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:

16hm7a8.png


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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meh.. games nowaday are too shallow with instant gratification theme.

 Is there anything game out there (old school or whatsnot) that hard as hell & won't give you that instant reward until it beat u to the pulp?

 
agentghost said:
Is there anything game out there (old school or whatsnot) that hard as hell & won't give you that instant reward until it beat u to the pulp?
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header_292x136.jpg

In 1986, the world's worst nuclear disaster occurred at the Chernobyl power station. Soviet authorities established a 30km 'Exclusion Zone' around this nuclear wasteland, but in 2006 a second explosion rocked the stricken reactor, obliterating all living things and causing the Zone's boundaries to ripple outwards.
 
agentghost said:
Is there anything game out there (old school or whatsnot) that hard as hell & won't give you that instant reward until it beat u to the pulp?
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Bard's Tale 1-3, it's crap shoot if you make it to the tavern a few paces away from the very start of the game. Most of the Wizardry's are extremely challenging as well (not talking about the crappy asian ones).

 
Check out Dustforce and OlliOlli and Risk of Rain as well.

Dustforce is a very precise platformer. Lots of user-made levels, speedrun focus, and leaderboard stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S2iPTfCM30 

OlliOlli is a platform skater game with classic Tony Hawk style goals. OlliOlli has three difficulty modes and even the first one is hard to 5-star everything in. Also every difficulty mode has completely different levels and achievements. That plus instant restart has had me spending an hour replaying a 2-minute level over and over again trying to get those damn cheevios. Very addictive game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5fDFZYKyic

OlliOlli is a Vita game, though--so YMMV.

Risk of Rain is a timed roguelike platformer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zh30kl6nwY

 
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FWIW, I absolutely loved Risk of Rain.  It's punishing but like with most Roguelikes, you quickly learn the nuances of your characters, the gameplay system, and the priorities of farming vs speedrunning to avoid difficulty spikes.  It's pretty luck based in the sense that some items are incredibly overpowered though... I find it a mix between Spelunky (though more luck based) and co-op games like Monaco where each player can ostensibly have varying different playstyles and pros/cons.

OlliOlli is pretty awesome and definitely a good game to play when you have a few minutes to spare here and there.  I didn't find it very entertaining in large chunks of time, but I still enjoyed it.

I absolutely hated Dustforce.  I gave it a good 30 minutes but I think it's just not for me.  

 
agentghost said:
meh.. games nowaday are too shallow with instant gratification theme.

Is there anything game out there (old school or whatsnot) that hard as hell & won't give you that instant reward until it beat u to the pulp?
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dark/demons souls, virtually any roguelike (spelunky, ftl, legend of dungeon, binding of isaac, etc) . if you're chasing some of the scores around here, potentially pinball, lol. bleed had some good difficulty, tho its short. super meatboy, electronic super joy. hotline miami.

 
LN3000 said:
If anyone wants to help create SteamGifts giveaways, that'd be cool too.
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Am I doing it right?

A Game of Dwarves http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/Rhxef/a-game-of-dwarves
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/kjpk7/alien-shooter-2-reloaded
Altitude http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/HgjoW/altitude
AquaNox + AquaNox 2 http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/LZJID/aquanox-aquanox-2
Aura: Fate of the Ages http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/tVA7m/aura-fate-of-the-ages
Ballpoint Universe - Infinite http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/CTLz3/ballpoint-universe-infinite
Bunch of Heroes http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/XpISi/bunch-of-heroes
Critical Mass http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/hwaRD/critical-mass
Darwinia + Soundtrack DLC http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/t2jbw/darwinia-soundtrack-dlc
Disciples II: Gallean's Return http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/r0lMq/disciples-ii-galleans-return
Elven Legacy http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/W88F3/elven-legacy
Fortix 2 http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/HpXnN/fortix-2
Future Wars http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/7ISCj/future-wars
Gettysburg: Armored Warfare http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/ICJrm/gettysburg-armored-warfare
Greed: Black Border http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/IJ7O3/greed-black-border
Hacker Evolution http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/a9bMF/hacker-evolution
Hydrophobia: Prophecy http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/H4ro3/hydrophobia-prophecy
Making History: The Calm & the Storm http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/OyghS/making-history-the-calm-the-storm
Miner Wars Arena http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/TdyYo/miner-wars-arena
Multiwinia http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/1t4PJ/multiwinia
Musaic Box http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/Dq0vt/musaic-box
Razor2: Hidden Skies http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/FYYoL/razor2-hidden-skies
Reign: Conflict of Nations http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/i64J4/reign-conflict-of-nations
Rig n Roll http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/dKxR4/rig-n-roll
Sacraboar http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/jnE9k/sacraboar
Saira http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/ASK7N/saira
The Ironclads Collection http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/EzYEc/the-ironclads-collection
The Maw http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/LhqlJ/the-maw
Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/SVG3r/theatre-of-war-2-africa-1943
Uplink http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/ZhFnk/uplink
Vegas: Make It Big http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/e3kX3/vegas-make-it-big
Victoria II http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/ECJgQ/victoria-ii
Yumsters 2: Around the World http://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/UJMs2/yumsters-2-around-the-world

