Amazon PCDD - Important Update New Community Manager Incoming!

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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:

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In the "Product Description" section:

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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

 
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Has anyone bought from G2A before?  The Gamefly Ubisoft deals got me looking at Rocksmith 2014 and G2A has the Steam code for $23.36.  Sounds like a good deal to me.

 
Since y'all was talking about going to chvrches and getting right with the Lorde, you might like to know that Google has a bunch of mp3 albums for $0.99. It may not work for everyone as the promotion is "only open to users who receive the related email offer from Google Play," but it worked for me and I didn't get a related email. Note: you need to click on the regular price to see the $0.99 price and you are limited to 5 albums.

 
Too Damn High said:
Since y'all was talking about going to chvrches and getting right with the Lorde, you might like to know that Google has a bunch of mp3 albums for $0.99. It may not work for everyone as the promotion is "only open to users who receive the related email offer from Google Play," but it worked for me and I didn't get a related email. Note: you need to click on the regular price to see the $0.99 price and you are limited to 5 albums.
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People still listen to mp3s?

 
DarkZero104 said:
Newegg's digital 2K sale is pretty interesting. BNW for a bit under $10, bit under $9 after the 10% off. Still not as good as GMG last month but if Newegg could get these prices then goddammit Amazon. Or 2K. Or whatever it is that's managed these games to not be in the sale.
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bnw on gamefly for about 5.65 after thier discount code today its in their mac page, but its a steam code so can use it for PC.

http://m.gamefly.com/games/game/65081283
 
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Will LA Noire: Complete Edition be added to the EC list before the month ends? I've been holding off on the MP3 and LA Noire bundle in the hope that LA Noire: Complete Edition will be added at the same price as MP3 with season pass, and now the MP3+LA Noire bundle is out of stock. Tony pls.

 
travathian said:
When most people play music thru shitty headphones or speakers, it really doesn't matter if it is typical bitrate mp3 or FLAC.
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Functionally true, but not strictly true. I can hear the difference on $5 headphones... I can even compare the difference between different MP3 encoders on $5 headphones... yes, better headphones bring out more, but the difference is quite fundamental.

FFS 160 kbps AAC or GTFO.

 
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I've got Civ V Gold. Haven't played it yet. Also have Civ IV complete. I kind of feel like when I want to play a non-magic sim I should play IV and just keep waiting until all the expansions for V are out and cheap anyway.

I mean...maybe IV was bad and V was awesome and I should just skip ahead, I dunno, but the Firaxis pack constantly being on sale and bundling Civ IV and V together seems kind of like 2k is shooting themselves in the foot on that one.

 
juanjava said:
y everybody likes that soccer game? I'm missing something?
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No idea. It's crap. I'm assuming because 99% of people here are American and you guys don't do Association Football - you can't tell that it's crap. :D

You should be playing New Star Soccer for a football lifestyle game or Football Manager* for... err.. managing. :)

*[edit]

Thinking about it, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone not familiar with the sport. You don't have to like or follow it, I don't, you can just be a management game fan - but you do have to understand the sport. I wouldn't for instance brave picking up OOTP.

 
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Thermopyle said:
I've got Civ V Gold. Haven't played it yet. Also have Civ IV complete. I kind of feel like when I want to play a non-magic sim I should play IV and just keep waiting until all the expansions for V are out and cheap anyway.

I mean...maybe IV was bad and V was awesome and I should just skip ahead, I dunno, but the Firaxis pack constantly being on sale and bundling Civ IV and V together seems kind of like 2k is shooting themselves in the foot on that one.
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Civ IV complete is highly regarded (it took years of patches and expansions for it to attain that).

 
Thermopyle said:
I've got Civ V Gold. Haven't played it yet. Also have Civ IV complete. I kind of feel like when I want to play a non-magic sim I should play IV and just keep waiting until all the expansions for V are out and cheap anyway.

I mean...maybe IV was bad and V was awesome and I should just skip ahead, I dunno, but the Firaxis pack constantly being on sale and bundling Civ IV and V together seems kind of like 2k is shooting themselves in the foot on that one.
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I've played gold a few times since buying it on gmg winter sale. It def feels like its lacking some things. BNW looks to fix a lot of issues. I am very happy to finally have it today.
 
Thermopyle said:
I've got Civ V Gold. Haven't played it yet. Also have Civ IV complete. I kind of feel like when I want to play a non-magic sim I should play IV and just keep waiting until all the expansions for V are out and cheap anyway.

