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Valve Games Still On Store Shelves

Posted by Zonk on from the in-case-you-were-worried dept.

Valve has announced that despite its recent break with Vivendi Universal Games, games boxes will remain on store shelves after the August breakup. From the article: "The news will mollify retailers who feared that a recent legal settlement between Valve and VU Games, which will see VU Games withdrawing all of its Valve-created products from August 31st, could signal a move to online-only distribution for the firm's products."

29 comments

  1. I wonder... by Nos. · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How much of their customer base Valve would lose by going to an online distribution method as their only source?

    Now we all know that you require an internet connection for signup and to download the latest patches. Suppose however, that Valve allowed anyone to burn generic copies of HL2 (and previous/future releases) to their media of choice and distribute freely. None of these freely distributed versions would be playable until the user signed up with Valve and payed the "activation" fee. Valve gets to save bandwidth and publishing costs, yet the game is still available to those without high speed connections.

    Hmmm, maybe I should run to the patent office

    1. Re:I wonder... by HD+Webdev · · Score: 2, Informative

      JSYK, only 2-3% of the HL2 players are known to be using 56k.

      Here is the current hardware etc... information.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    2. Re:I wonder... by Winckle · · Score: 1

      Er... You can do that, I did it for my 56k friends, check under the backup utility. Right click on any game and push the backup button.

    3. Re:I wonder... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sort of a chicken/egg thing you got going there. I suspect 56k people just aren't buying the game.

    4. Re:I wonder... by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      Sort of a chicken/egg thing you got going there. I suspect 56k people just aren't buying the game.

      Exactly. This is why it isn't likely to hurt Valve's bottom line. Even they lose a portion of their customers, they'll make it up with the money saved from not putting it on shelves.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    5. Re:I wonder... by Hollinger · · Score: 1

      One of the things I'm sure someone will point out is that for many people, there's a bit more substance to a gift when you go buy a box in a store.

      I like being able to buy a box and stick it in some wrapping paper.

      --
      Michael C. Hollinger
  2. I for one.. by root-kun · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I know that personally (as a game collector) would not buy games online. Maybe if they were budget games, but anything serious I want a box and a disc that I can put on my shelf, and in 10 years replay! I cant forsee ganking a DVD-R with HalfLife3 out of the binder and having it work in 10 years, let alone finding it.
    Ofcourse online distribution would (if done properly) allow a company like Valve to sell their games cheaper, and have more direct control on the content. If they did it right, it would be a mixed bag.

    --
    video game, ecchi, bbs and classic computing fans unite to eat sushi
    1. Re:I for one.. by Grand · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So you wont be able to find a DVD-R, but you will be able to find the OEM disc because its in a box????

      Personally, I like the idea that all I need is a login to get my games. I have a couple of games that I have lost the CDKEY's or the discs are scratched. Now it is my fault for this, but im still SOL. I believe that you can actually just copy the valve file for each game (Its one file per game) and your set. Just download/install steam, and copy that file into its respective folder and your set to play. No downloading involved except for updates if needed.

    2. Re:I for one.. by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      I like it also because I can log in from any computer that has Steam installed and play any game I have purchased.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    3. Re:I for one.. by Mascot · · Score: 1

      "I want a box and a disc that I can put on my shelf, and in 10 years replay! I cant forsee ganking a DVD-R with HalfLife3 out of the binder and having it work in 10 years,"

      Are you saying HL2 bought from a store gives you some illusion you'll actually be able to do the above? That is, picking it out of a closet in 10 years time and playing? Good luck. Unless Valve's still online so you can decrypt the data after installing it, you'll be way better of burning a Steam backup onto a DVD-R.

      The future seems to be here. And I, for one, don't like the looks of it much.

    4. Re:I for one.. by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      Are you saying HL2 bought from a store gives you some illusion you'll actually be able to do the above? That is, picking it out of a closet in 10 years time and playing? Good luck. Unless Valve's still online so you can decrypt the data after installing it, you'll be way better of burning a Steam backup onto a DVD-R.

      Just like there are no-cd executables, there are already cracked versions of Steam that allow the game to be played whether Valve exists or not.

      If Valve fell apart, we'd still be able to play offline. We could also play online by choosing cracked servers as well.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    5. Re:I for one.. by ZephyrXero · · Score: 1

      While I'm not a big fan of some of the DRM stuff steam pulls, I do see this as the way of the future. Smaller game developers especially would benefit from straight online sales because there are no middle men cutting into their profits. However, boxed games will never go away. Just as someone posted earlier, they perfer the box with the booklet and artwork and whatnot. It's the same as the music industry right now, you can buy songs on iTunes or whatever, but most people still perfer to have an actual physical copy they can hold on to with liner notes and everything. I myself would probably buy everything online if possible ;) What really needs to happen is that game developers realize that with the internet, they no longer 'need' publishers. For decades developers have complained about 'the suits' screwing with their game, so why not sell it themselves? Money...distribution...connections, etc... With the internet, all they need is a nice server with lots of bandwidth. Then, for all those who like the boxed copies you find a publisher who just publishes the game and doesn't try to take it from you. The Behemoth and O3 Entertainment are a good example, look at Alien Hominid (great game), it started as a flash game and the developers wanted to release it on consoles and now you can buy it for a reasonable price ($30) and I'm sure they're probably making more money per copy than most developers that sell their games at full price. It's all just a matter of time...

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
    6. Re:I for one.. by Mascot · · Score: 1

      The parent said he wanted to pick the box off the shelf, install and play. Not pick the box off the shelf, install, go online to download crack, then play.

