@Woo I love that you take the only semi childish arguement from the anti-steam side and slams on that and ignore all the rest of the very valid arguements against steam.
For the people being against steam because of the cut: Sure it does suck that steam is making a bigger cut but overall I think overhaul is getting more money in their pockets from the sales on steam.
For the people thinking that they are entitled to free steam keys.... Why do you feel that you are entitled to those keys? Have they been promised to you by anyone from atari or overhaul? And no they never said the game would never be on steam. They said it wouldn't be on steam on release. It wasn't.
Instead of complaining about free steam keys I urge you to show a little patience as we have already been told several times that overhaul is still negotiating with atari to see if they can actually get you steam keys. This is done purely because overhaul is a company that cares not because they are obligated in any way.
For the people being against steam because of the cut: Sure it does suck that steam is making a bigger cut but overall I think overhaul is getting more money in their pockets from the sales on steam.
Yeah I agree. Also, doesn't the Apple store take the same cut of the profits as Steam does? That doesn't seem to bother anyone.
Tons of you people bitching about steam taking a cut. Failing to realize how many more sales steam will provide than not. Steam is huge, has huge player base. Those people who loved BG, and didn't know about BG:EE will get it, unexposed players will get it. The amount of sales on steam alone will more than make up for steam/valves cut. This is a marketing investment.
Unless you all think BG:EE wont do well enough on steam...then that may cause issues with 30% I am confident that BG:EE will do much better being on steam than not.
Well, currently, the steam users generate more negative reviews than positive Kinda reminds me these forums back in November. Which is understandable, considering Steam has an old version. It is trivial that a developer can give you a more up to date version and it is also trivial that a major distributor can give you a version (albeit not up to date) in a smoother, faster way.
For the people being against steam because of the cut: Sure it does suck that steam is making a bigger cut but overall I think overhaul is getting more money in their pockets from the sales on steam.
Yeah I agree. Also, doesn't the Apple store take the same cut of the profits as Steam does? That doesn't seem to bother anyone.
I think it's reasonable to be upset or disturbed by the cut taken by Steam, and Apple for that matter. It's not surprising, but it does upset me.
The difference here is that Overhaul decided to take that cut in profits via Apple store, whereas they had no say in their game being sold on Steam. I think that the driving force behind most anti-Steam comments are due to anger at Overhaul not being involved in the decision.
If the % taken by Steam is actually surprising to anyone, then they simply aren't very aware of how the industry works... that doesn't mean that those unsurprised by it shouldn't be upset about it, or by other nefarious business practices by any company.
Tons of you people bitching about steam taking a cut. Failing to realize how many more sales steam will provide than not. Steam is huge, has huge player base. Those people who loved BG, and didn't know about BG:EE will get it, unexposed players will get it. The amount of sales on steam alone will more than make up for steam/valves cut. This is a marketing investment.
Unless you all think BG:EE wont do well enough on steam...then that may cause issues with 30% I am confident that BG:EE will do much better being on steam than not.
This for the love of god a thousand times this. There have been us who have actually waiting for a steam release, like me, who wasn't going to purchase the game untill there was a proper steam release- but there's also a whole new crowd of people who will be buying it. It's one of the top games on steam at the moment.
The sheer volume of customers who would have never bought it in the first place greatly outweighs the cost. I'm shocked at all of the steam bashers, like it's some kind of trendy thing to do. I'm not sure if you people have seen Beamdog's platform recently, but with all of these botched release dates on various platforms and promised features, I wouldn't say they're at the top of their game either.
At this point, iPad 1, Mac, and Andriod gamers can expect a BG:EE launch approximately around the same time Project Eternity is available.
It seems to me that more people are hating on overhaul/beamdog than people that are hating on steam. Of course this is a bit biased as I'm not exactly neutral.
And when I say hating on I mean the people who are simply bashing without looking at what the other side is actually saying and/or ignoring it.
Little boys frothing at the mouth and giving negative opinions is to the internet like pigeons are to the streets of any major city: a minor nuisance and a small price to pay to live in our modern world.
All in all, I hope the Steam release ends up bringing some needed revenue for Overhaul, huge sales cut be damned.
But I know that when BG2:EE rolls out I'll be buying it from Beamdog.
