Crysis Warhead Gets Steamed

[Evil Avatar]

Valve sends along word that both Crysis and Crysis Warhead are heading to Steam (http://www.steampowered.com). Pre-purchasing will begin this weekend with both titles hitting the downloadable platform in mid-September.

[Heretic Machine]

Aren't these the first EA games to be put onto Steam?

[StoneGut]

VERY cool - looks like I'll be Steamin' Warhead!

[Magnanimous Gnome]

:O EA put two games on Steam?

Cats and dogs living together?

[Jackel]

I might actually purchase these..just to see how Crysis runs on my laptop lol.

[MrSatan]

Oh yeah Baby I love steam!

[LarsenNET]

I'll wait for the inevitable weekend deal. No sale = no deal.

[GigaFuzz]

The end is extremely fucking nigh.

If you got the 28 Days Later reference, have a cookie

[Abash Alarmist]

Holy fuck. An EA game on Steam? Wait. Dawn of War 2 is an EA Game and is also going on steam. Sweet!

[Adam Blue]

Holy fuck. An EA game on Steam? Wait. Dawn of War 2 is an EA Game and is also going on steam. Sweet!

Hmmm...I had no idea EA picked up DoW 2. I'm almost scared.

[Abash Alarmist]

Wait. Its not. My bad.

[Adam Blue]

Wait. Its not. My bad.

Ok good...I actually feel better.

[Abash Alarmist]

Ok good...I actually feel better.

Yea. I mean, we could have another Command and Conquer 3 on our hands! What a relief!

[Itchyeyes]

Holy fuck. An EA game on Steam? Wait. Dawn of War 2 is an EA Game and is also going on steam. Sweet!
I'm pretty sure that Crytek retains the rights to Crysis, part of the reason they left Ubisoft after Farcry, they didn't want their publishers taking control of their creative property. I think EA serves pretty much a strictly distributionary role there, much like with Valve and Orange box. I wouldn't be surprised if Relic had the same sort of deal, especially considering CoH is distributed by by THQ.

[Goronmon]

Hopefully they offer some sort of package deal so that I can pick up both titles.

[Thin_J]

I canceled my pre-order on Amazon when I heard this. The fewer discs I have laying around the better.

[ascl]

Hmmm this just went from "not a chance in hell" to "maybe I'll buy it".


Steam is just too tempting...

[Sazime]

EA Downloader is next folks! Give it until next fall, and we'll start seeing EA say, "Transfer all of you're EA Downloader games to Steam now for only $49.99!"

Bookmark this thread. You know I'm right. :D

[El Ikkir]

The Witcher, Stalker, Flat-out, Multiwinia, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, Silent Hill....

All the great titles in one place.

I haven't been inside a game store in a looong time, and I think I won't be going back there anytime soon...

[boratika]

Oh sweet, it's available to EU/AU/JP. Didn't expect that from EA, since Ubi and Activission don't do it.

The sorry state of the AUD is making me sad though.

This (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/989/), however, is not a good deal:D (screen grab (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f66/boratika/crysisdeal.png) for when it changes)

[Phinor]

Once again not worth it, retail is cheaper for EU. But as the Ubisoft(?) guy already said in an interview, they are milking EU just because they can.

[gojira]

The only problem with Steam is I'm gonna need a much bigger hard drive. 90 gigs just doesn't cut it these days.

*sigh* You kids and your darn downloads. Get off my lawn.

[Spooky]

I for one will definately be Steaming this. I only hope that DoW 2 is also Steamed.

[killer_dk]

Once again not worth it, retail is cheaper for EU.

Not here in denmark. it's only 2 $ more expensive on steam then the cheapest online dealer

[boratika]

I for one will definately be Steaming this. I only hope that DoW 2 is also Steamed.

That depends on whether you live in North America or not. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/9490/)

[boratika]

Aren't these the first EA games to be put onto Steam?

Evidently not (http://store.steampowered.com/app/1300/). Who knew?

stupid no edit button making me need to double post

[Vandenh]

Does the steam version also come with SecuROM? Is so.. fuck em.

[Varsity]

Evidently not (http://store.steampowered.com/app/1300/). Who knew?

