The bloating of the PC/Console game store

[Occhidiangela]

Game Stop Weds EB

Does this really matter?

Guild Wars is establishing, I think, a bridgehead in the land of "it's all online, even buying the game. Who needs a damned disc?" Didn't Half Life 2 do something like that as well, with their Steam download schme? Or do I have that wrong?

Do any of you think that it matter that two game store chains have merged?

Occhi

[Wyrm]

Well, it somewhat doesn't matter since they've both been basically the same store for quite a while now, just look at the daily deals they both offer.

At the same time though, they've been each others biggest competition: having pricing wars as well as different pricings for used games that have been good for gamers.

Since you brought up Guild Wars, I wonder if this now means that you'll get both preorder items from EB/Gamestop now.

[Swiss Mercenary]

In response to Occhi, yes, Half-Life 2 was distributed on Steam... Unfortunately, putting it in as few words as possible - Steam sucked. Big time.

As for the Guild Wars bit, since your pre-order item is activated by punching in your pre-order key (Which you have already received), you'll be getting the item that you were told you would get back when you pre-ordered.

And, yes, Arena.net does want to cut the middle man, and sell expansions on-line - however, they will also be available at stores.

[WarLocke]

Guild Wars is establishing, I think, a bridgehead in the land of "it's all online, even buying the game.  Who needs a damned disc?"  Didn't Half Life 2 do something like that as well, with their Steam download schme?  Or do I have that wrong?
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On the one hand, this whole 'sell it over teh intarweb' scheme is good because it means I can actually get a game if/when I want it. The Babbages in my local mall has been slowly but surely shrinking its PC section in order to cram more console crap into the store, and I can easily see a day when they eliminate their PC section entirely.

On the other hand, what happens if I buy a game online and then have to reformat? Or my hard drive just dies? Having a physical disk with the data is a nice thing, too. Argh. :(

[Swiss Mercenary]

On the other hand, what happens if I buy a game online and then have to reformat?  Or my hard drive just dies?  Having a physical disk with the data is a nice thing, too.  Argh.  :(
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The concept is that you can download it again, and activate it through the key that you wrote down in a safe place, or through your account, in the case of Guild Wars/Half-Life 2.

[Ashock]

Game Stop Weds EB

Does this really matter?

Guild Wars is establishing, I think, a bridgehead in the land of "it's all online, even buying the game.  Who needs a damned disc?"  Didn't Half Life 2 do something like that as well, with their Steam download schme?  Or do I have that wrong?

Do any of you think that it matter that two game store chains have merged?

Occhi
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Occhi, Guild Wars - worth getting or not? Since I just bought a new machine, I never got the chance to play the Beta.



tia



-A

[pakman]

I personally think the whole "games over the internet" thing is a bad idea. Yes, I know it attempts to stop pirating and other issues. What about for people that don't have an broadband or cable connection, though? Personally, when I go home over the summer and on Christmas break, I go back to dial-up. Why? We have no need for high speed internet at home. Steam is horrible, the concept is there, but the implementation is a disaster. If I had been at home and installed HL2, I would not have been able to play it because of the validation over the internet issue.

Besides, I don't go to EB or Gamestop, every time I go in there, all I see is console games. I'm not a huge fan of consoles, so I don't really care who takes over whom.

[Zippyy]

I personally think the whole "games over the internet" thing is a bad idea. Yes, I know it attempts to stop pirating and other issues. What about for people that don't have an broadband or cable connection, though? Personally, when I go home over the summer and on Christmas break, I go back to dial-up. Why? We have no need for high speed internet at home. Steam is horrible, the concept is there, but the implementation is a disaster. If I had been at home and installed HL2, I would not have been able to play it because of the validation over the internet issue.

Besides, I don't go to EB or Gamestop, every time I go in there, all I see is console games. I'm not a huge fan of consoles, so I don't really care who takes over whom.
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Steam was a disaster two years ago. It's stable now. Well, everything is stable except for the friends service, which hasn't been up since 1973.

[Occhidiangela]

Occhi, Guild Wars - worth getting or not? Since I just bought a new machine, I never got the chance to play the Beta.
tia
-A
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Hmmm. I enjoyed the play I had in the beta events I participated in, however, I would suggest you ask Skandranon or some of the other RBD GW crowd for a more detailed opinion.

Levels end at 20, multi classed, and "get to the team PvP events" seems to be the idea. I also see GW as having some variant potential.

I'd say give it a whirl.

Occhi

[LochnarITB]

I'd say give it a whirl.
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And, on that note, I will add that I received notice yesterday that my copy had been shipped by EB. At this point, I have not decided if I will even play it. All my gaming time is being invested in WoW, which I finally gave in and tried shortly after I pre-ordered Guild Wars. D'oh. :wacko:

[Thecla]

Guild Wars - worth getting or not?
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FWIW (I played a few of the earlier GW trials, but none recently), IMO whether or not Guild Wars is worth getting will depend on what you're looking for.

GW struck me as a very mission oriented/competitive game. I think it will have a lot to offer in that regard, as well as in a team vs. team or pvp play, as a kind of rpg/fps hybrid (with plenty of updatable content). I'm not so sure it will work as well in the classic "let's go beat up some monsters" Diablo style. Actually, I think WoW doesn't do so well there either -- it's probably ultimately more an instance-type EQ game than a MMORPG version of Diablo.

On the original topic, myself I would much prefer non-CD internet enabled games than the reverse.

[Ashock]

FWIW (I played a few of the earlier GW trials, but none recently), IMO whether or not Guild Wars is worth getting will depend on what you're looking for.

GW struck me as a very mission oriented/competitive game. I think it will have a lot to offer in that regard, as well as in a team vs. team or pvp play, as a kind of rpg/fps hybrid (with plenty of updatable content). I'm not so sure it will work as well in the classic "let's go beat up some monsters" Diablo style. Actually, I think WoW doesn't do so well there either -- it's probably ultimately more an instance-type EQ game than a MMORPG version of Diablo.

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So, are you buying it, Clawed One?



-A


ps. Thx, Occhi.

[Dozer]

Reminds me of the IGN/Gamespy merger - interesting, but not really that important in the long run.

[Thecla]

So, are you buying it, Clawed One?
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I'm not sure -- I think I will wait and see how GW looks after it's released before I decide; I did cancel my WoW subscription though...