It's also £14.99 in the UK, which is still more expensive than the ~£11.50 I paid for a couple of my copies.
(I think that only applies to EU countries; something to do with an extra 19% VAT on the original price. Or it could be a contractually negotiated price by Atari and Valve, though it is strange that it seems to still be $19.99 so I would assume the former).
It's a pittance, sure, but why purposefully pay more (doesn't apply to everyone) for a product that you can already get?
I just cant feel sorry for any of you at all, primarily because i despise Valve and their shady bussiness practices, but that aside, like others have pointed out why on earth would you WANT to be forced to run the steam client in the background while you play? about the last thing i want when im playing baldurs gate is for people to bug me with trivial messages it ruins my ability to zone out from thr real world and enjoy the roleplaying expierience.
I run steam in offline mode and disable ingame chat...most of my games are on steam but im gonna keep buying from beamdog because frankly thats where i bought bgee and am looking towards buying be2ee.Ive had no problems with beamdog or steam and would like to keep that way.As far as a steam key i aint worried bout it but if one is released il activate it just to have bgee in my steam libray as well.
Tons of you people bitching about steam taking a cut. Failing to realize how many more sales steam will provide than not. Steam is huge, has huge player base. Those people who loved BG, and didn't know about BG:EE will get it, unexposed players will get it. The amount of sales on steam alone will more than make up for steam/valves cut. This is a marketing investment.
Unless you all think BG:EE wont do well enough on steam...then that may cause issues with 30% I am confident that BG:EE will do much better being on steam than not.
This for the love of god a thousand times this. There have been us who have actually waiting for a steam release, like me, who wasn't going to purchase the game untill there was a proper steam release- but there's also a whole new crowd of people who will be buying it. It's one of the top games on steam at the moment.
The sheer volume of customers who would have never bought it in the first place greatly outweighs the cost. I'm shocked at all of the steam bashers, like it's some kind of trendy thing to do. I'm not sure if you people have seen Beamdog's platform recently, but with all of these botched release dates on various platforms and promised features, I wouldn't say they're at the top of their game either.
At this point, iPad 1, Mac, and Andriod gamers can expect a BG:EE launch approximately around the same time Project Eternity is available.
And I'm shocked at all of the whiny twerps who don't even give Beamdog some credit for re-releasing a classic RPG and who whine for free Steam keys instead, like they're entitled to have them.
I just cant feel sorry for any of you at all, primarily because i despise Valve and their shady bussiness practices, but that aside, like others have pointed out why on earth would you WANT to be forced to run the steam client in the background while you play? about the last thing i want when im playing baldurs gate is for people to bug me with trivial messages it ruins my ability to zone out from thr real world and enjoy the roleplaying expierience.
Do you even know how to use the Steam client? You can set your status to 'offline,' which isn't the same as the client itself playing it 'offline mode.' Just go to your friends list and check out the status options available.
The social aspect is a big draw to Steam, IMO. If you don't like that, why have people on your friends list?
I don't think it really matters if people know I play this game. All Steam presence will do is add the overlay, and track the time. The overlay is so buggy with most games it's not even worth my time usually. If you add Steam Workshop then were talking something, but it is so doubtful much will come out of it except being another distribution source.
IThe overlay is so buggy with most games it's not even ...
i'll use this quote next time i need an example of excessive over exaggeration, i have over 300 games on steam and can think of 2 where the overlay bugs out.
Tons of you people bitching about steam taking a cut. Failing to realize how many more sales steam will provide than not. Steam is huge, has huge player base. Those people who loved BG, and didn't know about BG:EE will get it, unexposed players will get it. The amount of sales on steam alone will more than make up for steam/valves cut. This is a marketing investment.
Exactly! This has actually been clever business. The original PC release meant all the loyal fans of the series would buy it from Beamdog giving them a bigger cut -but this only gets a finite number of sales. Now a subsequent release on Steam won't affect those original sales. Sure Overhaul get a smaller cut but of a MUCH BIGGER PIE. The game is currently NUMBER 2 in sales rank on Steam - besides trying to get the Mac version out of the door Trent Oster and staff must be dancing! I'm more of a console gamer (at the moment) and its okay if some people don't like or use Steam, however many computer users love it because it provides a single unified platform for their gaming. I'm really happy to see BG:EE selling so well on Steam!
