-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
(Steam) Publishers to crack down on cross-region gifting/trading
- Thread starter JaseC
- Start date
Then that's bullshit. I'm willing to pay a higher price if they want me to in order to gift shit through modbot but they still won't let me?
I never asked for this.
The game is apparently 8 in Russia.
Diablo Rosso
Member
Of course Konami would do this. They've been terrible for a while and are even running Metal Gear into the ground. 
So what you mean is using a VPN to buy a game through the Steam client from another region is prohibited, but not redeeming a region-locked key bought elsewhere?
I love Daniels so much.
MutonCommander
Banned
It's not community though, it's blatant abuse of the regional pricing system. Some countries have cheaper prices because gamers in those countries can't pay the normal price. Selling a cheap Russian copy to a US buyer means that you're cheating the publisher. It's just wrong and it could lead to publishers enforcing the same prices for everyone, which would seriously screw over gamers in poor countries.
In theory, the answer is "no", since the SSA technically forbids using a VPN at all, but in practice it's "yes" since Valve has turned a blind eye to those using one to just play the game they've bought or redeem a key they've bought.
Well, the US is actually one of the cheaper regions, so that wouldn't really help either. I guess Valve could offer the most expensive region for everyone, so if you want a universally giftable version you would have to pay a premium (unless you live in said region).
publicpwnerer
Member
How about they appreciate the fact that people are actually buying their fucking games? This is why AAA publishers deserve whatever they get.
No it's not.
Why are companies allowed to purchase their material and labor from anywhere in the world while customers are not allowed to do the same?
No, your retail version's Steam key will work just fine.
IdreamofHIME
Member
Had to be Konami that would be the 1st to do it. lol, what a company.
none of konami games on steam are available in japan or for the entire asia for that matter. i have to pre order MGR via amazon praying that it won't be region locked
That is not too bad then, as we still have ways to gift games to regions where a game might not even be available.
Case in point.
No.
I ordered the digital version. Not retail.
To purchase from the store of another region you need a recognised payment method local to said region, so if you're travelling the easiest option is to just visit http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=xx (where xx is your home country code) and continue purchasing as you typically would.
"Retail keys" is just a catch-all term to refer to keys purchased outside of Steam, be they digital or physical.
"Retail" does not mean "physical."
antennaehead
Member
Wait, is this a new system? My region is ex-USSR and afair I've seen this kind of restrictions before on some games.
maneil99
Member
As someone that sells games for cheaper using this exploit I cant really complain. Its sorta wrong morally and this was expected. They should lower prices for aussies and such tho, majority of people that buy games from me wouldnt have bought the game at all if it wasnt for the discount I/We can get.
I'm going to be beaten, but same thing.
That's a government imposed tax I believe.
I wonder how hard it would be to set up payment options in various regions. Probably need an address?
If you purchased it from a store, then there should be no issue.
EA has region free purchases on Origin actually.
Because publishers own the copyright, which gives them explicit permission to distribute and price their work however they want.
Which includes removing their product from stores unwilling to keep street dates or pricing guidelines.
maneil99
Member
Does origin have gifting?
Some games only run in certain countries and some are not giftable insofar that the "Purchase as a gift" button is disabled. This is the first time there have been regional restrictions applied to the actual gifting and trading systems.
The latter. It's a specific flag that a publisher may or may not decide to set for their games in the Steam database.
I don't think so, but I've never actually bought a game on Origin either.
Due to Steam Wallet your account needs to be tied to a home country, so unless you want to jump through the proof of residency hoops with Support every now and again it's not really worth the hassle.
No, it does not.
The Wizard
Member
It seems like this is pretty clearly targeted at cracking down on shady resellers profiting off buying games for cheaper in markets with different economic circumstances. It sucks for the legitimate customers affected but as a whole I think the russian tf2 key trade is bad enough for steam and publishers to take notice.
MutonCommander
Banned
I don't know, I haven't got a clue as to the rules and regulations of international commerce. What I do know is that a lot of people from "first-world" countries are exploiting the gifting and trading system to buy games at prices intended for poor countries.
Because corporations pay for our lawmakers campaigns and dictae how they vote?
Well, guess all we can hope for is that nobody else uses this flag.
maneil99
Member
Same. I think the issue in hand is they are going to region lock all games
It's always been possible to circumvent the disabling of the gift function, which is part of the reason why this flag has come into play. If you try to gift the game to somebody on your Friends list who isn't in Eastern Europe, Steam will cough up an error.
Edit: Actually, people outside of the permitted countries don't show up: