Half-Life 2 Retail Available NOW at BestBuy!! (Schaumburg IL)

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: HappyFace
One point nobody brought up, if someone who buys through steam wants to sell the game they'd have to sell the account. Not a problem for retail buyers.

Sure it is: once you activate the retail game, it becomes locked to a specific Steam account, and the code can not be used to activate any other accounts. There's no way to resell HL2 in any form without selling the account.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Can't wait to play this, but GTA:San Andreas is taking up too much of my time now.

Don't forget Halo 2.

 

[slightlyhuman]

pics

 

[Rent]

Originally posted by: HappyFace
One point nobody brought up, if someone who buys through steam wants to sell the game they'd have to sell the account. Not a problem for retail buyers.

You do understand that you can change the contact email for your account right?

 

[EpsiIon]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: HappyFace
One point nobody brought up, if someone who buys through steam wants to sell the game they'd have to sell the account. Not a problem for retail buyers.

Sure it is: once you activate the retail game, it becomes locked to a specific Steam account, and the code can not be used to activate any other accounts. There's no way to resell HL2 in any form without selling the account.

Ding ding ding! Correct!

 

[HappyFace]

Wow ok, wtf... the cd-key won't work. Is that because HL2 is still locked, or is something wrong? 🙁

 

[EpsiIon]

Yes, Half-Life 2 is still locked. Apparently, it will be until the 16th at 12:01 AM PST.

The official word at Steampowered.com

Popular sites that have posted about this:
Voodoo Extreme
Shack News
Slashdot
Blues News

 

[HappyFace]

Locked meaning I cant even play cs source? WTF? I know its locked but the program is saying my cd key for HL2/CS source is invalid! Meaning even when its 'unlocked' I wont be able to play... Unless this is their way of saying, sorry you have to wait til the 16th before your code will work. :|

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: EpsiIon
I don't understand why you people don't buy over Steam. If you have a fast internet connection and a credit card, there's no reason NOT to buy from Steam except that you don't get pretty CDs (You can backup your Steam files with a built-in backup utility, now). Either way, Valve ties your copy of HL2 to a single Steam account. And, either way, you have to activate your copy with Valve. In fact, after your retail copy is installed, it acts just like a Steam-purchased copy. So why wait?

If your reason is price, well, do you get DoD: Source w/ your regular retail purchase? How about every game Valve has released? It looks like the Bronze package to me, but I could be wrong about that.

I can't wait for class action lawsuts. If people are buying hte box at the store and opening it, they are F'ed. Does that box clearly state that an internet connection is required?

 

[HappyFace]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004

Originally posted by: EpsiIon
I don't understand why you people don't buy over Steam. If you have a fast internet connection and a credit card, there's no reason NOT to buy from Steam except that you don't get pretty CDs (You can backup your Steam files with a built-in backup utility, now). Either way, Valve ties your copy of HL2 to a single Steam account. And, either way, you have to activate your copy with Valve. In fact, after your retail copy is installed, it acts just like a Steam-purchased copy. So why wait?

If your reason is price, well, do you get DoD: Source w/ your regular retail purchase? How about every game Valve has released? It looks like the Bronze package to me, but I could be wrong about that.

I can't wait for class action lawsuts. If people are buying hte box at the store and opening it, they are F'ed. Does that box clearly state that an internet connection is required?

Under system recommendations/requirements, bottom of box in small letters it says 'internet connection required'.

 

[EpsiIon]

Originally posted by: HappyFace
Locked meaning I cant even play cs source? WTF? I know its locked but the program is saying my cd key for HL2/CS source is invalid! Meaning even when its 'unlocked' I wont be able to play... Unless this is their way of saying, sorry you have to wait til the 16th before your code will work. :|

Good question. It seems like they should let you play CS:Source, but they probably didn't intend for the street date to be broken. Remember: Blame Best Buy. They're the ones who got your hopes up by breaking their agreement. And if you can't bring yourself to blame them, blame Vivendi. Valve would have unlocked the game by now if Vivendi would let them.

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

Werd. I purchased the Collector's DVD from BB for that exact reason... two more days.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

You can't sell the game afterwards - the activation code is tied to your Steam account. As for re-installing it, there's a utility in Steam to back the game up, or you can download it again.

 

[HappyFace]

So still got this question. It says my key is invalid... would that be the steam lock, will I be able to enter the key on tuesday??