Now a subsequent release on Steam won't affect those original sales.
It won't affect sales allready done, sure, but I'm pretty sure it isn't economically sound giving a second key for steam to entitled whiners who originally bought it from Beamdog just because they're now demanding/expecting another. Hell what's to prevent them giving away said steam key or selling it themselves? That doesn't seem like it will positively affect Overhaul's profits.
Exactly what @Silverstar said. Overhaul clearly stated in the past that they weren't sure about a Steam release and that BG:EE would temporarily only be available through their own client. And just because some people refuse or are too stupid/ignorant to keep themselves updated or search for information themselves, they now think they've been cheated out of their money. How much more selfish can you get? If you had just waited for a Steam release, there wouldn't have been a problem at all. But noooo Overhaul are stinky cheaters who just want mah monies. The reason why gamers aren't taken seriously? Partially because of this, the entitled whining.
I'll actually be more likely to download future expansions/dlc through Steam than w/ BD. I almost always get DLC to games I own, even trivial little things - I just like having "complete" versions of my games
It won't affect sales allready done, sure, but I'm pretty sure it isn't economically sound giving a second key for steam to entitled whiners who originally bought it from Beamdog just because they're now demanding/expecting another. Hell what's to prevent them giving away said steam key or selling it themselves? That doesn't seem like it will positively affect Overhaul's profits.
This is something that I find curious, and I don't think it has been discussed in-depth.
Will people who get a Steam key be provided by Beamdog and be able to retain their previous copies on Beamdog's site? If that is the case, I don't see it being a viable business practice since it is very much open to the abuse you list. If it's not the case, and the issue of Steam keys if fulfilled by Valve, then I don't see an issue. Can someone enlighten me as to this issue?
Profit margins aside, we're not in the business of forcing people to buy the same game twice to play it on the same platform. If we're able to get the Steam keys, I suspect it will just be a matter of registering your Beamdog purchase with Steam, just like verifying a boxed edition in the same way.
This is part of what makes Steam a nice service, and it's a good feature for customers. It's not a sensible business practice to exchange one purchase for another when it's the same product. My guess is this will just be a "nice feature".
Profit margins aside, we're not in the business of forcing people to buy the same game twice to play it on the same platform. If we're able to get the Steam keys, I suspect it will just be a matter of registering your Beamdog purchase with Steam, just like verifying a boxed edition in the same way.
I know this probably won't be a question you'll be asked very often (although probably not a unique case), but I'll give you a hypothetical situation.
People who have already bought the game through Beamdog and now want it on Steam will be able to get a Steam key, XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX or whatever it might be. If I 'applied' to get my (possibly) free Steam keys, then Beamdog, or Atari, or Steam will give that to me and it will effectively be a second copy for each copy I own.
Whenever I buy a retail boxed game that happens to be a Steam game, which is almost never, I can register it through Steam. I can't then go to EA's Origin client and register it there, too, or vice versa.
My hypothetical question is twofold: if I redeem a key through Steam, will I be able to re-download it through that and still keep my Beamdog version and potentially download and activate through both Beamdog as well as Steam in the future? And, if that is the case, will I be able to ask for a Steam key for each of the copies I have in my library in order to give them away without worrying about the Beamdog copies I have already gifted (perhaps those people I have gifted to would like a Steam version)?
Forgive me, but I'm very much confused over this as I have a very limited knowledge of how Steam uses keys in a case such as this.
Comments
It's a whole big thing.
I'm not sure but isn't there even another licencing issue due to Bioware owning the Infinity Engine?
For the people being against steam because of the cut: Sure it does suck that steam is making a bigger cut but overall I think overhaul is getting more money in their pockets from the sales on steam.
For the people thinking that they are entitled to free steam keys.... Why do you feel that you are entitled to those keys? Have they been promised to you by anyone from atari or overhaul? And no they never said the game would never be on steam. They said it wouldn't be on steam on release. It wasn't.
Instead of complaining about free steam keys I urge you to show a little patience as we have already been told several times that overhaul is still negotiating with atari to see if they can actually get you steam keys. This is done purely because overhaul is a company that cares not because they are obligated in any way.
