online once. I only did it because the demo of the game was the full game (only with a timelimit of 60 min... unlimited restarts though), so I knew what I would get (unlike 99% of all demoes out there). When the warez version became avaliable 24 hours later, I downloaded it, as I hate the 3 reinstalls limit downloaded games usually have

As I prefer to have the dvd-box, I don't buy games for download anymore, even though I never use the DVD/CD in the box, nor do I read the manual

[DrSpike]

So you just gain a great deal of pleasure from knowing you own a box?

[Skanky Burns]

Don't you?