EA only distributed that game, much like they do Valve's.

[Skampy]

$70 for both games, That is kind of expensive. im going to pass until there is a super sale.

[Morangie]

Not here in denmark. it's only 2 $ more expensive on steam then the cheapest online dealer
And you don't see the hilarity in the store with absolutely no physical product being more expensive?

Steam is great for older games and indie stuff but for big releases its a joke. I got the bioshock collectors edition via retail cheaper at launch that bioshock is on steam today.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I'm pretty sure that Crytek retains the rights to Crysis, part of the reason they left Ubisoft after Farcry, they didn't want their publishers taking control of their creative property. I think EA serves pretty much a strictly distributionary role there, much like with Valve and Orange box. I wouldn't be surprised if Relic had the same sort of deal, especially considering CoH is distributed by by THQ.

EA is involved though. They are listed as the publisher on Steam.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Does the steam version also come with SecuROM? Is so.. fuck em.


Steam games only come with the Steam DRM. There's no third party DRM in any Steam release as far as I know.

[Gaz]

EA games on Steam? EA has dealt with Valve for quite some time; EA handles their retail presence, so I guess it's a natural progression for Valve to start working with EA's online sales.

[Varsity]

Steam games only come with the Steam DRM. There's no third party DRM in any Steam release as far as I know.

Bioshock uses the same Securom protection as Mass Effect and Spore.

[Craigtheplague]

Once again not worth it, retail is cheaper for EU. But as the Ubisoft(?) guy already said in an interview, they are milking EU just because they can.

I recently bought Bioshock retail for 20 Euros (qwerty keyboard), while Steam has it for $55. I thought I would be able to put the CD key into Steam but only a few games can do that (Bioshock not included). Anybody know if there is a distinct possibility that our retail purchases can be "Steamed"?

Sorry for the off-topic post.

[Phinor]

$70 for both games, That is kind of expensive. im going to pass until there is a super sale.

That'd be cheap, $116 for EU :P

Well ok, not cheap - Crysis is roughly 20 bucks in stores nowadays.

[Jackel]

Steam games only come with the Steam DRM. There's no third party DRM in any Steam release as far as I know.

Unfortunately some games do come with Securom, Bioshock being the main example. Its since been removed, but it did start with it.

[saulob]

Evidently not (http://store.steampowered.com/app/1300/). Who knew?

stupid no edit button making me need to double post

Ahhhhhh, don't remember me that game :(

So sad....

[Antdude]

I'll be very interested to see if the SecuROM malware shows up in these products. It's already obvious EA is failing with it in Spore and will fail with Red Alert 3. However, if Steam releases are DRM-free, they will become a much better option, especially if the 3-5 install limit is eliminated.

Keep an eye on this.

[Deadend]

I'll be very interested to see if the SecuROM malware shows up in these products. It's already obvious EA is failing with it in Spore and will fail with Red Alert 3. However, if Steam releases are DRM-free, they will become a much better option, especially if the 3-5 install limit is eliminated.

Keep an eye on this.

Steam games have DRM... they just use a different system. Not based on install limits, but on account being signed in and sometimes being offline makes it impossible to play SP games on Steam... sometimes. But there is definitely DRM, it just is more fair to users than other companies.

[alienchild]

This was fucking fantastic! I practically started jumping up and down when I saw the "Coming Soon" page :D Crysis pack gets bought TODAY, and all the other games perhaps with the exception of Multiwinia is a MUST BUY for me. One this I don't understand though; I heard Silent Hill was coming out in September, but it's not on the coming soon page...? Maybe it isnt coming out on Steam in EU?

[feeble]

I thought I would be able to put the CD key into Steam but only a few games can do that (Bioshock not included). Anybody know if there is a distinct possibility that our retail purchases can be "Steamed"?

Sorry for the off-topic post.

Its mostly to do with cdkeys
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7685664#post7685664
Tying retail games to your Steam account isn't something we have total control over. In order for us to even be able to recognize that a retail game was purchased and tie it to your Steam account we need a database of the valid cd-keys for that game (and of course the game will need to have shipped with a unique cd-key or serial number of some kind). This isn't something we have access to for most third party games, even those we sell on Steam. As such we aren't able to offer the service for most games. We'd love it if we could and we have done it when possible (ie, Prey).

