Amazon PCDD - Important Update New Community Manager Incoming!

[Amazon DVG Deals]

Hey CAGS,

I’ve got some news I’m both excited and sad to share with you at the same time. I’ll be leaving the Digital Video Games team in Mid-March to join the marketing team for Amazon.com’s Loyalty and Rewards program, Amazon Coins. My boss and I have talked extensively about how to maintain and continue our presence here and across the other communities we’ve created in the past couple of years. To that end I’d like to introduce you to Josh, who take over monitoring, updating, and responding to this thread. Josh will be ramping up over the next couple of weeks, he  will be posting shortly to introduce himself.

Now that the “what’s going on” part of the message is out of the way I want to tell you all how much I love CAG and the posters here. This was the first community I joined when I started this job (anyone still remember that first thread?) and all of you have had a huge hand in shaping how we think about and execute Community Development and Management here at Amazon, which has in turn shaped my career these last two and a half years.

I started to write out a section calling out the regular posters and realized the list would be both overly long and incomplete at the same time. Instead I’d like to thank you all again, you all have my deep and sincere gratitude. I’ll still be around and my gaming accounts aren’t going anywhere so feel free to hit me up anytime you want to chat. I’ll probably still hang out in the thread too .

Thanks again everyone, let me or Josh know if you have any questions!

The Indie Store has launched!
Amazon.com is launching a storefront dedicated to supporting and promoting PC/Mac/Web-based Indie Games. Our Digital Video Games team is a small group of passionate gamers and we’re all really excited to help Indie developers reach more customers quickly by providing a quick and simple process for bringing their games to market. Additionally we’ll be supporting the Indie Store with a ton of promotions, both at and after launch. Many of these promotions are designed to give the developer the opportunity to maximize their revenue. For example, Amazon is forfeiting all royalties from bundle sales and passing them along directly to the developer, we’ve also created an “Indie Spotlight” program to help customers learn more about the games and developers they love. We view the Indie developers as some of the most creative in the industry and we want to help them continue to create new and innovative experience for customers.

Why we are doing this:

• Allow customers to discover an entirely new category of games on Amazon.com
• Help developers reach new customers quickly. Our onboarding process is straightforward and we want to sell every Indie game available
• We want to leverage our strengths to support and help the developers who are driving forward innovation and creativity in the games industry

General Information

Hi CAGs,
I'll be posting deals we're running on Digital Games (PC/Mac, Free to Play, Sony/Microsoft Points/Subs).

I'm also here to answer questions you might have, get you closer to the developers by hosting Q&As, setting up podcasts, live streaming gameplay etc. If I don't respond to a question you have in thread please send me a PM. These ping my email address and make it more likely that I will see your question and respond more quickly.

Cheers,
Tony


FYI. EA Games sold by Amazon will not activate on Steam.
F.A.Q.S.:

1. Does the game I'm buying from Amazon Activate on Steam/Origin/Uplay? What DRM does the game use?

There are two places to identify DRM on a digital video game detail page:

At the top of the page, below the title:

In the "Product Description" section:

2. Note on Electronic Arts Games - For the most part, EA games sold on Amazon do not activate on Steam. Most activate on Origin.

3. Note on DRM with limited activations:

Our Policy



4. Sometimes I'll do giveaways.

5. I work with developers and publishers to get fun (or at least what I think is fun) content to share with you all. Here are some examples:

a. Check out the Pax Gameplay videos here: Xcom: Enemy Unknown I played Xcom with Jake, the Creative Director for the game, a few months before the game came out Also, on this page, check out the Q&A, also a community driven event.

b. Check out the interview on this page: Borderlands 2 we did this interview at E3 with Randy Pitchford this year.

c. We've partnered with the ++GoodGames Podcast to feature many of the games we carry. They talk to the developers about the game development process, how the games are conceptualized and managed, all kinds of fun stuff. I'm working on putting together full link list and will update when I have it.

What else do we sell?

