Whats up with Greenman Gaming?

[zanemoseley]

So I remember reading about them somewhere recently and tonight I found they had Xcom for $45 with a $10 site credit. I bought it and the install went fine but I haven't played yet but have booted to the main menu. Now I notice they have Borderlands 2 for just $39.99 where everyone else (Steam & Amazon) has it for $59.99. Is there anything I'm missing from these guys or do they somehow have better than average prices??

 

[dlock13]

They do have pretty awesome prices. A lot of their stuff you can buy and use on Steam. I'm not sure how they can have such low prices. I bought Borderlands 2 for $35 bucks from them. I also bought Quantum Conundrum for $2.50.

The one thing that's weird about them is I think they're located in Europe or something because when I purchased Borderlands 2, I got a phone call from my bank asking if I authorized a purchase in Europe to GMG for $35...

 

[BlueWeasel]

Don't know how they do it, but I love 'em. They frequently have 20-25% off coupons. I've recently purchased BL2, the season pass, Dishonored, and XCOM at prices significantly lower than Steam or Amazon. All games have activated on Steam with no issues.

As far as I can tell, the site sells North American keys to me, so it's not like I'm buying cheap Steam keys designated in a different region.

 

[KaOTiK]

This is my theory that I've put together over the past year from dealing with and watching GMG.

All the games I notice with pretty crazy pricing are all Steamworks games. I think they sell Steamworks games (games that have to activate on Steam and use Steam) for razor thin margins because they don't have to provide anything support/infrastructure on those games, they simply assign you a key and you punch that into Steam and download from them from there on. No bandwidth and server space needed on their end. So, in the end they are not making much off the sale of it, but they don't need to since they are just giving the key. This also is a form of advertising in of itself. People looking for the cheapest place to get the game get directed there from others and that person who might not have ever heard of GMG now uses them and is exposed to them which can lead to more sales in the future.

 

[Kyle]

They do have pretty awesome prices. A lot of their stuff you can buy and use on Steam. I'm not sure how they can have such low prices. I bought Borderlands 2 for $35 bucks from them. I also bought Quantum Conundrum for $2.50.

The one thing that's weird about them is I think they're located in Europe or something because when I purchased Borderlands 2, I got a phone call from my bank asking if I authorized a purchase in Europe to GMG for $35...

Same thing w/ me- except I didn't get a call- just locked my account so the next time I used my debit card it was declined....annoying.

But- key worked, and got a hell of a deal

 

[Dankk]

All the games I notice with pretty crazy pricing are all Steamworks games. I think they sell Steamworks games (games that have to activate on Steam and use Steam) for razor thin margins because they don't have to provide anything support/infrastructure on those games, they simply assign you a key and you punch that into Steam and download from them from there on. No bandwidth and server space needed on their end. So, in the end they are not making much off the sale of it, but they don't need to since they are just giving the key. This also is a form of advertising in of itself. People looking for the cheapest place to get the game get directed there from others and that person who might not have ever heard of GMG now uses them and is exposed to them which can lead to more sales in the future.

That... actually makes a lot of sense.

GMG is killer for pre-ordering Steamworks games.

 

[Aikouka]

GMG coupon codes are good for any game, and not all games that they sell are Steamworks games. They also have their own downloader tool called Capsule, which allows you to trade games back in. Of course, that does not work if the game requires a separate framework to run (i.e. Steam).

 

[JamesV]

GMG coupon codes are good for any game, and not all games that they sell are Steamworks games. They also have their own downloader tool called Capsule, which allows you to trade games back in. Of course, that does not work if the game requires a separate framework to run (i.e. Steam).

This.

Just another take on digital distribution, and often some sales that look crazy because Steam or anywhere else has no sale at all. You can actually trade your digitally-bought game back in for credit towards another game... end of the world nigh?

I'm guessing (a better guess imo than a previous poster) they don't have a large bloated management, and terms like 'razer-thin' are only applicable when the boss and X subordinates get huge yearly bonuses. They have to be making money, or they wouldn't have lasted this long.

I buy games there all the time... new releases for a good chunk off retail is pretty common to find there (Steam activated too). If ever there was company to back off principal, GMG is it.

 

[KaOTiK]

GMG coupon codes are good for any game, and not all games that they sell are Steamworks games. They also have their own downloader tool called Capsule, which allows you to trade games back in. Of course, that does not work if the game requires a separate framework to run (i.e. Steam).

Yes that is true, but the crazy good deals have almost always been Steamworks games. 20-25% off isn't for a game they have to provide themselves is not a killer on their bottom line and it still helps in the way of promotion as when they do those coupons most gaming messages boards post about it one way or another.

 

[CPA]

GMG is my second choice behind Steam for games.

BTW, their codes are NOT always for any game. Their recent ones have not worked with XCom.

 

[Martimus]

GMG resells your personal information, which is prominent in their terms of service. That may be where their profit comes from.

 

[KaOTiK]

GMG is my second choice behind Steam for games.

BTW, their codes are NOT always for any game. Their recent ones have not worked with XCom.

Xcom has been exempted from coupons on Amazon as well, this is mostly likely a publisher thing. GMG got around it with while doing preorders by first offering an $8 discount if you traded in a free game they gave you right then, and right before Xcom came out they offered a $10 credit to their service if you preordered Xcom.

 

[NickelPlate]

GMG resells your personal information, which is prominent in their terms of service. That may be where their profit comes from.

Almost everyone does that, it's big business.

 

[festa_freak]

Think of it as prices a little above steam sales, but all the time. C'mon, now that steam sales are a thing, you know you wait out on some big names games that you can wait for to get em cheap. GMG just give you new games for a little bit below asking price to make you bite on the newest thing. That's my take on it anyways.