This question come up alot when the penny arcade game came out
http://forum.playgreenhouse.com/jforum/posts/list/720.page#4955
Like is the case with the Xbox LIVE Arcade version, the licensing is completely separate. Valve processes your payment on Steam and takes responsibility for issuing the codes. So while you can move your Greenhouse-supplied license key between the Windows, Mac and Linux versions downloaded from Greenhouse, those codes are not interchangeable with Steam.

I think its fair enough, but arguably annoying

[Magnanimous Gnome]

It's sort of annoying I suppose, and I'd love to be able to add third party games that I've bought at retail to Steam. Then again I can see why Valve wouldn't do this - in addition to third parties not going along with it, it doesn't really benefit Valve in any way. You buy a third party game at retail, Valve gets no money for the purchase, but then you register it via Steam and get to download it whenever you want? What's the incentive for Valve to implement something like that?

[Adam Blue]

What's the incentive for Valve to implement something like that?

I guess if anything, more chances of those people using Steam which then leads to possibly more sales.

[drakkarim]

so permit me to piss in everyone's cereal here, but give me one benefit of buying this (or anything really) over steam as opposed to retail?

is there a price reduction?
can i turn around and sell it in a few months when i'm bored with it?

[Craigtheplague]

It's sort of annoying I suppose, and I'd love to be able to add third party games that I've bought at retail to Steam. Then again I can see why Valve wouldn't do this - in addition to third parties not going along with it, it doesn't really benefit Valve in any way. You buy a third party game at retail, Valve gets no money for the purchase, but then you register it via Steam and get to download it whenever you want? What's the incentive for Valve to implement something like that?

I would gladly pay $5 to be able to put a game I bought at retail onto Steam.

[GigaFuzz]

so permit me to piss in everyone's cereal here, but give me one benefit of buying this (or anything really) over steam as opposed to retail?

is there a price reduction?
can i turn around and sell it in a few months when i'm bored with it?

No losing discs.
No losing CD-Keys.
Can play it as soon as it is released (especially with pre-loading).
Easy installation & download.
Can download it on any computer, anywhere.
No disc required in drive.
Automatic update downloads.

[feeble]

so permit me to piss in everyone's cereal here, but give me one benefit of buying this (or anything really) over steam as opposed to retail?

is there a price reduction?
can i turn around and sell it in a few months when i'm bored with it?
50% games(at least in my country)

[92miata]

Its mostly to do with cdkeys
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7685664#post7685664


This question come up alot when the penny arcade game came out
http://forum.playgreenhouse.com/jforum/posts/list/720.page#4955


I think its fair enough, but arguably annoying

i need to know this too. i am playing crysis right now and i would love to get it on my steam account. HELP!!!!!

[Shifter]

No losing discs.
No losing CD-Keys.
Can play it as soon as it is released (especially with pre-loading).
Easy installation & download.
Can download it on any computer, anywhere.
No disc required in drive.
Automatic update downloads.


No game boxes cluttering up my office.
Can hide the purchase from wives.
Don't have to deal with EB - Gamestop preorder nonsense.
Easy as pie to install and uninstall repeatedly as disc space allows

[drakkarim]

No losing discs.
No losing CD-Keys.
Can play it as soon as it is released (especially with pre-loading).
Easy installation & download.
Can download it on any computer, anywhere.
No disc required in drive.
Automatic update downloads.
[\QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Shifter;1642421]No game boxes cluttering up my office.
Can hide the purchase from wives.
Don't have to deal with EB - Gamestop preorder nonsense.
Easy as pie to install and uninstall repeatedly as disc space allows

so what you're basically both saying is that no, you can't sell it after you're done with it :)

i think i'd rather have the crappy DRM than be told i can't sell something i paid for.

[Shifter]

Not at all. I will later sell my Steam ID for ONE MIIILLLIIIOOONNN DOLLARS!!

[feeble]

so what you're basically both saying is that no, you can't sell it after you're done with it :)

i think i'd rather have the crappy DRM than be told i can't sell something i paid for.

Just wondering,
Are you even allowed to return PC games?

