Amazon PCDD - Important Update New Community Manager Incoming!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Amazon DVG Deals

Amazon DVG Deals

Official Representative
Feedback
4 (100%)
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:

16hm7a8.png


In the "Product Description" section:

r06ykl.jpg


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

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
The End said:
Alright, I'm sure this has been asked a million times in this thread already. But how do you distinguish between the versions of EA games that require you to link your Amazon account to Origin, and the ones that give you a code that you redeem manually?

I wanna buy my Mom a couple of the Sims 3 expansions and I need to make sure I choose a version that lets me pass the code along to her. I would have figured that I could pretty much just choose the PC compliant version and be done with it since Sims 3 games aren't redeemed directly through Origin anyway. But I noticed on the page for Sims 3 Island Paradise that it says "Gifting is not available for this item". Which would seem to suggest that you don't get a code. Or am I misinterpreting that?

I was under the impression that items marked "Online Game Code" gave you a code, and items marked "Instant Access" require a linked account.
Click to expand...
tumblr_mogjeqsE1B1reqpbro1_500.gif


 
lol I know. What can I say? I'm an idiot.

Seriously though, I don't spend 24/7 in this thread, so I can't remember the answer. It hasn't been drummed into me like it has for the rest of you guys..

 
Last edited by a moderator:
pholly said:
So there's piracy talk here too, I actually thought you people were better than that but I guess I was wrong. I guess I'm not one of the "cool kids" since I actually buy my content instead of looking for ways to steal it.
Click to expand...
What "cool kids"? The most regular posters are the ones spending far too long discussing how a deal isn't as great is it could be because back in 2012 the game was 15¢ cheaper or how long to wait to get a game bundle for a 20¢ cheaper BTA price or are trying to talk Tony into price-matching a game so they can use a coupon to save $5 on it. These really seem like folks who are into pirating games to you? I could have a hundred terrabytes worth of pirated material in the time I used to spend figuring out how to stack the old GamersGate comp discount with the native sale discount and save another $3.00 ($3.25 if I use the UK site!)

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The End said:
lol I know. What can I say? I'm an idiot.

Seriously though, I don't spend 24/7 in this thread, so I can't remember the answer. It hasn't been drummed into me like it has for the rest of you guys..
Click to expand...
The DLC you linked to isn't Instant Access (linked to your Origin account). That option doesn't appear to be available for Island Paradise. Also, it states "Note: After purchase, you can access the item in Your Games Library."

 
Too Damn High said:
The DLC you linked to isn't Instant Access (linked to your Origin account). That option doesn't appear to be available for Island Paradise. Also, it states "Note: After purchase, you can access the item in Your Games Library."
Click to expand...
Alright, thanks for the answer man. I appreciate it.

It seems like the sort of thing that should be explained in the OP. But obviously there's a lot of other stuff going on there right now with the EC promotion.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
pholly said:
So there's piracy talk here too, I actually thought you people were better than that but I guess I was wrong. I guess I'm not one of the "cool kids" since I actually buy my content instead of looking for ways to steal it.
Click to expand...
​You're presumptuous and mistaken. Just because one or two people of a group [race/religion/console peasant faction] steals does not mean that all members of that group are no good thieves. See Syntax's comment.

I'm also sure Sepioth gave this to his kids/nephews at Xmas.

my-first-meth-lab.jpg


The End said:
Alright, I'm sure this has been asked a million times in this thread already. But how do you distinguish between the versions of EA games that require you to link your Amazon account to Origin, and the ones that give you a code that you redeem manually?

I wanna buy my Mom a couple of the Sims 3 expansions and I need to make sure I choose a version that lets me pass the code along to her. I would have figured that I could pretty much just choose the PC compliant version and be done with it since Sims 3 games aren't redeemed directly through Origin anyway. But I noticed on the page for Sims 3 Island Paradise that it says "Gifting is not available for this item". Which would seem to suggest that you don't get a code. Or am I misinterpreting that?

I was under the impression that items marked "Online Game Code" gave you a code, and items marked "Instant Access" require a linked account.
Click to expand...
*twitch* Et tu The_End? *twitch*

 
Last edited by a moderator:
asheskitty said:
​*twitch* Et tu The_End? *twitch*
Click to expand...
You know the funny thing is, I have a clear recollection of the Regs here get all twitchy eyed as they had to explain how it works for the 100th time. Yet I still couldn't remember which way was which. I had a stronger recollection of people being sick of answering the question than I did of the actual answer. lol

I mean, I guess I had it right as it turns out. But I wasn't 100% sure.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
pholly said:
So there's piracy talk here too, I actually thought you people were better than that but I guess I was wrong. I guess I'm not one of the "cool kids" since I actually buy my content instead of looking for ways to steal it.
Click to expand...
Not sure who you're referring to, but the vast majority of us don't pirate games. Why the hell would we waste all our time looking and discussing deals if we were just gonna pirate them?

