Non Steam copy of a Steam exclusive game

[NemesisTheWarlock]

Thanks very much for that link Jim. I've been expecting Steam to fall foul of European law eventually, nice to see it happening already :) Let's just hope this will start to reduce the amount of piracy.

[Jaradin]

It's surprises me how many people blatantly admit that they use cracked versions of Skyrim lately. It's often not even that moderators slip the truth out of them, it's merely that people state, "I use a cracked/pirated version," or try to validate their stolen copy by saying, "I already own it on console, I'm not buying the same game twice."

 

Honestly, what's wrong with this picture? How is it that people who steal think that Nexus would support their behavior?

[Deleted2547005User]

Simple: They don't care.

 

In their mind, they've done nothing wrong because it was easy to do, free, and is widely acceptable behavior by many people. They flagrantly pronounce their piracy while they seek help they believe they should receive like any other person that bought the game. In the last few months, they seem to be more rampant. In my personal experience, the promotion and acceptance of piracy is more common than the shame and shunning you'll find here on the nexus. To me, it feels like the nexus is a canoe in the middle of an ocean - we are the minority in this stance against Piracy. But of course, this is coming from a guy who spends more time outside than on the internet, so my experiences will obviously differ, and not reflect someone else's reality.

[sithlordguy46]

 

I was truly shocked by the fact that Fallout New Vegas needed Steam to validate a retail copy. I do have a retail copy but wanted to know if I can resell this or if I own it forever? I figure it would be legal but could someone still use it for verification purposes or is it considered to be junk?

 

The disk is worthless, it's the key you pay for and once used it's forever tied to your account. This actually breaks E.U law and a case is going through the German courts at the moment which may force Steam and others to change their ways. This has set a precedent http://eutopialaw.com/2012/07/10/the-cjeu-copyright-and-the-first-sale-doctrine/

OK. I had asked this question for the reason stated above, but just I thought of something else: my stepson tried to use the disc on his PC at home and said it wouldn't work. He did this without my consent, even after I told him it was useless to him and received a lengthy lecture from me about software piracy and theft. I told him that if he ever did it again, he'd be facing criminal charges from the federal government.

He's 18 now and is slowly realizing everything he does now is permanent and can affect him down the road.

 

[whismerhill]

 

 

 

The retail version of Skyrim has everything you need to play it, you just need to connect to Steam to validate it. Problem is, it'll try to download all the updates. I suppose people out in the stick would be better off waiting for a GOTY finalized version with all updates included.

 

You can most likely forget about ever seeing an official non-Steam version. Thank piracy for that.

that has got absolutely nothing to do with piracy

 

steam doesn't halt piracy, even if you own the game I welcome you to do some searches, since being informed is not illegal in itself

it is perfectly doable to pirate most steam games, the only "problem" that those people may have, comes from non AAA titles that get frequent updates & crack teams might not keep up with the flow of updates ...

 

popular games like skyrim though ... it's all available for those willing to work toward that goal.

 

nope the fact is, all games tend to move to internet distribution models (even future console might move to exclusive internet distribution for games)

because more money goes into the developer/editor pocket (even with steam getting their cuts) when you buy a game online & download it, rather than when you buy a game at retail

 

As I remember it, Stardock CEO, was saying that they made around the same amount of money on internet compared to retail, despite selling a lot more retail copies (around 10x more retail copies)

now obviously this is a special case since Stardock is distributing their own games online with their own digital distribution platform (so no cuts for another platform like Origin or Steam ...)

 

even so it gives an idea of how things work

 

Piracy has everything to do with it.

 

Read this article, in it's entirety, before spouting more unsubstantiated wishful thinking. :armscrossed:

 

PC Game Piracy Examined.

First please let's keep it civil, I'm not "spouting" unsubstantiated wishful thinking

so please refrain from being that virulent with your words.

 

my opinion is based on actual data available to anyone willing to search & find

 

that article is well done and has some reliable data sources, however I don't see how this article changes anything that I said

a downloadable copy makes more money in the developer/publisher pocket than a retail boxed copy does

since what I said is contained within what's applicable for skyrim itself,

skyrim being on steam allows a portion of its sales to be downloadable ones ... hence making more money per copy sold

 

That being said, I don't see why a developer/publisher wouldn't want more money per copy sold ...

after all DRM is all about selling more & therefore getting more money ...

 

since DRM is also readily available outside of steam, some of them being as efficient as steam, I don't see any reason why "we should thank piracy for never seeing a non-steam version of skyrim" (as said in the first quote)

 

That said it's only my opinion, I'm entitled to my opinion, and anyone is welcome to disagree or discuss it as long as it's kept civil.

Edited May 18, 2013 by whismerhill

[Scyimon]

Okay, I have Steam, I also have a legit copy purchased at Gamestop. Now I did see the Steam logo, but no where on the case does it say that the game will have to be downloaded from Steam, just Steam is required. I can handle updates, they usually aren't very big, but have you ever tried to download multiple GB files over a crapy internet connection?

When I purchase a DIGITAL copy, I expect to DL it, but when I purchase a RETAIL copy, I expect to go home, put it into my system, register it with Steam and download updates not the entire game.

This is really my only issue with developers going to this type of system. I mean look at SimCity. People waiting hours just to play single player as you have to be logged into thier servers to play. This is an insane requirement. I pay by the GB for my internet and they are basically telling those of us who don't want to live in a city with all its people and pollution and crime to shove off. I truly wish everyone had a 50MB connection to get these types of issues resolved but there are still a vast number of gamers who are in the same type of boat as I am. A non-steam version would be great, or at least a version that didn't require a massive DL to play the game. Sure have us login to authenticate the game, but at least warn you customers that the game will have to be downloaded from Steam not just say Steam required.

[Deleted2547005User]

What game did you buy? I've never had such an issue before. I got New Vegas from my brother for my birthday, and installed it no problem. I didn't know much about steam at the time, so I freaked out thinking I just broke my machine, but alas I did not. Anyway, the game installed off the disk, and used steam to update. I assumed all games worked in that fashion if you had the retail disk.

[NemesisTheWarlock]

Steam still tries to force you to download Skyrim from them even although the game is on the disc, I guess they get commission or something for the download. You can install the game from the disc though, but you have to force it.

[Oubliette]

There are instructions on Bethesda's Skyrim forums on how to install from disk, so that steam only does the essential updates.

[Lisnpuppy]

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5357-FSQM-0382

 

right here in fact!