[Wackman3000]

so what you're basically both saying is that no, you can't sell it after you're done with it :)

i think i'd rather have the crappy DRM than be told i can't sell something i paid for.

Who takes used PC games? None of the local stores around me will accept them.

Digital downloads are the wave of the future, especially for PC gaming and I welcome the DRM free and ease of updating with a great service such as Steam.

[Goronmon]

Digital downloads are the wave of the future, especially for PC gaming and I welcome the DRM free and ease of updating with a great service such as Steam.Steam is essentially just an application for enforcing Valve's DRM. Of course, we get stuff in return for using it, so most people don't mind.

[drakkarim]

Just wondering,
Are you even allowed to return PC games?

Who takes used PC games? None of the local stores around me will accept them.
Digital downloads are the wave of the future, especially for PC gaming and I welcome the DRM free and ease of updating with a great service such as Steam.

who said anything about returning anything? i said can you SELL what you PAID for after you're don't playing it?

the answer seems to be 'no'. this is the 'future' steam users are balls to the wall for apparently. i.e. giving up your consumer rights.

Steam is essentially just an application for enforcing Valve's DRM. Of course, we get stuff in return for using it, so most people don't mind.

you don't get anything in return, you get shafted, and yes, most don't seem to mind, oh well.

[H.Bogard]

who said anything about returning anything? i said can you SELL what you PAID for after you're don't playing it?

the answer seems to be 'no'. this is the 'future' steam users are balls to the wall for apparently. i.e. giving up your consumer rights.



you don't get anything in return, you get shafted, and yes, most don't seem to mind, oh well.

Can you sell your DLC from Xbox Live or PSN? Or even the games you buy from WiiWare?

[drakkarim]

Can you sell your DLC from Xbox Live or PSN? Or even the games you buy from WiiWare?

i'm talking about full RETAIL games, with brick and mortar full, physical, identical copies being sold for the exact same price without shitting on your resale rights.

somehow i don't think Steam is being peddled as the PSN/Live/Wii store option on the PC side.

the vast majority of the stuff sold in those doesn't have full retail versions available. plus its much cheaper anyway.

games are slowly being turned into into a disposable metered experience (like a movie at the theater) rather than an item you can enjoy and resell (like a bluray/dvd you buy).

great DRM tool, great for Valve, but shit for consumers.

[H.Bogard]

i'm talking about full RETAIL games, with brick and mortar full, physical, identical copies being sold for the exact same price without shitting on your resale rights.


Iirc, there's a tonne of Xbox originals that you could buy from retail that are downloadable over Live.

If you're that desperate to resell your digital distro games, then you might as well create a seperate Steam account for every game you buy, and sell the accounts after you're done with the games. :p

[drakkarim]

Iirc, there's a tonne of Xbox originals that you could buy from retail that are downloadable over Live.

If you're that desperate to resell your digital distro games, then you might as well create a seperate Steam account for every game you buy, and sell the accounts after you're done with the games. :p

i could care less about oldies in this case. last i checked live isn't letting me download retail 360 games (yet?). PSN is making inroads into that, although they had the decency to at least offer lower prices (over retail copies) for the digital download versions (only warhawk comes to mind). I don't expect the wii to ever offer that option.

the seperate steam account thing is probably a good idea, assuming that whoever would consider buying it (from me) would want the hassle of juggling multiple accounts for individual games, unless multiple steam accounts can be absorbed into one somehow?

[drakkarim]

If you're that desperate to resell your digital distro games

in any case, its not about being desperate, its about having the right to do so IF/WHEN ANYONE should choose to do so.

Steam is making you give up those rights. As are pretty much all game download services it seems.

i'm sure gabe is jiggling in his seat with laughter at this.

[Goronmon]

you don't get anything in return, you get shafted, and yes, most don't seem to mind, oh well.What do you mean you don't get anything in return?


You can download and install the game whenever you want on whatever computer you want. No need to store CDs or enter CD Keys.


The Steam Community, allowing for groups along with tracking achievements for games. Basically Xbox Live without the monthly subscription.


VAC seems to work alright and since games are tied to accounts, when people are banned, they need to rebuy the game to keep playing.