Xbox Live Points and Subscriptions:

1600 Microsoft Live Points
4000 Microsoft Live Points
12 Month XBOX Live Subscription
3 Month XBOX Live Subscription]
12 Month + 1 XBOX Live Subscription

PSN+ Subscriptions and PSN Points:

$20 PSN Points
$50 PSN Points
12 Month PSN+ Subscription
3 Month PSN+ Subscription

We also have a Free-2-Play store supported by our GameConnect technology. Gameconnect allows you to link your Amazon.com account with free-2-play and MMO accounts so that you can buy things like in game currency, premium game time/subscriptions, in game items, etc. on Amazon.com using your Amazon.com payment options and have this content delivered directly into your game.

5. Price Matching notes: Generally we do not match international retailers (GMG, Gamersgate, etc) or physical retailers (Best Buy, Newegg.com, etc.)
To check out the Free-2-Play games we offer you can visit our storefront here: Free-2-Play Store

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

[Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se.]

Those without avatars = lurker scum

No exceptions.

 

[pasports31]

Your intent is mostly being missed due to your lack of avatar. It's been determined that anyone sans-avatar is automatically lumped into commonwealth of generic thread irregulars. [Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se.]

Basically if anybody doesn't have an avatar...take the five seconds to make one and you'll be taken much more seriously.

 

[guardian_owl]

no, I'm pretty sure Bioshock changed before the EC coupons started working.

 

[WolfmanASTN]

Contrast was $3.75 on GMG some days ago, so I was hoping for something even a little better.

Yeah, but it came up as sold out since the start of that sale

 

[WolfmanASTN]

It seemed like Bioshock Infinite was 9.99$ there for a bit where coupons might have been applied. Was anyone able to grab it or am I mistaken.

One person from the other thread claimed he did, but he found out he had a $5 credit from something else so that was probably it

 

[asheskitty]

Your intent is mostly being missed due to your lack of avatar. It's been determined that anyone sans-avatar is automatically lumped into commonwealth of generic thread irregulars. [Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se.]

Ha right, yes that was a factor in my reply.

Basically if anybody doesn't have an avatar...take the five seconds to make one and you'll be taken much more seriously.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. And this is a gaming* forum... if no avatar comes to mind... surely you have a favorite game character.

*or game collecting forum, the jury's still in deliberations.

 

[asheskitty]

One person from the other thread claimed he did, but he found out he had a $5 credit from something else so that was probably it

He had some other credit. No one else's EC credit was working at the time. I can speak from personal experience.

 

[Neuro5i5]

[Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se.]

Those without avatars = lurker scum

No exceptions.

Basically if anybody doesn't have an avatar...take the five seconds to make one and you'll be taken much more seriously.

First thing I do is look at the avatar before telling someone they're an asshole. If all I see is a question mark or silhouette, I assume they're a non-contributor right off the bat (correct or not) and get my elitist hat in hand. If I recognize them, then I'll feel more comfortable calling them an asshole.

 

[pasports31]

And this is a gaming* forum...

Hear that tebow? As confused about this you may be, this is not a spanskdy spakfsdniey party forum

 

[Neuro5i5]

Hear that tebow? As confused about this you may be, this is not a spanskdy spakfsdniey party forum

If that were only true for chat as well...

 

[pasports31]

If that were only true for chat as well...

I learned last night the secret is you just have to stay up til 4 in the morning, then you can talk about things outside of slapsz and spaskksy

 

[Wool]

Hey guys, I was busy with work yesterday, did I miss the Witcher 3 giveaway?

P.S. I also thought Crysis 2 was dull. The combat was fine, but the campaign itself was incredibly boring. I'm willing to give the third one a shot for $5 though. I would be more willing at $2, but it's hard to predict random price drops.

And for the record, some of us with avatars are lurker scum too.

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

I learned last night the secret is you just have to stay up til 4 in the morning, then you can talk about things outside of slapsz and spaskksy

I learned this too, but then I learned there are other chats that don't require you to become sleepy eyed and sleep deprived to talk about non-buttocks smacking subjects...

 

[pasports31]

I learned this too, but then I learned there are other chats that don't require you to become sleepy eyed and sleep deprived to talk about non-buttocks smacking subjects...

i never get invited to these chats so my options are limited, squirrel

 

[asheskitty]

I learned this too, but then I learned there are other chats that don't require you to become sleepy eyed and sleep deprived to talk about non-buttocks smacking subjects...

Heretic

 

[Neuro5i5]

I learned this too, but then I learned there are other chats that don't require you to become sleepy eyed and sleep deprived to talk about non-buttocks smacking subjects...