 
The End said:
You know the funny thing is, I have a clear recollection of the Regs here get all twitchy eyed as they had to explain how it works for the 100th time. Yet I still couldn't remember which way was which. [SIZE=12pt]I had a stronger recollection of people being sick of answering the question than I did of the actual answer. lol[/SIZE]

I mean, I guess I had it right as it turns out. But I wasn't 100% sure.
Click to expand...
*twitch*

Capture.png


When I recreate the world, I'm making a special place in hell for people who don't read. :no: :evil:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey guys, how can you tell if the version of an EA game you want to buy is one that needs linking, or one that gives you a code? It's pretty confusing, and for those of us who don't want to read anything it's a nightmare.  I don't care if someone else just asked the question, because I can't tell if you're lying to them or not. I need a collection of answers on the same topic so I can compare for discrepancies, thus thwarting the EA Linking Conspiracy you're all obviously participating in.

Actually,  fuck it, I just pirate all my games anyway while I'm downloading my porn every night.

 
pasports31 said:
Not sure who you're referring to, but the vast majority of us don't pirate games. Why the hell would we waste all our time looking and discussing deals if we were just gonna pirate them?
Click to expand...
We need an MSRP Gamer so, when we all pirate stuff, we can gloat over how much we "saved".

"I just pirated Magicka and saved ten dollars!"
"Dude, no one has paid MSRP for Magicka ever. I think it comes free with a can of soup these days..."
"I SAVED TEN DOLLARS!"

pasports31 said:
I just pirate all my games anyway while I'm downloading my porn every night.
Click to expand...
I pirate porn about pirating games. "Aww, yeah... what's that you're torrenting? Oh my God, is that CoD: Ghosts? You naughty, naughty girl!"

 
Last edited by a moderator:
asheskitty said:
*twitch*
Capture.png


When I recreate the world, I'm making a special place in hell for people who don't read. :no: :evil:
Click to expand...
You do realize that's not on the Island Paradise page, don't you?

EDIT: And I'm gonna drop it with this post. We don't need a couple of pages discussing why I asked about the linking system.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Naked Snake Eyes said:
Another option. You said if there wasn't a sale you would have to either pirate the DLC or play vanilla. Third option is to buy it.
Click to expand...
Well, yes, I realize that is technically an option. I'm just not interested in spending that much for DLC. I'd pay up to $10 for all three of them together, which is still actually quite a bit of money IMO for DLC of a 4-year-old game. I wouldn't be particularly thrilled for it in comparison to the content of the DLC versus what the main game provides, since I got that for 7.50. I'd go that high, though.

I looked into the DLC further after my initial post; I'd been under the impression that the DLC just added new quest areas that are completely seperate. Apparently that's not the case for Skyrim's DLC, though, so I don't feel like pirating the DLC would be okay. If it were separate, pirating it would have just been for the resources to use the mods, and I would have ignored the added DLC game sections. With the way the way the DLC integrates into the main game there's not really a way to not use it, though.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The End said:
You know the funny thing is, I have a clear recollection of the Regs here get all twitchy eyed as they had to explain how it works for the 100th time. Yet I still couldn't remember which way was which. [SIZE=12pt]I had a stronger recollection of people being sick of answering the question than I did of the actual answer. lol[/SIZE]

I mean, I guess I had it right as it turns out. But I wasn't 100% sure.
Click to expand...
One thing to note with The Sims 3, early physical versions of the base game did not require Origin. Depending on what version your "mom" has, buying an digital code may require you setting up an Origin account for her. Not hard if they already have a Sims 3 account set up on thesims3.com, but you might be required to provide a little helpdesk support.

It's definitely an inelegant setup with the standalone launcher and game patches still being distributed via EADM.

 
Thermopyle said:
Well, yes, I realize that is technically an option. I'm just not interested in spending that much for DLC. I'd pay up to $10 for all three of them together, which is still actually quite a bit of money IMO for DLC of a 4-year-old game. I wouldn't be particularly thrilled for it in comparison to the content of the DLC versus what the main game provides, since I got that for 7.50. I'd go that high, though.
Click to expand...
I feel the same way, but I didn't like how your post was suggesting the only option open to you was to pirate the stuff.