[drakkarim]

What do you mean you don't get anything in return?


You can download and install the game whenever you want on whatever computer you want. No need to store CDs or enter CD Keys.

The Steam Community, allowing for groups along with tracking achievements for games. Basically Xbox Live without the monthly subscription.

VAC seems to work alright and since games are tied to accounts, when people are banned, they need to rebuy the game to keep playing.


i guess we put different 'value' on different 'things' :)

I do like item one above greatly. But not at the cost of giving up the right to throw the game up on ebay when i'm done with it.

"the steam community", while i have nothing against, i have no interest in. especially if it means giving up the right to sell what i bought.

don't know what VAC is (guessing some anticheat/hack something or other), which is good for the gamers, but again, could care less about it if it means i can't sell what i bought.

to me, this is like buying a car and 10 years later being told you can't sell it. you either have to leave it in your drive way for ever, or throw it in the junkyard, because who knows, in 20 years you might want to take it out of the junkyard again.

[Crittias]

drakkarim,

Games -- and software in general -- are best thought of as a service, not a product. You get to use the service, and you pay a non-refundable fee for that use. You're paying for the experience, not the physical product. After all, what's the physical item worth, in and of itself? A DVD is worth pennies as raw material, right?

As an example, I don't go to a live concert, enjoy the show, and then expect some sort of resale value for my used ticket. I paid for the experience, not some physical thing.

Games are very much like a show. You're paying for the experience, not some tangible object.


My $0.02.

[drakkarim]

drakkarim,

Games -- and software in general -- are best thought of as a service, not a product. You get to use the service, and you pay a non-refundable fee for that use. You're paying for the experience, not the physical product. After all, what's the physical item worth, in and of itself? A DVD is worth pennies as raw material, right?

As an example, I don't go to a live concert, enjoy the show, and then expect some sort of resale value for my used ticket. I paid for the experience, not some physical thing.

Games are very much like a show. You're paying for the experience, not some tangible object.

My $0.02.

my point exactly, the crap you get from DOWNLOAD services they want you to think of as an 'experience'. this fits in perfectly to the 'no rights' model.

but when you go to a store and physically purchase something, you ARE purchasing something tangible, that you CAN resell. FOR THE SAME PRICE.

so again i ask, what is the benefit of paying for an 'experience', when for the same price you can get the 'experience' AND a tangible object you can resell.

[Crittias]

so again i ask, what is the benefit of paying for an 'experience', when for the same price you can get the 'experience' AND a tangible object you can resell.You're looking at it from a consumer viewpoint, and you are 100% correct from that viewpoint.

Now, from a business standpoint, in the past they only had one choice: they could sell you their software on physical media that you could resell. As a result, they lost potential future sales to your used sale. Now businesses can choose the modern option: digital download. No physical media = no used market.

What needs to happen for both you and the business to be happy is for the price of the digital distribution to be priced at the same amount as what you would pay for your physical copy minus your resell price (and factor in convenience, speed of availability, no physical media is good for the environment, whatever). I don't think we're far off that mark with many of the sales the online distributors are offering, but that's up to you to decide, I guess.

[drakkarim]

You're looking at it from a consumer viewpoint, and you are 100% correct from that viewpoint.

Now, from a business standpoint, in the past they only had one choice: they could sell you their software on physical media that you could resell. As a result, they lost potential future sales to your used sale. Now businesses can choose the modern option: digital download. No physical media = no used market.

What needs to happen for both you and the business to be happy is for the price of the digital distribution to be priced at the same amount as what you would pay for your physical copy minus your resell price (and factor in convenience, speed of availability, no physical media is good for the environment, whatever). I don't think we're far off that mark with many of the sales the online distributors are offering, but that's up to you to decide, I guess.

we agree pretty much on everything, except for the "I don't think we're far off that mark with many of the sales..." part. Simply because the online prices are identical to the retail prices for any new release.

which makes the online model quite frankly an insult to any consumer that can think past "yummm, doughnut!".

if as you say they lowered the online prices considerably, to 'compensate' me for my guaranteed 100% loss, then i'd be willing to give them a chance.

anyway, beating a dead horse here. current options have no interest in and/or need to lower prices since the consumers don't seem to give a crap about what they're losing. i can only hope that an alternative option rolls around sooner or later and put the current "milk the stupid consumer for every penny you can" model out of business.