    7. Re:I for one.. by HD+Webdev · · Score: 1

      The parent said he wanted to pick the box off the shelf, install and play. Not pick the box off the shelf, install, go online to download crack, then play.

      I'm aware of that.

      That's what quoting is for. I was replying to what I quoted.

      --
      This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
    8. Re:I for one.. by edwdig · · Score: 1

      He didn't say he wouldn't be able to find the DVD-R. He said he couldn't see the DVD-R still working when he looked for it 10 years later.

      Mass produced read-only media (CDs, cartridges) tend to have a much longer shelf life than writable media does (floppy, CD-R). That was the point of the message you replied to.

      There's also the issue off companies going out of business, resulting in the servers validating the DRM no longer existing.

  3. Numbers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know what the numbers were for valve, but I don't imagine that steam sales outranked store sales. If they did, I'll be very surprised.

    The only reason I purchased HL2 via steam was because at that time I had no means to get to my nearest game retailer, but I was very hesitant to give out my CC info with the memory of the big hack just a year earlier.

    I recall being a bit upset when I learned that the price was the same at the store, and that I didn't get any material/tangible product for the same amount of cash, and even more so when I realized that if valve went under and I wanted to play HL2 again years on down the road, I'm going to be SOL.

    Maybe it's just me and old habits, but I'm much more comfortable getting physical disc with real books and boxes than giving my CC# to a type field in exchange for a very large download out for the same amount cash. If more PC games emulate the steam system, I'm afraid consoles are going to kick the living hell out of the interactive market and put a lot of talented artist and programmers out of a job.

    1) Not everyone has BroadBand yet, think of your potential market people!
    2) Many people do not have a CC, and we all know cash is better anyway.
    3) Many of those who do have CC do not enjoy typing it into cold text fields in exchange for a download.

    1. Re:Numbers? by UWC · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I've heard that Valve charged full price for HL2 via Steam because VU wouldn't let them undercut the boxed versions. I guess we'll never know for sure if it's true, but the break with VU will allow them to set prices as they please.

      That said, I did get mine via Steam, but I bought the $59 version which included the entire Valve back catalog via Steam.

      --
      Honor Among Slackers. A veri
    2. Re:Numbers? by snuf23 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "That said, I did get mine via Steam, but I bought the $59 version which included the entire Valve back catalog via Steam."

      Yeah I did the same. I figured I'd rather not have the CDs if I'm going to have to sign up for steam anyway - and the $10 additional for the back catalogue was the clincher. I guess if you already had licenses for the original Half Life that wouldn't be a great option though.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    3. Re:Numbers? by UWC · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I did have the original Half-Life, but I had accidentally passed my CD key off to a friend soon after Steam started tracking such things and while I didn't quite care enough to wrest it back from him, it was nice that I could get it, expansions, and CS: Condition Zero (which I may or may not ever play) for just $10 and no need to keep up with CDs. Also, I forget: did the $49 version also include Half-Life: Source, or was that also part of the $59 incentive bundle?

      --
      Honor Among Slackers. A veri
    4. Re:Numbers? by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      I believe Half-Life source was part of the $49 package as well. I'm not sure about the yet to be released Day of Defeat source.
      That little 2D side scroller starring Gordon Freeman was a cute bonus too. Reminded me of the Metal Slug series of games.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    5. Re:Numbers? by Rallion · · Score: 1

      I mentioned that fact to some people who were waiting for Blizzard to start selling WoW accounts for less than the box price. They weren't pleased.

      Publishers suck. Especially VU.

    6. Re:Numbers? by Jorkapp · · Score: 1

      That little 2D side scroller starring Gordon Freeman was a cute bonus too.

      That is availible for free to everyone. You don't need a Half-Life(2) license for it.

      --
      Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
  4. Wait. by Pwned · · Score: 1, Informative

    You mean that I don't have to goto the mall anymore to buy games? What have I lost here? I'm only seeing this as a good thing.

    1. Re:Wait. by screwballicus · · Score: 2, Funny

      You mean that I don't have to goto the mall anymore to buy games? What have I lost here? I'm only seeing this as a good thing.

      Yeah, it's very much a quality-of-life thing for me. I find this whole 'going outside' phenomenon to be in quite direct conflict with what I perceive to be an otherwise efficient video gaming existence, and so Valve's measures certainly seem a step forward. Why make a time-consuming trip to the mall during which I am neither gaining levels nor increasing my frag count when I could be spending that same time doing productive things, like improving my gameplay strategies in titles already in my possession?

  5. Does That Mean??? by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

    Does that mean HL2 is the last game ever that requires online updates and online forced registration? Is this prove that the model doesn't work.

    1. Re:Does That Mean??? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      Uhm no, VU has nothing to do with Steam at all, thats completely Valve. If anything, this proves that Valves approach using Steam as a distyribution method was a good choice for them, and they can use it again.

  6. I bought a hard copy... by Taulin · · Score: 1

    I bought the game from a store, and people condemn this action. However, when I recently bought a new HD, and moved all my games to it, it only took 10 mintues to reinstall HL2, instead of having to download the whole frigg'en thing again. Same thing would go if my HD crashed. At least when I bought Anarchy Online from their online store and downloaded it, I was able to burn it. Can you not burn a HL2 copy if you bought it through steam?

    1. Re:I bought a hard copy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      yes you can make a backup of your game. I did it quite successfully when I moved to a new hdd.

      It was actually better than installing again from the original discs because all the latest updates were already in it, whereas when installing from disc I would have had to wait for the updates to re-download