Not all of us are super elite squirrels.

{Asshole}

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

i never get invited to these chats so my options are limited, squirrel

Not all of us are super elite squirrels.

{Asshole}

Take it up with the coconut queen...

Heretic

Oh, you too ey?

 

[Neuro5i5]

Hey guys, I was busy with work yesterday, did I miss the Witcher 3 giveaway?

P.S. I also thought Crysis 2 was dull. The combat was fine, but the campaign itself was incredibly boring. I'm willing to give the third one a shot for $5 though. I would be more willing at $2, but it's hard to predict random price drops.

And for the record, some of us with avatars are lurker scum too.

It wasn't the The Witcher 3, it was HL3 pre-alpha keys. {Wait, was I the only one that was supposed to know that?}

And, yes, you can be both. But, you become a higher form of lurker scum. Like trash that floats in the Hudson as opposed to sinking into the muck.

 

[Neuro5i5]

Take it up with the coconut queen...

Pfftt. If you have to ask to be invited to the party, it's even more lame than not being invited in the first place.

 

[Correlli]

Those without avatars = lurker scum

No exceptions.

Hey! I resemble that remark.

 

[Thermopyle]

Awesome. Somebody called this out on Reddit for Crysis 3: it comes with a copy of Crysis 1:

THIS OFFER IS BEING ISSUED TO YOU FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CREDIT, CHARGE, DEBIT OR GIFT CARD. OFFER AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST AND EXPIRES MARCH 30, 2013. CRYSIS 1 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE EXPIRES MARCH 30, 2014. HUNTER EDITION GOOD ONLY FOR NEW PRE-ORDER PURCHASES OF CRYSIS 3 (“PRODUCT”). VALID ONLY AT WWW.ORIGIN.COM AND AT PARTICIPATING RETAILERS. CODE FOR CRYSIS 1 DIGITAL DOWNLOAD PRODUCT WILL BE PROVIDED WITH DELIVERY OF PRODUCT. CRYSIS 1 WILL BE FOR THE SAME PLATFORM AS THE PRE-ORDERED PRODUCT. OFFER VALID WHEREVER PRODUCT IS SOLD. ORIGIN ACCOUNT AND ACCEPTANCE OF CRYSIS 1 END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED FOR CRYSIS 1. PLAYSTATION NETWORK/XBOX LIVE ACCOUNT REQUIRED FOR CRYSIS 1 FOR PLAYSTATION 3 AND XBOX 360 PLATFORMS. CERTAIN SERVERS FOR CRYSIS 1 REQUIRE THE USE AND INSTALLATION OF ANTI-CHEAT SOFTWARE. OFFER MAY NOT BE SUBSTITUTED, EXCHANGED, SOLD OR REDEEMED FOR CASH OR OTHER GOODS OR SERVICES. MAY NOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR DISCOUNT COUPON. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED, TAXED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. SEE FINAL PRODUCT DETAILS, EULA AND CONTENT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY AT WWW.EA.COM/1/PRODUCT-EULAS IF AND WHEN AVAILABLE. INTERNET CONNECTION, ORIGIN ACCOUNT, REGISTRATION WITH SERIAL CODE AND ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT MAY BE REQUIRED TO PLAY PRODUCT. EA ONLINE PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EA.COM. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER FOR AN ORIGIN ACCOUNT. EA MAY DISCONTINUE ONLINE SERVICES WITHIN 30 DAYS NOTICE AT WWW.EA.COM/1/SERVICE-UPDATES. ONLINE SERVICE FOR CRYSIS 1 MAY BE DISCONTINUED AND IS NOT GUARANTEED.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007W3ZZS0

It doesn't specify what version it is, so I'm guessing Standard rather than Maximum. Still, it's better than nothing and is enough to justify buying Crysis 3 at $5...though I'll wait for Tony to answer definitively whether he could possibly get Crysis Maximum up on the EC list before I pull the trigger.

 

[pasports31]

Take it up with the coconut queen...

Oh, you too ey?

Ohhh...now i get it. It must be some animal only chat or something

If I change my name to mrlazytiger or something will i get an invite then?

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

Pfftt. If you have to ask to be invited to the party, it's even more lame than not being invited in the first place.

I don't ask, I simply show up. By the time anyone realizes what's happening I've eaten the cake and made off with the bride...

