Game Bundles

Ronin Storm

Ronin Storm

Administrator
Staff member
Tetsuo_Shima said:
if the marketing team had been as on-the-ball as BiG_D is, they might've gotten away with it
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See, that might be a huge part of the problem. Perhaps they've designed their packages for a US audience and US sensibilities where they might think that more stuff is just, well, better. Perhaps on this side of the pond we see waste where they see abundance.

Or something.
 
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elDiablo

Guest
BiG D said:
[iTunes comparison]
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See, now the thing is, iTunes didn't say to me, "You can buy this one track now, as that's all there is. [a year passes] Oh, now you can buy the next track, or the whole album (so far). [more time passes] Oh, actually, you can't buy the the next track by it's self now. You can buy the whole album, and give away the songs you already have..."

Though replace "next track" with "next 3 tracks", etc.

I think it's going to be hard to get a good comparison as digital distribution is still (relatively) new.
 
BiG D

BiG D

Administrator
Staff member
Songs are usually released as singles available before the album, no? I'd say it works basically exactly the same, cept iTunes doesn't allow you to trade your mp3s to someone else if you already own them before buying the album...
 
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elDiablo

Guest
I thought albums are usually released first, and then singles are released from them?

And iTunes didn't say we would have a choice, then take it away for no reason other than GREED. That's what I'm trying to say :( I guess I'm just rubbish at getting that across...
 
Nanor

Nanor

Well-Known Member
They're not being greedy, elD. Otherwise they wouldn't have a great big pack and make us buy them all individually.
 
Tetsuo_Shima

Tetsuo_Shima

In Cryo Sleep
That's a bit of an aside though, Nanor. Don't get me wrong, the big bundle is great, but some of us just aren't happy with the fact that you are, in effect, buying the same product twice.
 
Tetsuo_Shima

Tetsuo_Shima

In Cryo Sleep
I thought we'd already gone over this! There's no point buying them individually because the prices are astro, you are forced into buying the orange pack even if you do already own HL2 and Ep. 1! If we're about to go round in circles I'm just going to give up.
 
Traxata

Traxata

Junior Administrator
Back-stepping ....

BiG D said:
If we're using iTunes as an example, it works exactly the same way as steam, no? You can purchase a track on its own, or you can get a slightly discounted rate for buying a whole album. If you buy a track, and then decide you want the whole album, guess what? You're paying for a track you already own...
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If you buy a track, and then buy the album post-sale, it asks you if you want to buy the rest of the album without said track, albeit this often ends up more expensive, but the thoughts there ;)

i found it cheaper to buy the album "All That We Needed" by the Plain White T's after i had 'Hey There Delilah' so, i only really 'lost' £0.79p instead of the £2 or 3 ish it would have been to use the 'fill my album' option thing ;)
 
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elDiablo

Guest
Nanor said:
They're not being greedy, elD. Otherwise they wouldn't have a great big pack and make us buy them all individually.
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Ok, maybe not greedy in your's (and other's) eyes. But some people agree with me (and Tets and people):

Valve is bundling Portal and Team Fortress 2 along side Half Life 2 episodes 1 & 2, as well as Half Life 2, meaning most people have to buy two things they already own in order to get the new stuff.

Jerks.
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Etc.
 
Ki!ler-Mk1

Ki!ler-Mk1

Active Member
What happens when episode 3 comes out then?

PS - I thought epi 1* was rubbish compared to halflife2, and myself i didnt buy the id mega pack because i have 12(out of 22) games(inc addons) off the list. Its a good deal even then but i was still unable to justify it.


I agree with eldiablo on this one mainly because episode 1 is rubbish.
Now if i could be convinced that TF2 and portal were worth £18 together then i'd be sold.


*i waited for the price reduction earlier in this year.
 
Macca

Macca

Member
I agree with both Parties on this one.

It's really just a Physcological thing. I'm a bit annoyed that I have to buy HL2 and Ep1 even though I have it, but at the end of the day it's not going to make me stop buying this bundle package, so I can get Ep2 Portal and TFC2.

Steam/Valve have just been smart here. They have put all 5 games together because they know most people won't have an issue with getting HL2 and Ep1 again and they know that the ones that do have HL2 and Ep1 are probably still going to buy the bundle because they want Ep 2 and Portal etc, and the thing is these people can't really complain too much because as Nanor and Big_D have been saying it's still a very cheap price.

I think Valve have thought this one out quite well, I've got Hl2 and Ep1 but I'll still be buying the package because I want Portal TFC and Ep2, and yeah I might be a bit annoyed that I'm having to buy HL2 and Ep1 for an extra 5 quid, but I'm not going to get stressed about it, or post a petition up on their website about it.

The simple fact is they can get away with it and they know it.
 
Ki!ler-Mk1

Ki!ler-Mk1

Active Member
Tetsuo_Shima said:
BiG D said:
Aha! So essentially, micropayments are less offensive to you. (Interesting because I feel exactly the opposite.) When you start dealing with more expensive products, it makes it harder to make bundles worth buying. Do you think anyone would buy the Orange Box if it was only a discount if you were going to buy all three games anyway?

Edit: I just had a thought. I have a feeling that if Valve had not listed HL2 and EP1 in the list of games, and instead said "also includes a coupon code for a free copy of HL2 + EP1" you guys wouldn't be complaining. If they had made it sound like an "optional" bonus, I really doubt you would take issue.
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This is, actually, very true. So, it's valve's own fault that we've raised this issue; if the marketing team had been as on-the-ball as BiG_D is, they might've gotten away with it :p I guess maybe they thought '5 whole games for $50' would sound more appealing than 'three whole games, plus HL2 + Ep.1 as an afterthought'. In a sense, though, HL2 would have to be part and parcel because Ep.1, 2, portal, tfc require HL2 to run (I think).
Click to expand...

Having read the above I now shift my alignment and i agree* with big_d, he is absolutly correct in my case.


Note: at the time of my last post i had not read pages 4-5-6.
*On this note, where do I pay(does pre-purchase discount - $5.00 mean there is no intention to sell them in any other way in the near future)!

Strangly while i now agree with big_d and several other people, i still think my friend PersonA's reasons for buying the orange box being that "anything HL2 related rocks" are stupid, even though his reasons might as well be my own.

*still havent ordered it, id be suprised if i did.*
 
Iron_fist

Iron_fist

Super Moderator
Staff member
wait a second the HD2900 was released after the black box was cancelled so does this mean that the black box lives on as a steam only purchase or OEM key only?
time to fire off an email to ATI and see if i get a response
 
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