 
Thermopyle said:
Well, yes, I realize that is technically an option. I'm just not interested in spending that much for DLC. I'd pay up to $10 for all three of them together, which is still actually quite a bit of money IMO for DLC of a 4-year-old game. I wouldn't be particularly thrilled for it in comparison to the content of the DLC versus what the main game provides, since I got that for 7.50. I'd go that high, though.
Click to expand...
While I don't really want to jump on a moral high horse (MHH?), no matter how much they charge for their dlc for however old their game is is no excuse to steal it. It may be a reason for why you would steal it, but there is no excuse really for stealing another persons/entities/etc property.

Just because it is relatively easy and risk free to stealing other things doesn't mean its any less shitty of a thing to do. I didn't want to pay what the guy at the dealership wanted so I walked away, I didn't sneak back and steal that Mazda when he wasn't looking.

Edit: Not really directing this post at anyone just irks me when I see people finding ways to rationalize 'pirating' so it can be done without a guilty conscience or something.

/endmoralhighground

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Master Miguel said:
While I don't really want to jump on a moral high horse, no matter much they charge for their dlc for however old their game is is no excuse to steal it. It may be a reason for why you would steal it, but there is no excuse really for stealing another persons/entities/etc property.
Click to expand...
I edited the post you responded to for clarity; I'd said previously that the point behind pirating it would simply be for using mods, but the post you read didn't reference that intent.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thermopyle said:
Well, yes, I realize that is technically an option. I'm just not interested in spending that much for DLC. I'd pay up to $10 for all three of them together, which is still actually quite a bit of money IMO for DLC of a 4-year-old game. I wouldn't be particularly thrilled for it in comparison to the content of the DLC versus what the main game provides, since I got that for 7.50. I'd go that high, though.
Click to expand...
I mean, it's a ton of game content for 7.50. If you get to the point where you feel you want more than that, you can wait for a sale on the massive edition or you could buy the dlc. Look at it this way: Guild Wars 2 typically goes on sale for around 40 bucks. Even if you bought all 3 dlc individually, you'd be paying less than 40. For an MMO that's not a bad deal. MMO's are kind of in a different category than regular games, IMO, so the "4 year old" argument really isn't all that relevant.

If you enjoy the game to the point where you play through the vanilla version and want to play more, just buy the dlc. It's not that big a deal.

 
asheskitty said:
Who are you on Origin? I'm looking for autolog friends.
Click to expand...
Same name - I'm MysterD on Origin.

CAG's, yes - feel free to add me on Origin, UPlay, Steam, whatever.

And Ashes you still didn't answer my question about the twitch. :eek:P

EDIT:

I found an Asheskitty on Origin.

Friend-requested!

I assume that's you - especially since the pic of that girl has red-hair. :p

 
Last edited by a moderator:
pasports31 said:
I mean, it's a ton of game content for 7.50. If you get to the point where you feel you want more than that, you can wait for a sale on the massive edition or you could buy the dlc. Look at it this way: Guild Wars 2 typically goes on sale for around 40 bucks. Even if you bought all 3 dlc individually, you'd be paying less than 40. For an MMO that's not a bad deal. MMO's are kind of in a different category than regular games, IMO, so the "4 year old" argument really isn't all that relevant.

If you enjoy the game to the point where you play through the vanilla version and want to play more, just buy the dlc. It's not that big a deal.
Click to expand...
It's amazing how even in a thread in which I provide a consistent narrative, a single point is responded to based off completely missing the initial point. ^_^;

 
Thermopyle said:
It's amazing how even in a thread in which I provide a consistent narrative, a single point is responded to based off completely missing the initial point. ^_^;
Click to expand...
LIsten up thermos pile, just because I chose to be ignorant to what you posted earlier, which made my post seem ignorant and a bit asinine, doesn't mean you have to point it out, meanie

 
Last edited by a moderator:
MysterD said:
Same name - I'm MysterD on Origin.
CAG's, yes - feel free to add me on Origin, UPlay, Steam, whatever.

And Ashes you still didn't answer my question about the twitch. :eek:P

EDIT:
I found an Asheskitty on Origin.
Friend-requested!
I assume that's you - especially since the pic of that girl has red-hair. :p
Click to expand...
Cool... weird.. it wasn't finding you. Yeah that's me.

There's only one way to cure my twitch...

67n5f.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
asheskitty said:
Skyrim is a three year old game. It was released 11-11-11... 3 years, 2 months, 7 days ago. #MathIsHard
Click to expand...
Was going by memory of the release date, not bad math. I'd looked at Bethesda's game release list on Wiki a couple of days ago and saw an ES game listed in 2010. That wasn't what I was looking for, but remembered it, and assumed it was for Skyrim since that's what made the most sense--turns out it was a Platinum version of Oblivion. :)

But yeah...the mods I'm interested in are the functional ones, not the content ones. The ones that fix bugs, make NPCs run away during fights, cause factions to fight each other, etc., things that make the game play better and the world make more sense. The base game has plenty enough content already, but from reading comments on it the past few years in various message boards, it's become pretty clear that the game itself has some pretty big, noticeable issues that detract from enjoying the game. Since I'll only play it once, I want to make sure that my playthrough really makes full use of the game's potential.