[feeble]

This is just conjecture at the moment,

the Retail version of Crysis Warhead contains the same DRM as spore(3 install limit)

No details of yet have been released regarding the Steam version.
But by using passed examples(trackmania and bioshock),
both initially got released with SecuROM, after release the DRM was removed.


So if you didn't enjoy the SPORE DRM, hold off on this game.
Retail wont change, but you can check back with the Steam version after release.

[H.Bogard]

First week sales and the game is #10 on the NPD charts already.

For the single player, just buy the game and use a crack. No one's gonna kill you.

[H.Bogard]

Edit : My bad... its actually the original Crysis that's back on the charts.
(Would Yerli shut up now?)

[Crittias]

we agree pretty much on everything, except for the "I don't think we're far off that mark with many of the sales..." part. Simply because the online prices are identical to the retail prices for any new release.You're right, we're pretty much in agreement. I guess I get more utility out of the convenience factor than you do. I do hope that publishers will start offering the users better prices for their decreased production costs. We'll see.

[Goronmon]

i guess we put different 'value' on different 'things' :) I was mainly responding to your contention that Steam doesn't offer anything in return for not allowing used game sales.

to me, this is like buying a car and 10 years later being told you can't sell it. you either have to leave it in your drive way for ever, or throw it in the junkyard, because who knows, in 20 years you might want to take it out of the junkyard again.Why does this situation need an analogy? I don't think the thought of "buying I game I can't sell used" is so complicated that it requires one. Especially one where you chose an expensive item to compare it to. :p

[drakkarim]

I was mainly responding to your contention that Steam doesn't offer anything in return for not allowing used game sales.


i understand, and my point was that what you listed as benefits is tangible. price/money isn't.


Why does this situation need an analogy? I don't think the thought of "buying I game I can't sell used" is so complicated that it requires one. Especially one where you chose an expensive item to compare it to. :p

whether its $50 or $50,000, the analogy is true. i used it because i think people don't realize what they're giving up (fundamental consumer rights).

granted, if i was in the shoes of ANY software publisher, i'd want to make tinfoil hat wearing freaks like me shut up too, that way things can 'happen' and nobody will be the wiser in 10 years :)

[Morangie]

You're right, we're pretty much in agreement. I guess I get more utility out of the convenience factor than you do. I do hope that publishers will start offering the users better prices for their decreased production costs. We'll see.
Why would they ever drop prices if you're willing to keep on paying the same?

[Goronmon]

Why would they ever drop prices if you're willing to keep on paying the same?Because he doesn't represent every consumer on the planet and I'm pretty sure developers wouldn't mind more people buying their products.

[Goronmon]

whether its $50 or $50,000, the analogy is true. i used it because i think people don't realize what they're giving up (fundamental consumer rights).I think most people understand well, they just don't think the rights are really that important. I mean, I've kept just about every PC game I have ever purchased in my lifetime. In fact, I've easily lost more PC games than I will ever trade/sell/give away. Don't you think a distribution system such as Steam would seem reasonable given my situation?

[GigaFuzz]

I think most people understand well, they just don't think the rights are really that important. I mean, I've kept just about every PC game I have ever purchased in my lifetime. In fact, I've easily lost more PC games than I will ever trade/sell/give away. Don't you think a distribution system such as Steam would seem reasonable given my situation?

Exactly. While drakkarim is entitled to not like DD due to the fact he can't resell his games, he has to understand that his arguments don't apply to everyone, and that the advantages that have been listed can't be dismissed just because he doesn't like it.

Some of us don't care that we can't resell. I could count on one hand with 3 fingers missing the number of times I've sold a PC game.

Edit: And now that I think about it, I re-purchased those games later anyway.

[Crittias]

Some of us don't care that we can't resell. I could count on one hand with 3 fingers missing the number of times I've sold a PC game.I need no hands. Or fingers, or toes, or stone beads. For MOST people (I'm guessing, I have no actual evidence), reselling is absolutely NOT on the radar.