BF2S Forums Don't Buy Download Games!

Well buy screwing over everyone who has ordered through EAD this time in that people are able to get it from stored before EAD unlocks EA have done themselves no favours as far as future EAD sales are concerned.

I won't ever be doing it again when there is an alternative to buy from a store.

I like the way steam works .. its ashme this really sucked

I allways want a cover, because when the software doesn't work I will not have any kind of evidence that I actually payed for that game

Think about this, I pay the same amount in euro's instead of dollars with ea download, thats roughly 20% more for the same service last time i checked.

agreed, i always buy games in the store! +1

I think with Best Buy you can actually walk into the Retail Store with your PO and grab a game there instead, I have done this before when the ship date got pushed back like yours did. Hopefully it wasn't just the store manager there being nice and they all do it. It can't hurt to try if you want the game sooner.

Marconius wrote:

So...additional expenses needed to host the distribution servers and IT maintenance needed to keep those servers up and running are moot here?  As opposed to packaging and shipping (yet still spending on marketing and advertising), they still need money for the online distribution process and the team that designs and develops it over time.

Would you rather not play games at all?

The costs involved with maintaining servers and the EA downloader program are NOTHING compared to the production, and distribution costs. If they are going to force you into downloading the product then the cost need to be lowered to the customer.

The reason why I like a physical product is there is no login/password to remember and sometimes there are net/server issues. Basically it's always nice to have a CD/DVD if necessary. I liked Steam because I could install Half Life 2 either way.

I know people that print out their email so they have a copy of it. Don't you think that is a little "old school"? Delivering content electronically is the future - like it or not.

I also like to have a physical disc, but thre is no denying that there are definite benefits to going the download route.

1) You don't have to put the CD in the drive to play
2) You don't have to worry about the CD getting scratched, damaged or lost. If any of these happen you would usually have to buy the game again.
3) You can buy the game from the convenience of your home.

I haven't used Steam since I finished HL2, but I have heard good things from those that use it. With the BF2 expansion and booster packs, after the download it extracts the installation files to a directory. You can then copy the installation files to a CD/DVD. So you get the best of both worlds.

The biggest downside to a download purchase is if the game or company become unavailable in the future. You would not be able to play the game you purchased. But, that doesn't affect these games anyway since the account servers would be gone as well and you can't play without logging in.

Now, as for the claim that the games should cost less because the production costs are reduced. That poster has no understanding of economics. The price of a product is determined by what the market will bear, it is not directly related to the cost of production. Have you ever looked at the price of a game and said "That $50 game is only worth $30 to me, but hey I get $20 worth of printed materials and packaging so I'll buy it"? Do you consider the cost of what it took to ship the product to the store? No, you decide wether you will buy the game if the game itself is worth the price to you.

The main reason prices aren't reduced is that games are unique products. Another company cannot put out BF2. yes there are similar games, but they are still unique. So, there is not the same type of competition that you have in other industries.

Here's a simple solution. If the game is not worth the price they are selling it at, don't buy it. If a game is selling at $50 and it is worth that to me I buy it. I don't care how much the box (or lack of) cost them to produce.

Psycho wrote:

Here's a simple solution. If the game is not worth the price they are selling it at, don't buy it. If a game is selling at $50 and it is worth that to me I buy it. I don't care how much the box (or lack of) cost them to produce.

Who the hell said it's not worth $50? I plan on spending $50 to get the game. But i'm gonna get the FULL package for it. If they want to try and force me to download it, and get less of a product, I want a discount.

if u live in a town  that has no computer store and next 1 is 500+ miles away, the fuck u sould Dowload it now stop trying to find reasons to say how EA sucks cause its lame and old.

Last edited by [n00b]Tyler (2006-10-18 10:26:03)

Typical ignorant bullshit

someone offers you additional way to do something IF !!! YOU !!! choose to do so and people curse and spit on them. Hell, back home (Bosnia) some people have to go to the next town to buy a game. How much you wanna bet that they are glad that they can CHOOSE to download

zeidmaan wrote:

Typical ignorant bullshit

someone offers you additional way to do something IF !!! YOU !!! choose to do so and people curse and spit on them. Hell, back home (Bosnia) some people have to go to the next town to buy a game. How much you wanna bet that they are glad that they can CHOOSE to download

It's NOT an alternative when you can't find a single copy of the fucking game anywhere. I live in a mid-size U.S. city of 300,000 people and I can't find ONE single copy in the 10+ major software retailers. I have no option with download as a CHOICE, but EA is slowly trying to make it the only way to get their products.