used games

[ravenish]

I'm looking to do a little pc gaming after being out for a few years, I have the sense now that buying a used game is risky because they need a key to activate and the first user will have already used it up. (I'm talking legitimate product like half.com or amazon partners, not craiglist wares or whatever). Can anyone clue me in to the new rules? Is it just a concern for multiplayer online games, or is it all games e.g. - what about a game like civ IV where I would likely only ever be single player?

 

[Frodolives]

Lots of games still have transferable keys. There are a lot of used games for sale on the AT for sale/trade forums of course, and with that you can have a pretty good look at references.

Seems like somewhere there would be a database though, to describe the registration features of games. Someone here got that covered?

 

[zagood]

#1 rule would be never EVER buy a used game that requires Steam for activation.

Other than that, Amazon is fairly trustworthy, check heatware references (post count can also count for a lot) for sellers/traders here, and you should be good. Don't know about half.com.

 

[EnzoLT]

yeah, i usually buy my games used, mostly the classics. the new ones i buy new because i actually have the money to buy it now compared to when i was a kid.

i have some games on my sig!!!

 

[Red Irish]

EULA's fail miserably when it comes to providing the customer with clear information.

Research all games on the web before buying.

When you have a list of games that you can not buy, ask yourself whether or not you think DRM is being used to combat piracy.

 

[marmasatt]

Many of the games you want can probably be found on the FS/FT forums here as others have mentioned. After a month or two now you can get games on the forums for about half of retail.

 

[KeithTalent]

I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

I was under the impression you could call and have additional activations added on, or recover an old activation, whatever they call it.

KT

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

I was under the impression you could call and have additional activations added on, or recover an old activation, whatever they call it.

KT

It appears that Atari have a different approach to customer service:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2298859&enterthread=y

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

I was under the impression you could call and have additional activations added on, or recover an old activation, whatever they call it.

KT

It appears that Atari have a different approach to customer service:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2298859&enterthread=y

I don't understand what you are getting at with that link. I'm not going to get into a DRM debate with you if that is what you are aiming for.

KT

 

[Red Irish]

I am not asking for a debate. I am asking you to consider the fact that you have the word Moderator printed below your name before you tell a new member that they will not encounter problems with second-hand games other than those that require Steam (i.e. "all good").

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

I was under the impression you could call and have additional activations added on, or recover an old activation, whatever they call it.

KT

You can call ATARI for additional activations, but there isn't currently a way to recover them electronically.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Red Irish
I am not asking for a debate. I am asking you to consider the fact that you have the word Moderator printed below your name before you tell a new member that they will not encounter problems with second-hand games other than those that require Steam (i.e. "all good").

I was not posting as a moderator, I was posting as a member (just like now) and was sharing my opinion and experience, just the same as everyone else here.

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
I've bought and traded many games through the FS/T forum here, so I have no worries about it. As mentioned, the only real ones I would be concerned about were the Steam games, but otherwise, all good.

KT

Dark Athena? (i.e. any game with activation limits)

I was under the impression you could call and have additional activations added on, or recover an old activation, whatever they call it.

KT

You can call ATARI for additional activations, but there isn't currently a way to recover them electronically.

That's pretty much what I figured, thanks.

KT

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish
I am not asking for a debate. I am asking you to consider the fact that you have the word Moderator printed below your name before you tell a new member that they will not encounter problems with second-hand games other than those that require Steam (i.e. "all good").

I was not posting as a moderator, I was posting as a member (just like now) and was sharing my opinion and experience, just the same as everyone else here.

KT

I understand that. However, I feel that there are sufficient posts on this section of the forum with regards to DRM/Activation limits to allow us, at the very least, to advise caution when buying second-hand games. If a new user sees a moderator saying that there is no need to worry...

I wasn't looking for a debate, nor was it my intention to offend you in any way.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Originally posted by: Red Irish
I am not asking for a debate. I am asking you to consider the fact that you have the word Moderator printed below your name before you tell a new member that they will not encounter problems with second-hand games other than those that require Steam (i.e. "all good").