3 copies each. :D

 
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Question about the giveaways...

If you create a giveaway and the code you have is say invalid (maybe it was already used or copied wrong) what happens?

Do you get your steamgifts account banned or anything??

 
Sepioth said:
Question about the giveaways...

If you create a giveaway and the code you have is say invalid (maybe it was already used or copied wrong) what happens?

Do you get your steamgifts account banned or anything??
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The winner can mark it Not Received. Once or twice, probably no big deal. Consistently, yeah, you'll get banned.

 
I can kinda already see this giveaway going about the same way as when they're dropped in the open. I recognize very few of the people making entries, and even fewer are leaving comments. I would be surprised if these links don't get posted somewhere else and the entries get flooded with alt accounts.

Alas, you can't have nice things on the internet.

All the same, the drops are appreciated by a vocal few, including myself. 

 
Unfortunately Hal there really no way to prevent lurkers .. I don't care lurkers get the game I just wish they said thank you. That's why I hate giving away keys so much ... Knowing that it's probably not going to a good home.

At least the advantage to Steamgifts is you need to link your Steam account preventing some people from getting it if they already own it. You can also set it to a Steamgroup and make that group invite only.

A few times I offered keys to people on my Steam friend list that I noticed either did not own the game or had it on their wishlist.

 
hal said:
I can kinda already see this giveaway going about the same way as when they're dropped in the open. I recognize very few of the people making entries, and even fewer are leaving comments. I would be surprised if these links don't get posted somewhere else and the entries get flooded with alt accounts.

Alas, you can't have nice things on the internet.

All the same, the drops are appreciated by a vocal few, including myself.
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Never used Steamgifts before so I'm still figuring it out and whatnot. If there is anything I need to do/can do to make it go better or something (quick tutorial and how to not be a steamgifts dick or something) let me know. That said I probably won't enter in many at all since I'm not a fan of hoarding a lot of games just to have a lot of games thing.

Are games that aren't steam activatable able to be stuck on there? Judging by the name I doubt it but I still have some Origin copies from the origin bundle laying around I could donate.

 
Master Miguel said:
Are games that aren't steam activatable able to be stuck on there? Judging by the name I doubt it but I still have some Origin copies from the origin bundle laying around I could donate.
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Not normally. Some devs do giveaways on there which include DRM-free or desura keys that promise steam keys if the game is greenlit, but thats about it.

 
I hadn't been on SG in about a year but I joined a few of these giveaways, so thanks guys.  I did find it funny to see the best games being given out (Rust) are by Devs of other games asking for Greenlight votes.  

 
Master Miguel said:
Never used Steamgifts before so I'm still figuring it out and whatnot. If there is anything I need to do/can do to make it go better or something (quick tutorial and how to not be a steamgifts dick or something) let me know. That said I probably won't enter in many at all since I'm not a fan of hoarding a lot of games just to have a lot of games thing.

Are games that aren't steam activatable able to be stuck on there? Judging by the name I doubt it but I still have some Origin copies from the origin bundle laying around I could donate.
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You can't be a dick there. :)

If you see a game you want enter it.

You get so many points to enter giveaways. Each giveaway has a cost in points which is equivalent to the retail of the game. Enter the drawing and that many points are taken from your account. Points "regenerate" over time.

Some drawings have a "contributor" tag. Those games require you to have contributed games back to the Steamgifts community. Each game you give away adds to your total $$ given away. Lots of games because of bundles only give 20% of their normal retail.