Hey! I resemble that remark.

Who are you and why are you here?

 

[MysterD]

For what it's worth, I thought Crysis 2 was one of the dullest FPSs I've played in years. The AI was horrid, the powers ironically underpowered, and the plot/dialog/voice acting unbearable. It looks great but that's as far as it goes, so I won't be buying 3 anytime soon if ever.

Just in case you wanted a counter to MysterD's constant praise of anything and everything.

Hey, I'll take Crysis PC series any day over PC games TimeShift, Singularity, Halo: Combat Evolved, and El Matador.

EDIT:

Come on...didn't mysterd not like the second half of some game once?

I didn't like the second half of Halo: Combat Evolved - too much cut & paste of areas and backtracking to suit me. After The Flood - the game got terrible, lazy, and "bleh." Everything that made the 1st half so great (unique-ness and variety of different types of shooting gameplay), that got trashed in the 2nd half.

I also didn't like the last 1/3rd of Indigo Prophecy - absolute garbage, compared to the rest of the game.

I didn't like any of the "ancient race" parts that turned Neverwinter Nights 1 (base game, SP campaign) into a piece of mediocrity.

And FF8 is a on and off mess, after the big reveal in the 1st 1/3rd of the game.

That's just for starters here...

 

[Neuro5i5]

Ohhh...now i get it. It must be some animal only chat or something

If I change my name to mrlazytiger or something will i get an invite then?

Try MisogynistMouse...

 

[asheskitty]

Awesome. Somebody called this out on Reddit for Crysis 3: it comes with a copy of Crysis 1:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007W3ZZS0

It doesn't specify what version it is, so I'm guessing Standard rather than Maximum. Still, it's better than nothing and is enough to justify buying Crysis 3 at $5...though I'll wait for Tony to answer definitively whether he could possibly get Crysis Maximum up on the EC list before I pull the trigger.

It was pre-order bonus with the hunter edition, iirc. No one has reported getting hunter ed or crysis 1 afik.

 

[madjoki]

Awesome. Somebody called this out on Reddit for Crysis 3: it comes with a copy of Crysis 1:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007W3ZZS0

It doesn't specify what version it is, so I'm guessing Standard rather than Maximum. Still, it's better than nothing and is enough to justify buying Crysis 3 at $5...though I'll wait for Tony to answer definitively whether he could possibly get Crysis Maximum up on the EC list before I pull the trigger.

OFFER AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST AND EXPIRES MARCH 30, 2013

We are living in 2014 now!

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

Hey, I'll take Crysis PC series any day over PC games TimeShift, Singularity, Halo: Combat Evolved, and El Matador.

<don't reply, don't reply, don't reply>

 

[ChelseaGrinK]

Hey, I'll take Crysis PC series any day over PC games TimeShift, Singularity, Halo: Combat Evolved, and El Matador.

I'm sort of playing Crysis now (have a few hours but Bio Infinite took the priority), but I've played Halo: Combat Evolved on PC and TimeShift on Xbox and for me it was enjoyable. Even worst I've bought Halo 3 and i hated the game, played until the end and then sold as fast as i could.

 

[MysterD]

I'm sort of playing Crysis now (have a few hours but Bio Infinite took the priority), but I've played Halo: Combat Evolved on PC and TimeShift on Xbox and for me it was enjoyable. Even worst I've bought Halo 3 and i hated the game, played until the end and then sold as fast as i could.

IMHO...

TimeShift was mediocre. It wants to be Half-Life 2 (atmosphere) and FEAR (slow-mo combat) and Sands of Time (rewind mechanic) - but, it never goes anywhere worthwhile.

Singularity was "Raven being Raven" like they've been doing in recent years - i.e. Raven makes a solid game and it's good...but, that's really about it.

EDIT:

About Halo: Combat Evolved - while it might've been great that consoles finally had a decent shooter that finally was schemed well towards a gamepad, it was really just basically another shooter on the PC. I'll take FEAR 1, Crysis series, Quake 2, DN3D, HL series, and numerous others shooters over Halo: CE.

I never bought Halo 2 PC - can't speak on it.

 

[spoderman]

IMHO...