I mean...maybe IV was bad and V was awesome and I should just skip ahead, I dunno, but the Firaxis pack constantly being on sale and bundling Civ IV and V together seems kind of like 2k is shooting themselves in the foot on that one.
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If you're new to the series, V is much easier to get into. If you're not, both IV and V are great with IV being an evolution of the first 3 games and so being the best of the more 'classic' Civs with V being a bit of a break from the past games in the series.

 
Too Damn High said:
Since y'all was talking about going to chvrches and getting right with the Lorde, you might like to know that Google has a bunch of mp3 albums for $0.99. It may not work for everyone as the promotion is "only open to users who receive the related email offer from Google Play," but it worked for me and I didn't get a related email. Note: you need to click on the regular price to see the $0.99 price and you are limited to 5 albums.
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Not available to Canada. :(

 
Thermopyle said:
I mean...maybe IV was bad and V was awesome and I should just skip ahead, I dunno, but the Firaxis pack constantly being on sale and bundling Civ IV and V together seems kind of like 2k is shooting themselves in the foot on that one.
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Civ4 has a ton of great mods that greatly enhance gameplay or totally overhaul the game. Rhye's and Fall of Civilization, Fall From Heaven 2, Dawn of Civ, and Rise of Mankind are all great. FFH2 also has modmods that fix a lot of the leftover bugs and add in other content. I have yet to play a better fantasy 4x game.

 
Too Damn High said:
What are you some kind of next-gen streamer?
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I get all my music losslessly and then re-encode into AAC using settings I've tested in an ABX to make sure I can't tell the difference between the lossless and the lossy encode. :)

targetbsp said:
If you're new to the series, V is much easier to get into. If you're not, both IV and V are great with IV being an evolution of the first 3 games and so being the best of the more 'classic' Civs with V being a bit of a break from the past games in the series.
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I played II back in the day. And by "back in the day" I meant it was like...mid to late 90s when it first came out. I think I paid like $50 for it. Ah, I was a stupid kid. I played the hell out of it for a while, but it didn't take long to realize that I got bored and annoyed with the game every time it got close to modern times. MoM on the other hand I played nonstop for months and had the 400 page strategy guide for. I used the crap out of that thing, too. So...I'm pretty interested in the new Civ games, but also kind of expecting that I'll have the same problem once I get to the modern and future day parts of the game. We'll see.

 
targetbsp said:
No idea. It's crap. I'm assuming because 99% of people here are American and you guys don't do Association Football - you can't tell that it's crap. :D

You should be playing New Star Soccer for a football lifestyle game or Football Manager* for... err.. managing. :)

*[edit]

Thinking about it, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone not familiar with the sport. You don't have to like or follow it, I don't, you can just be a management game fan - but you do have to understand the sport. I wouldn't for instance brave picking up OOTP.
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FWIW I played it a bit and it's not that bad to me. True I don't know Soccer that well, but it also plays in part like a Sims game so I think that part appeals to me.

I guess I feel like if you go in expecting a hardcore sports simulation then you will be disappointed but if you are okay with a Sims type game with some light sports team management going on it's not that bad.

I don't usually play sports games but I do play Sims game so while I wouldn't call it game of the year I don't think it's as bad as some people are making out either, but then my expectations were a bit different. *shrug*

 
Thermopyle said:
I get all my music losslessly and then re-encode into AAC using settings I've tested in an ABX to make sure I can't tell the difference between the lossless and the lossy encode. :)
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What software and settings do you use? I used to be a FLAC snob but I finally had to admit to myself that a good quality MP3/AAC sounds the same, and I've never looked back.

 
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asheskitty said:
Tempting... but I still feel stubborn about holding our for $3.15.
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Is that number magical? It's a very tempting number and I do like it better than $5.35. I don't feel very stubborn today though.

Edited: Actually my math says BNW is $5.62 unless I am using the wrong coupon. The only one I can find gives 25% off.

 
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Naked Snake Eyes said:
What software and settings do you use? I used to be a FLAC snob but I finally had to admit to myself that a good quality MP3/AAC sounds the same, and I've never looked back.
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I can tell the difference between FLAC/M4A (Apple Lossless) and MP3/AAC easily with $10 earphones and $20 headphones using both an iPhone and Nexus 7. I only re-encode when I have no enough storage :)

Motoki said:
I'm surprised there aren't any vinyl loving hipsters chiming in.
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Vinyl is still the best but can't be enjoyed on the go! :D

Back on topic; I grabbed Max Payne 3 + GTA IV the moment GTA IV keys got restocked. I just couldn't risk it and now that Max Payne 3 is OoS, I am glad I did.