 

[Evadman]

I hate that BB store. Evil Satan spawn at that store.

 

[HappyFace]

Originally posted by: Evadman
I hate that BB store. Evil Satan spawn at that store.

Nice one you owned him! I've heard a lot of bad things about the managers at the Schaumburg bestbuy. Knew a girl who worked there, and the managers are d|cks... but I haven't had any problems yet.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: HappyFace
So still got this question. It says my key is invalid... would that be the steam lock, will I be able to enter the key on tuesday??

Yes.

 

[EpsiIon]

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

Apparently you haven't read the rest of this thread. You can't sell the game without selling your account, PERIOD. There is a backup feature in case you're worried about corruption (BTW, there were user-made backup features before the official one was released - all you do is copy a few files). Also, you don't get a manual. A slow/unstable internet connection is a fine reason to buy from a store. Preferring boxes and official CDs are fine reasons to buy from a store. Your other reasons are not.

BTW, it took me less than a night to pre-load HL2. Of course, I'm on a 10 mb university connection (limited to 10 mb by our crappy switches), but I can't imagine it being a problem for the majority of broadband users. That's why it's called "pre" loading, anyway. Hopefully, nobody will try to buy from Steam on Tuesday who hasn't yet pre-loaded. That would just be ugly...

As an impulse buy, it makes a lot more sense to buy from a store. If you've been planning on it for a while, have a nice connection, and don't care about boxes/CDs, there is no reason NOT to buy from Steam (and a few incentives for those who actually do go the Steam route).

 

[HappyFace]

Originally posted by: EpsiIon

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

Apparently you haven't read the rest of this thread. You can't sell the game without selling your account, PERIOD. There is a backup feature in case you're worried about corruption (BTW, there were user-made backup features before the official one was released - all you do is copy a few files). Also, you don't get a manual. A slow/unstable internet connection is a fine reason to buy from a store. Preferring boxes and official CDs are fine reasons to buy from a store. Your other reasons are not.

BTW, it took me less than a night to pre-load HL2. Of course, I'm on a 10 mb university connection (limited to 10 mb by our crappy switches), but I can't imagine it being a problem for the majority of broadband users. That's why it's called "pre" loading, anyway. Hopefully, nobody will try to buy from Steam on Tuesday who hasn't yet pre-loaded. That would just be ugly...

As an impulse buy, it makes a lot more sense to buy from a store. If you've been planning on it for a while, have a nice connection, and don't care about boxes/CDs, there is no reason NOT to buy from Steam (and a few incentives for those who actually do go the Steam route).

What additional incentives do you get as a steam buyer? (besides not supporting a killjoy publisher)

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: HappyFace

Originally posted by: EpsiIon

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: abaez
Because I hate steam?

because only "weird" people pay $$$ to download 5 or 6 CDs off the net. Even with fast cable this might take a while.

And then...you dont have anything...what if you want to sell the game afterwards ? Or something gets corrupted and you want a re-install ?

Somehow i prefer good old CDs, better, DVD there, handbook and everything.

Apparently you haven't read the rest of this thread. You can't sell the game without selling your account, PERIOD. There is a backup feature in case you're worried about corruption (BTW, there were user-made backup features before the official one was released - all you do is copy a few files). Also, you don't get a manual. A slow/unstable internet connection is a fine reason to buy from a store. Preferring boxes and official CDs are fine reasons to buy from a store. Your other reasons are not.

BTW, it took me less than a night to pre-load HL2. Of course, I'm on a 10 mb university connection (limited to 10 mb by our crappy switches), but I can't imagine it being a problem for the majority of broadband users. That's why it's called "pre" loading, anyway. Hopefully, nobody will try to buy from Steam on Tuesday who hasn't yet pre-loaded. That would just be ugly...

As an impulse buy, it makes a lot more sense to buy from a store. If you've been planning on it for a while, have a nice connection, and don't care about boxes/CDs, there is no reason NOT to buy from Steam (and a few incentives for those who actually do go the Steam route).

What additional incentives do you get as a steam buyer? (besides not supporting a killjoy publisher)

If you get the Bronze package, it's $5 cheaper over retail, and if you get the Silver package, you get HL2, CS:S, HL:S, DoD:S, plus the whole back catalog - there's not a retail package that offers this. The closest is collector's edition, which lacks the back catalog but throws in a t-shirt(and the game is DVD instead of CD), but also costs more than Silver.