As far as hording games that is not something you have to worry about as your chances of winning are very very slim. I been there off and on for 2 years and have not won yet. I have entered 1,156 giveaways and won nothing. So enter any giveaway you can. Thats what the website is for. :)

 
hal said:
I would be surprised if these links don't get posted somewhere else and the entries get flooded with alt accounts.
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That would be counter productive as the theoretical person doing that would ruin their own odds. :D

I've used Steamgifts for this purpose for years on several forums. Never had a problem.

You can't stop lurkers winning but you can at least give the regulars a chance without them having to sit on the forum spamming F5 in case a key drops.

 
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hal said:
I can kinda already see this giveaway going about the same way as when they're dropped in the open. I recognize very few of the people making entries, and even fewer are leaving comments. I would be surprised if these links don't get posted somewhere else and the entries get flooded with alt accounts.

Alas, you can't have nice things on the internet.

All the same, the drops are appreciated by a vocal few, including myself.
Click to expand...

Sepioth said:
Unfortunately Hal there really no way to prevent lurkers .. I don't care lurkers get the game I just wish they said thank you. That's why I hate giving away keys so much ... Knowing that it's probably not going to a good home.

At least the advantage to Steamgifts is you need to link your Steam account preventing some people from getting it if they already own it. You can also set it to a Steamgroup and make that group invite only.

A few times I offered keys to people on my Steam friend list that I noticed either did not own the game or had it on their wishlist.
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While there is no real 100% fail-safe proof way to prevent lurkers you can make their life "harder".

Private giveaways are good, but yeah, there is always the possibility of people entering and not leaving comments. You can however enforce a rule for private giveaways for people to post comments or do something specific (like: tell me your favorite movie, leave your CAG profile here, etc that kind of thing) or enforce blacklists. If someone who does not meet the requirements is selected winner you can ask for a reroll and a new winner will be selected. But these extraneous rules usually need approval from SG support, and they need to be set up since the start of the giveaway and don't change with time.

If you want to make it more exclusive then the only way to better control is creating group giveaways. CAG has a Steam group but it's public, anyone can enter, so to make it more excluvive and controlled a new moderated group just for giveaways would be more appropriate.

All this involves a bit of more time and effort to set up the giveaways.

In the end I think random luck from "open private" giveaways is just better and more fair than simply being a ninja :D
 
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About SG:

Steam keys/gifts only, can't be region locked,

If a winner marks a gift as not received it'll show up on your profile page, limit your future giveaways, and with enough of them a suspension.

You should pick from the drop-down list the exact game/dlc/bundle you are giving away. Failing to do so can lead to a suspension/ban.

 
Sepioth said:
Unfortunately Hal there really no way to prevent lurkers .. I don't care lurkers get the game I just wish they said thank you. That's why I hate giving away keys so much ... Knowing that it's probably not going to a good home.

At least the advantage to Steamgifts is you need to link your Steam account preventing some people from getting it if they already own it. You can also set it to a Steamgroup and make that group invite only.
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All really good points. My main gripe about any of the giveaways we do (including my own) is that people pop in, grab stuff, and then leave without saying a word. A simple thanks or something would at least make you feel as though it is appreciated.

I just know how many people open alt accounts and then lurk around websites for keys... meaning someone is just trying to profit off of the good will of others. Burns me up.

Master Miguel said:
If there is anything I need to do/can do to make it go better or something (quick tutorial and how to not be a steamgifts dick or something) let me know.
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I don't know if it's still a thing or not, but it used to be frowned upon to enter a Steamgifts drawing without leaving at least a TY comment.

targetbsp said:
That would be counter productive as the theoretical person doing that would ruin their own odds. :D
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Another good point. Paranoia clouds my brain from time to time.

 
hal said:
I don't know if it's still a thing or not, but it used to be frowned upon to enter a Steamgifts drawing without leaving at least a TY comment.
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There are SG add-ons that will automagically add a comment to any giveaway you enter. Hence all the 'thanks' spam in giveaways. Which is why I don't even bother any more. If someone says it is their bday or some other significant event I will comment, or if they ask for a favorite <thing> I will comment, otherwise, meh. Now if I win, I will not only go back and comment to say thanks, but I always email the person or msg on Steam and say thanks.

edit: of my 46 giveaways on SG, I'd say half of the people emailed me to say thanks, and I don't think I ever bothered to read the comments for any of my giveaways.