 
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Palinn said:
Is that number magical? It's a very tempting number and I do like it better than $5.35. I don't feel very stubborn today though.

Edited: Actually my math says BNW is $5.62 unless I am using the wrong coupon. The only one I can find gives 25% off.
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5.62 is the correct price I was wrong with 5.35
 
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Too Damn High said:
Females are just better listeners. I think I heard that somewhere.
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Yep. Because they have to make sure to listen to us in case we decide to beat them to death because they said something mean to us. Natural selection, survival of the fittest, all that fun stuff. :shame:

Naked Snake Eyes said:
What software and settings do you use? I used to be a FLAC snob but I finally had to admit to myself that a good quality MP3/AAC sounds the same, and I've never looked back.
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When I had a Mac I used XLD, which was really nice. Now that I'm back to Windows for everything I'm using Foobar2000 to convert. It works very well--there are plugins for handling APE and such natively, it does metadata lookup through a couple of services, and it's very fast and minimal. The only complaint is that it won't automatically fetch artwork for you. I don't remember the specific quality, but I believe it's also around 160kbps with true VBR. My hearing actually isn't very good and I'm sure this is actually higher than I need, but...maybe one day in the future they'll come up with a fix and this way I won't need to re-encode everything. :)

Foobar has a plugin for ABX. Really if you care about audio you need to do ABX testing. It's pretty simple; you just give it two audio samples, one lossless and one lossy, and then it gives you a blind listening test using those samples to see if you can actually tell the difference between them. You test however many times (I think I did ten) going back and forth between the clips. If you can hear differences you'll be able to identify consistently which is the lossy and which is the lossless, in which case you should increase the quality of the lossy. If you can't tell the difference, the lossy's quality is, subjectively for you, as good as lossless. Keep in mind that equipment can have an impact, however; listening to crappy earbuds probably isn't going to help you pick out quality issues.

 
I can't decide whether I want max payne 3 to be restocked.Either they should,  so I can get the complete bundle, activate the season pass and trade away the base game, or they shouldn't restock it, which will save me from getting useless DLC for a dead multiplayer.

The dilemma of a CAG...

 
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Motoki said:
She's hangin out with the Monsters under her bed.

And no Asheskitty you won't get the reference because it's about a song released after the 80s.
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R8iwISM.jpg


Naked Snake Eyes said:
160k? That's beneath me. I demand minimum V0 for Lame or 256k for AAC.
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Eh. What 256k are you talking about? Apple for example (unless this has changed) uses constrained VBR, not true VBR. Also the encoder quality makes a difference. But yeah, as I said...my hearing isn't that great, so even with decent headphones it doesn't sound any different at 160k to me. When I used to listen to mp3s at the old standard of 128k, yeah, I could tell the difference there, but AAC is a lot better IMO.

 
r333k0 said:
I can't decide whether I want max payne 3 to be restocked.Either they should, so I can get the complete bundle, activate the season pass and trade away the base game, or they shouldn't restock it, which will save me from getting useless DLC for a dead multiplayer.

The dilemma of a CAG...
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I'm hoping it comes back because at this point I'm suspecting we won't see a complete LA Noire. :(

 
r333k0 said:
I can't decide whether I want max payne 3 to be restocked.Either they should, so I can get the complete bundle, activate the season pass and trade away the base game, or they shouldn't restock it, which will save me from getting useless DLC for a dead multiplayer.

The dilemma of a CAG...
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lol i want to get it for friend but i also want to wait till 31st to use everything then llol

 
Thermopyle said:
R8iwISM.jpg


Eh. What 256k are you talking about? Apple for example (unless this has changed) uses constrained VBR, not true VBR. Also the encoder quality makes a difference. But yeah, as I said...my hearing isn't that great, so even with decent headphones it doesn't sound any different at 160k to me. When I used to listen to mp3s at the old standard of 128k, yeah, I could tell the difference there, but AAC is a lot better IMO.
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I know Apple uses VBR but the quality setting is called 256k. I just found it really strange/funny that you insist on FLAC but you listen at only 160k.

 
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