TimeShift was mediocre. It wants to be Half-Life 2 (atmosphere) and FEAR (slow-mo combat) and Sands of Time (rewind mechanic) - but, it never goes anywhere worthwhile.

Singularity was "Raven being Raven" like they've been doing in recent years - i.e. Raven makes a solid game and it's good...but, that's really about it.

wat. so u say singularity is good but u complain? i dont get it

 

[Neuro5i5]

Raven makes a solid game and it's good...but, that's really about it.

Why does this read like it's a bad thing?

 

[Motiv]

I'm so confused...

Kind of but not really

 

[MysterD]

wat. so u say singularity is good but u complain? i dont get it

Why does this read like it's a bad thing?

To answer you both, in short...

In this modern era, Raven just ain't as great as they used to be.

 

[Thermopyle]

OFFER AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST AND EXPIRES MARCH 30, 2013

We are living in 2014 now!

Oh yeah. That happened a few days ago, didn't it? Dammit.

Tony! Can we got Crysis 1 Maximum on the EC list? Origin is fine, IMO. 7.49->2.49 would be ideal. You've had it at 7.49 previously.

 

[Neuro5i5]

In this modern era, Raven just ain't as great as they used to be.

Great is great, but good is still good.

And I thought I had high standards. You do realize, while chase shouldn't be abandoned, perfection is not achievable.

 

[spoderman]

Great is great, but good is still good.

And I thought I had high standards. You do realize, while chase shouldn't be abandoned, perfection is not achievable.

Good is not good enough, according to MyD!

 

[Neuro5i5]

Good is not good enough, according to MyD!

So, like good-, borderline meh+

 

[asheskitty]

Oh yeah. That happened a few days ago, didn't it? Dammit.

Tony! Can we got Crysis 1 Maximum on the EC list? Origin is fine, IMO. 7.49->2.49 would be ideal. You've had it at 7.49 previously.

This!. I've never seen Crysis 1 Max under $7.50... and yet Crysis 3 has finally hit $5...

 

[smurfinaus]

SO what was going on with the EC coupons not working earlier??? did someone forget to flick the switch? (not that there is much on offer atm...)

 

[MysterD]

Great is great, but good is still good.

And I thought I had high standards. You do realize, while chase shouldn't be abandoned, perfection is not achievable.

Back in the day, Id and Raven were both putting out great games on a very consistent basis.

In the last decade or so - not so much.

Both companies still have been producing good stuff, sure...

...but not like the greatness they both did in the old days (90's to early 2000's).

 

[Solid-Snake-Eyes]

Great is great, but good is still good.

In the video game industry 'good' = shit.

 

[soulkyo]

So Tapatalk was updated and now we can see the quoted post user again.

Edit: Is there any worthy Crysis 3 DLC that I'll be missing by buying the regular version on Amazon? I'm not going to play it now but I think that 5$ is a good deal nonetheless.

 

[Neuro5i5]

Back in the day, Id and Raven were both putting out great games on a very consistent basis.

In the last decade or so - not so much.

Both companies still have been producing good stuff, sure...

...but not like the greatness they both did in the old days (90's to early 2000's).

The same thought process is probably one of the leading causes of divorce.

 

[pasports31]

The same thought process is probably one of the leading causes of divorce.

I don't think id and raven have a whole lot to do w/most divorces.

Idiot.

 

[angruss]

This thread made me get an avatar... damn you, this thread.

 

[MysterD]

The same thought process is probably one of the leading causes of divorce.

But, you have to ask yourself - who the hell would even marry me, in the first place?

 

[Neuro5i5]

But, you have to ask yourself - who the hell would even marry me, in the first place?

Don't be like that. There's plenty of dudes out there that would probably be interested in you.

{Not me, of course.}

 

[MysterD]

I just read a bunch of Dead Space 3: Awakening DLC reviews - supposedly, the game's only supposedly 90 minutes to 3 hours in shortness.

So, that means it'd probably take me anywhere from 2-5 hours to finish.

EDIT:

Don't be like that. There's plenty of dudes out there that would probably be interested in you.

{Not me, of course.}

Ummmm, I like girls.

{raises eyebrow @ Neuro}

 

[Neuro5i5]

EDIT:

Ummmm, I like girls.

{raises eyebrow @ Neuro}

As long as you keep it to only your eyebrows, that's within my comfort zone.