Edit: Bad joke removed by Erg
It is trivial that a developer can give you a more up to date version and it is also trivial that a major distributor can give you a version (albeit not up to date) in a smoother, faster way.
Just to state the obvious:
Developers develop, distributors distribute.
The difference here is that Overhaul decided to take that cut in profits via Apple store, whereas they had no say in their game being sold on Steam. I think that the driving force behind most anti-Steam comments are due to anger at Overhaul not being involved in the decision.
If the % taken by Steam is actually surprising to anyone, then they simply aren't very aware of how the industry works... that doesn't mean that those unsurprised by it shouldn't be upset about it, or by other nefarious business practices by any company.
This for the love of god a thousand times this. There have been us who have actually waiting for a steam release, like me, who wasn't going to purchase the game untill there was a proper steam release- but there's also a whole new crowd of people who will be buying it. It's one of the top games on steam at the moment.
The sheer volume of customers who would have never bought it in the first place greatly outweighs the cost. I'm shocked at all of the steam bashers, like it's some kind of trendy thing to do. I'm not sure if you people have seen Beamdog's platform recently, but with all of these botched release dates on various platforms and promised features, I wouldn't say they're at the top of their game either.
At this point, iPad 1, Mac, and Andriod gamers can expect a BG:EE launch approximately around the same time Project Eternity is available.
Of course this is a bit biased as I'm not exactly neutral.
And when I say hating on I mean the people who are simply bashing without looking at what the other side is actually saying and/or ignoring it.
All in all, I hope the Steam release ends up bringing some needed revenue for Overhaul, huge sales cut be damned.
But I know that when BG2:EE rolls out I'll be buying it from Beamdog.
It's also £14.99 in the UK, which is still more expensive than the ~£11.50 I paid for a couple of my copies.
(I think that only applies to EU countries; something to do with an extra 19% VAT on the original price. Or it could be a contractually negotiated price by Atari and Valve, though it is strange that it seems to still be $19.99 so I would assume the former).
It's a pittance, sure, but why purposefully pay more (doesn't apply to everyone) for a product that you can already get?
Just one more reason to only buy through Beamdog.
The social aspect is a big draw to Steam, IMO. If you don't like that, why have people on your friends list?
... mainly because that is the only thing ever heard about it.
To expand on Avenger:
Developers develop. publishers publish and distributors distribute.
Steam is a distributor, they are given rights to sell games by publishers that have been created by developers.
The best chance for shady business practices is always the middleman, in the case of the gaming industry that's the publishers.
But then it's always easiest to hate the first thing you see then work out where that hate might be more justly directed.
haters gonna hate.
Will people who get a Steam key be provided by Beamdog and be able to retain their previous copies on Beamdog's site? If that is the case, I don't see it being a viable business practice since it is very much open to the abuse you list. If it's not the case, and the issue of Steam keys if fulfilled by Valve, then I don't see an issue. Can someone enlighten me as to this issue?
This is part of what makes Steam a nice service, and it's a good feature for customers. It's not a sensible business practice to exchange one purchase for another when it's the same product. My guess is this will just be a "nice feature".
(That's not a promise, but it would make sense.)
People who have already bought the game through Beamdog and now want it on Steam will be able to get a Steam key, XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX or whatever it might be. If I 'applied' to get my (possibly) free Steam keys, then Beamdog, or Atari, or Steam will give that to me and it will effectively be a second copy for each copy I own.
Whenever I buy a retail boxed game that happens to be a Steam game, which is almost never, I can register it through Steam. I can't then go to EA's Origin client and register it there, too, or vice versa.
My hypothetical question is twofold: if I redeem a key through Steam, will I be able to re-download it through that and still keep my Beamdog version and potentially download and activate through both Beamdog as well as Steam in the future? And, if that is the case, will I be able to ask for a Steam key for each of the copies I have in my library in order to give them away without worrying about the Beamdog copies I have already gifted (perhaps those people I have gifted to would like a Steam version)?
Forgive me, but I'm very much confused over this as I have a very limited knowledge of how Steam uses keys in a case such as this.
Edit: I suppose this solves my question. It will basically be a trade, I assume.