 
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spacejunk said:
Am I wrong or did Tony say he was going to make an announcement about something soon?
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Tony did say that.

Though, who knows what his definition of "soon" is, though.

Even though he works for Amazon, he might be actually running on Valve Time. ;)

 
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Interesting, never used Steamgifts before. Unfortunately it requires setting Steam profile to public, and I don't want to do that.

Regardless, thanks to everyone giving away keys and/or helping set up the giveaways!

 
pillowblanket said:
How's The Walking Dead on PC? It's on sale and I have some unused credit.
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Telltale's Walking Dead on PC is fantastic... at least the first season. I can't recommend it enough. Just bear in mind it's more like one of the old "Choose your own Adventure" books than a game. I haven't played the 2nd season (what's been released so far).

 
spacejunk said:
Telltale's Walking Dead on PC is fantastic... at least the first season. I can't recommend it enough. Just bear in mind it's more like one of the old "Choose your own Adventure" books than a game. I haven't played the 2nd season (what's been released so far).
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Ditto.

Haven't yet finished the first season, but I'm far enough along to recommend it whole-heartedly. Excellent writing and some nice tension.

I'm not even a zombie/horror kind of dude, and thought it was just masterfully done.

 
Dreamweaver7 said:
Interesting, never used Steamgifts before. Unfortunately it requires setting Steam profile to public, and I don't want to do that.

Regardless, thanks to everyone giving away keys and/or helping set up the giveaways!
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You only have to set your profile public long enough to register. And then once every couple weeks to keep your account active.

 
Dreamweaver7 said:
Interesting, never used Steamgifts before. Unfortunately it requires setting Steam profile to public, and I don't want to do that.

Regardless, thanks to everyone giving away keys and/or helping set up the giveaways!
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dys006 said:
You only have to set your profile public long enough to register. And then once every couple weeks to keep your account active.
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One a week, I think, it will refuse to allow you to enter any giveaways until you sync your account. At which point you can set to public, sync, and immediately set back to friends or private or whatever.
 
Speaking of drops...here are some really crappy desura keys, have at 'em:

Airship Dragoon: L1V6C-NRVOI-9HU5A-PUHKP-62D2S   
 
telepath rpg: JSIR5-OQX2V-NFWJC-LO561-IPKCR
 
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josgba2002 said:
Thanks for all those giveaways!

And let me join in that party:

This game looks fantastic and has coop gameplay!

Edit: Read description in the giveaway!
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This I like. Next time I personally do a giveaway (of value) I think I'll try this. Creating a proper discussion and weeds out the no-name lurker… I love it :)

Edit: You should remove the disclaimer, it'll make my chances better :D

 
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ALso, here are some humble origin keys to make some little lurker's night:

Dead space: F7YQ-FSMW-6PVT-FE4B-8N8D

Burnout Paradise: BVAJ-RT8P-8HWG-SWD5-D37D

Crysis 2: 5X7P-Y3LY-Z9MG-CGC8-CXEK

Medal of Honor: 55D5-LKCW-9GQ9-2QTC-7GL6

Mirror's Edge: 9MGG-X59E-D6FE-SQM9-Y6LR

 
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pasports31 said:
ALso, here are some humble origin keys to make some little lurker's night:

Dead space: F7YQ-FSMW-6PVT-FE4B-8N8D

Burnout Paradise: BVAJ-RT8P-8HWG-SWD5-D37D

Crysis 2: 5X7P-Y3LY-Z9MG-CGC8-CXEK

Medal of Honor: 55D5-LKCW-9GQ9-2QTC-7GL6

Mirror's Edge: 9MGG-X59E-D6FE-SQM9-Y6LR
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I used the Crysis 2 code. Thanks!

 
Anyone who is worried about using SteamGifts and having invalid keys, etc. I'm not worried. Most people here are decent, so I doubt they'll intentionally screw each other over.

I'll be glad to work with anyone if any problems arise.

 
Waggles said:
I meant this:
I imagine most won't. You do mean that you won't include people who don't comment, right? Or did I misread?
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My giveaway has special rules approved by SG support. That disclaimer is just a reminder, but if people fail at rules, they are disqualified to win.
 
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