I was not posting as a moderator, I was posting as a member (just like now) and was sharing my opinion and experience, just the same as everyone else here.

KT

I understand that. However, I feel that there are sufficient posts on this section of the forum with regards to DRM/Activation limits to allow us, at the very least, to advise caution when buying second-hand games. If a new user sees a moderator saying that there is no need to worry...

I wasn't looking for a debate, nor was it my intention to offend you in any way.

I'm not offended and I don't recall ever saying there is no need to worry. I said I have no worries and I don't. Very different.

Anyway, done de-railing the thread here, if you need to discuss further, feel free to PM me.

KT

 

[mindcycle]

I buy used games all the time.

The ones I steer clear of are titles with activation based SecuROM (install limit version), titles with activation based Tages (install limit version), and anything requiring Steam like previously mentioned.

Most activation based SecuROM "protected" games have a revoke tool available to get installs back, but i'm not counting on the seller knowing about that so I'm assuming one or two installs will already be gone. You can also call the publisher and potentially get additional installs, but I personally am not willing to go through that potential hassle just to get a video game to work. Beyond that I refuse to support install limit games. So that's my reasoning.

Typically you can type the name of the game + DRM (i.e. Spore DRM) into Google and find out what type of DRM the game is using. I also created a list last year that may be of help. It details a lot of the DRM schemes used by many of the popular games released around the holidays. http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ey=y&keyword1=drm+list

 

[Frodolives]

One other word about Steam titles. As commonly stated here, they cannot be bought or sold, and in fact they are prohibited from trade through the forum, but numerous people have extra, legitimate registrations of some of these games just from having bought the Orange Box or some other deal on sale which includes games that they previously registered. There is sometimes a thread where you can ask for a gift of one of those. Any Steam user can "gift" you such a game via email or directly to another registered Steam user.

There are probably people viewing this thread that have an extra license for Half Life 2, or one of the subsequent Episodes, and/or Team Fortress 2.

 

[guitarslingerchris]

Whatever game is available to be gifted from Orange Box I have, free to the first person to PM me. I can double check when I get home, I think it's TF2 though.

 

[ravenish]

Thanks for all the responses. What I'm hearing is no steam and research the DRM first to be clear on install limits. Thanks for your list mindcycle, I appreciate your effort, I wish people would maintain it somewhere.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: ravenish
Thanks for all the responses. What I'm hearing is no steam and research the DRM first to be clear on install limits. Thanks for your list mindcycle, I appreciate your effort, I wish people wold maintain it somewhere.

No problem. I may update the list again when I have some time.

For the most part DRM info can be found using Google, although having a single list can save people the trouble.

 

[ravenish]

I can't resist noticing though, it seems PC games have pain in the ass copy protection, a very limited resale market (compared to consoles), and they get pirated more than consoles. Talk about the worst of all worlds. Somebody seriously needs to bite the bullet one way or another, either give up the DRM or completely lock the system down. I'd be fine with DRM and my one purchase not subsidizing X number of pirates if I could reliably resell the game and have unlimited use on my own machines, now and in the future.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: ravenish
I can't resist noticing though, it seems PC games have pain in the ass copy protection, a very limited resale market (compared to consoles), and they get pirated more than consoles. Talk about the worst of all worlds. Somebody seriously needs to bite the bullet one way or another, either give up the DRM or completely lock the system down.

The problem is that the PC can never be locked down like a console can, so it's futile to try. The harsher the DRM, the more likely it is to cause issues for legit customers.

IMO, the only reasonable solution is to loosen up on the DRM and accept that piracy isn't going away. Start making games easier to obtain and add more features to a purchased copy that make it more attractive to potential buyers. I'm talking about free DLC for registered users, quick patches, multiplayer, collectors content for the regular retail version, etc.. If the used games market were to come back to where it was a few years ago, that could also help.

 

[Frodolives]

Although some of your gripes are legit, I wouldn't call it the "worst of all worlds" by a longshot. For one thing there's the price. PC games are nearly always cheaper, and the digital distribution options still favor pc heavily for variety, demos, mods and other content, etc.

Then again, this is the pc gaming forum, so I may be a little biased