 
Asmith906 said:
Is it too late for me to redeem that $5 promo credit for buying games during the Christmas sale?
Click to expand...
You can still use it! You can use them until the end of the month, but only on games on the Editor's Choice (EC) list. The list is in the OP and it shows when certain games go on sale as well so you can plan accordingly.

EDIT: the list will change up until the end of the month so if you don't' see anything you like just hold out for a bit. Some special sales may not show up on the EC list itself so you're best bet is to use the list in Sepioth's signature, his stays up to date better than the OP's
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thermopyle said:
I edited the post you responded to for clarity; I'd said previously that the point behind pirating it would simply be for using mods, but the post you read didn't reference that intent.
Click to expand...
Meh, I meant no insult, that is just a sentiment that I seem to see fairly regularly and it drives me crazy. I am very good at jumping to conclusions. Also, who doesn't take time out of their day to be pompous every once in awhile?!

 
asheskitty said:
Skyrim is a three year old game. It was released 11-11-11... 3 years, 2 months, 7 days ago. #MathIsHard
Click to expand...
It must be hard because you are adding an extra year that hasn't happened yet. You might be right if this was 2015 which it isn't.

 
Last edited:
Well i've pirated before when i was really young and i didn't had the internet some friends arranged me a few pirated game copies to play and talk with them about that same games. And even then I bough some games with came from gaming magazines or on few stores (only those that i could afford paying at that time). But in the end I bought those games that I've played before (well almost all of them as some i don't remember the name or I can't find them as well) as the most that I remember where Half Life 2, CoD 2 and Cod MW. One of my turning points from pirating games to buying them was when i bought retail Doom 3 game, it was one of my best purchases and with 75% discount from store. I love their manuals and logos that came with the retail box hehe (note i had internet when i bought Doom 3 but i didn't had accessed 24/7 to the internet neither had a option to pay online as my parents are sort of against that which i can understand).

Edit - Even then I bought Doom 3 and the expansion on steam just to play on steam (and played to the end again) as the retail didn't worked on Vista and 7. But I am one of the biggest fans of id and Doom (at least near my friends).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Master Miguel said:
Meh, I meant no insult, that is just a sentiment that I seem to see fairly regularly and it drives me crazy. I am very good at jumping to conclusions. Also, who doesn't take time out of their day to be pompous every once in awhile?!
Click to expand...
Oh, I get it completely. I skip around in busy threads a lot, and depending on the post it can look self-contained enough to be a complete message. When that's the case, it's easy to jump to conclusions that it's not in context to something said earlier.

The only reason I'd even consider it for Skyrim's DLC is because I'm not interested in the content at all--it's just for the purpose of the bug fixes and game behavior improvements available from the mods that require it. Even then, finding out the DLC fully integrates its content into the game rather than just adds additional game areas that you have to deliberately select to go to (like Morrowind and Borderlands did) rules that out for me since that would mean that I'm playing content I didn't pay for, which isn't something I want to do.

And just for the record, it's been 10+ years since I pirated a PC game, and about 3-4 for console. I've found that when pirating games I end up not attaching any significance to them. I'll install a game, play it for a half hour, get bored, and not touch it again. Whether it's PC, PSP, or 360 doesn't seem to make a difference. Games that I buy, however, I kind of feel an obligation to. "I bought it, if I don't play it I wasted my money." So I play a lot more now that I'm buying games. Of course, I'm buying games way faster than I play them, so spending a lot of time on a single game makes me feel like I need to hurry along. I've been on Xcom: Enemy Within for almost three weeks now. Great game, lots of fun, but I'm happy to be almost done with it so I can move on to some shorter games and knock a few out quickly before I play something longer again.

Anyway, I think that's enough of that topic from me.

 
I wouldn't be the gamer I am today & spending thousands of dollars on it if I hadn't started pirating PS2 games back in the day, but I've since gone legit and even purchased many games I had previously pirated. I'm not gonna act superior and pretend I never pirate anything, but I no longer pirate video games and it feels good man.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Are we having a therapy session now?

Hi! You can just call me mnem.

I used to be a pirate but I stopped since digital distribution got famous. As its easy to just click the "add to cart" now rather that look for worm free keygen.

(I still have a pirated version of Battle of middle earth since I cant find a digital version of it. So if an EA rep read this, please make it available digtally!)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
bread's done
Back
Top