This has me very concerned.
Last year, I purchased what I thought was a legitimate key for Sniper Elite III on PC from a trusted retailer I had been using for years and was able to successfully activate it and pre-load the game. A couple of days later I was notified by Steam that the key was not valid and the game disappeared from my library, apparently because it was suspected to be fraudulent and stolen (like what Ubisoft are saying now). I was able to get a full refund and I went and bought the boxed version from Amazon for, thankfully, just a few pounds more. I've had no problems since.
Now I bought PC copies of Assassin's Creed: Unity, Far Cry 4 and The Crew from the same retailer I have used for years with no problems for £24.99 each last year, a substantial saving on the £39.99 being asked by Ubisoft and Valve. They are still there now (or rather they were there this morning when I checked...) but with the Sniper Elite III issue still fresh in my mind, I can't help but think that Ubisoft may target these other sellers next and I will find all those games removed.
This is a big problem with digital distribution in my opinion. If I buy an Xbox One, PS4, PS Vita or Wii U boxed game from ShopTo.net or Amazon, wherever, then I know that it will be a legit copy (unlike PC games they do not require the entry of a key except for DLC, etc, either). However, unless I purchase a boxed PC game from one of those places then how am I supposed to know whether the key I've bought is actually from an approved seller? It may work initially but will it still be valid in six months (apparently copies of Watch_Dogs weren't) and where does it leave me if the retailer goes bust in the meantime? What chance then do I have of getting a refund? Call me cynical but is this just a way for the publisher to scare their customers from buying cheap keys and make them pay more for them from their own sites (Uplay and Steam) so they can maximise their profits? Are we suddenly going to find chunks of our games libraries deleted as publishers ban more of these supposedly cheaper "stolen" keys?
Regardless, what annoys me about what Ubisoft are doing is that unlike Steam they are apparently not notifying their customers that games have been banned nor are they explaining exactly why either. Surely that is not legal or right? In my humble view publishers should be targetting the sellers of these keys and punishing/suing them not the customers who in all likelihood bought the keys in good faith. Just because something is cheap, doesn't mean it is 'dodgy' or illegal. Console games sell in digital format on PSN and Xbox LIVE for much higher prices than what I generally pay for boxed copies from ShopTo.net after all, and on PC there are fewer games being released on disc (or are delayed until after the digital release, likely in an effort to make them pay higher prices in my view) meaning that you have no choice but to seek out a digital key if you want to play it on release. Why would I pay £40 if a reputable retailer, someone who I trust and have been using for years, is selling the same key for £15 less? Is that not what we've been doing for years with boxed PC and console games?
I can see why publishers want their games to be sold digitally as they can have absolute control over pricing. I buy a lot of PC games and one of the main reasons I do is because they are cheap. I can pick up bargains in the Steam sales and generally I never pay more than £25 for a full-priced release, whether its picking up a boxed copy on Amazon or a key from my favourite online retailer. However, if publishers decide to ask £40-£50 for PC games new, and when they are as broken as Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed: Unity were at launch, well then I will simply stop buying them at launch, end of, until they are cheap in a sale (which is probably the most sensible thing to do anyway as the games many issues should be fixed by then!).
I bought this game on steam. So I was lucky.
I wonder why should allarm bells ring if a game is sold for 50% of the original price?
Steam often sells games with large price reduction up to 90% sometimes.
How should I know up front if a price drop is legitemate or not.
Many shops and sellers use price drops te get/lure customers.
If I walk through the city I see many shops advertising their stuff with huge price drops.
Actually, it's not that easy. The pricing difference depends on the economic and income of the citizen. Games are cheaper, because the people earn less money. So not only games are cheaper - anything is cheaper in these country by comparsion. And if there is hitting a buying power with more money now, the whole economy will end in inflation. The prices of the products will raise, because the buying power from outside is stronger - but the local citizens won't earn more money. At the end of the story, the local citizens are not able to buy stuff anymore.Originally Posted by Doctor_Hades Go to original post
This happens e.g. for rice in asia and africa. Ppl starve to death, because the western and eastern countrys paying more than the local citizens. Just google a bit.
Good point. I generally pay around £25-£30 for PC games which are sold on Uplay and Steam for £40. However, I do not view that price as being suspiciously cheap as in most cases, I get the same saving from buying my console games online and not buying them from a local games store or via the PS or Xbox Stores.Originally Posted by F1VESTARS Go to original post
I generally only buy my digital keys from one of three trusted retailers (whoever is the cheapest) and thankfully those do not include G2A.com. However, just because I trust them does not mean that these are approved key sellers. How are we as paying customers supposed to be able to tell a dodgy key seller from a legitimate one?
Your primary fault is, that the price is your legitemation. If you walk through the city, and a guy shows up at a backstreet and says "here, a ps4 with 5 games for 100$", than it must be legal?Originally Posted by F1VESTARS Go to original post
Steam is able to sell it's game for whatever they like. If they do a 90% discount it's ok, because they are an official reseller. It's also legit for shops - but if you trust the guy on the street who says "quality watches, rolex, sunglasses, 90% discount, coco banana", it's your own fault. and internet is like that.
Please post in the previously created thread on this subject, found here: http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php...es-Open-letter
Thanks.