Christmas is a tough time of year for the dedicated PC gamer. All the best titles madly appear in one giant rush over the last three months, ensuring that no one has enough money to buy all the games they would like to. Someone tell the publishers – somehow this escapes them. But anyhow, the point is, why not, er, spend some of that money a bit earlier. Valve have just announced Left 4 Dead as available for pre-order via Steam.
It’s 10% off if bought ahead of release, which makes it $44.99, plus whatever taxes your evil dictatorship leaders impose upon you. Entertainingly quoting himself in a press release he wrote, Valve’s Doug Lombardi says,
“With just over four weeks until launch, Left 4 Dead is showing every sign of topping The Orange Box on both the PC and Xbox 360, at retail as well as on Steam. Our pre-sell numbers at retail have jumped to over 65% greater than Orange Box at the same proximity to launch, and we’re seeing tremendous enthusiasm for the product in what promises to be another great year for gaming on both platforms.”
The show-off. Anyone who had a go at the game at the PC Gamer Showdown will tell you quite how good it is. We’ll back that up. There’s no word yet whether there will be a beta period for pre-orderers.
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unshaven: you can just copy the entire steam directory over to a new computer, and it’ll Just Work(TM). Doesn’t even need installed (it’ll auto-install the vista steam service, if you have vista, on first launch) but will quite happily let you install it over the old directory if you so feel the need, without deleting anything
advantages: It Just Works
disadvantages: games are never “installed” – as far as it’s concerned, they’ve always been there – so you don’t get start menu items, add/remove programs entries, or, for some 3rd-party stuff, the correct reg entries for your multiplayer games. Doesn’t affect source stuff, though, or 99.99% of other stuff either
RANT TIME!
screw steam and their taking away of consumer resale rights on full games. i hope someday they get served a class action that buries them for ever.
amen.
Yeah, it’s a pain. I imagine it’s only a matter of time before all digital products are re-defined as services rather than objects to avoid just such a problem. Their problem I mean, not ours.
At least in Steam’s case it’s a fairly good service. So far. But I dread the day when I have twelve different companies’ steam-a-like digital distribution platforms installed for fourteen different games.
I just can’t handle paying $45.00 for a completely multiplayer game. I don’t have a dedicated group to play with, so I’ll be connecting and playing with strangers. I’m guessing that means that there won’t be a storyline/campaign, just picking a random map and going. I can have hours and hours of fun doing that, but it still seems like only half a game, like TF2. TF2 is really really great, but I would never have paid over $25 for it, since it is just the multiplayer part.
I’ve been playing Zombie Panic! Source a lot recently, so I’d really like to try L4D. Hmm… I hope there is a demo…
@Mike
“So, it’s £27 on Play.com.
…
Sorry, Valve, but that was just stupid. Buying offline saves a fiver.”
It’s hardly fair to criticise Valve for Play.com’s pricing policy!
$50, huh? That’s much more than what I expected. Of course, if I knew I’d spend, say, even 10% of the time I’ve spent on Counter-Strike on L4D, it’d still be worthwhile.
I’ll tell you this right now for nothing, activate your left 4 dead on your steam account you’ll not need to physical stuff.
BONUS NOTE: My copy episode 1 never went into my pc at all, neither will the l4d disk.
“Additionally, it’s just the fact that a retail copy costs more to produce than a digital one, and yet the retail version is over £5 cheaper. I thought one of the selling points of digital distribution is that some of those savings could be passed onto the consumer. Clearly not happening here, infact Valve are charging more.”
Yeah, I’m not making a moral argument. Clearly it should be cheaper on Steam, on a cost basis. My point was that I’m willing to pay a premium not to require a disc in the machine. I’m not the tidiest person and I lose/scratch CDs all the time.
“As a Valve product the odds are almost 100% that you’ll need Steam to install the retail version, and your copy will be linked in as with all their games since HL2.”
Good point. I may well do it that way, although resisting the few days’ headstart will be tough. Again, my point is a general one that I’m willing to pay a few quid more for disc-free gaming, despite the reasonable argument that we should be paying less. That’s doubly true if the alternative involves Securom.
Why couldn’t Steam have prices in different currencies? Why? WHY???
Also no Valve games require you to insert the CD to play it.
Given the current economic climate, it might be a good idea to pre-purchase this early before the £ slides any more against the $.
So explain this to a Yank. UKers have to pay 30 online but can get the retail for 27 somewhere?
LoL @ the resale right rant – how could you resell a game that is multiplayer? They all have serial numbers needed for online play that make buying them used pointless :) – I guess I could resell Peggle or Hinterland, but I don’t even recycle my beer cans…
Yes, that’s correct. You can’t resell games of that sort. This is not a hole in the rant, it is the subject of the rant. It is the reason that people are annoyed.
Despite having the legal right to resell the game (their property by right of purchase) the game, the mechanics of online CD-key registration do not allow for it. Hence: annoyance.
Another point:
Obviously reselling digital goods is problematic from the seller’s PoV because the original owner could just decide to not delete his copy. Which, presumably, is why reselling is prevented.
But CD-key registration could actually be used as a solution to this problem – if you need to be registered to play it online, then there could be a “de-register key” option that would remove it from your user account and free up the key to be re-used by someone else.
Legal right? To sell a license? Not so much.
Apologies for the third post in a row (I blame the lack of edit function and my poor proof reading.
By “seller’s PoV” I mean the companies that sell the games to the public – not the consumer trying to sell his copy of team fortress 2. Otherwise that sentence would make very little sense.
Steam was always a good call back when it was nearly $2 to the pound. Now, buying pre-orders or near release prices on steam makes no sense at all, unless your desire for downloadable games and no CDs (for non-Valve games) is so high that up to 30% premium makes sense…
Heliocentric – if it was that simple then publishers would just stick a EULA on console games and call the cops on the used game traders that piss them off so much. Car manufacturers too, probably.
Preordered. Played it at the PC Gamer Showdown and it was epic.
What exactly is the benefit from pre-ordering a game on an online service such as Steam?
Well, play.com puts it at around 2.5 euros cheaper AND comes with a shiny box.
But at that price, I’ll wait for the first reviews to roll in. Did expect to see it a bit cheaper. But I’m probably also spoiled by the “deal of the decade” orange box.
TF2 is half a game? Say what?! Would the same be said of WoW? Counter-Strike? I think not.
I too expected Left 4 Dead to be less expensive, though I know not why. I guess I expected it to be priced comparable to TF2. I’m still buying it though, as it looks to be the best game of 2008 by far. If Valve knows anything, it’s how to make an online shooter fun to play with friends. Spending $50 for the hundreds,/i> of hours I will no doubt be playing it (as I have TF2) is quite the deal.
Ok, my turn to complain about the lack of edit-ability now. Grr…
Left 4 Dead $50 :O I would buy it but i’m not sure if its gonna be a game i will go back to after playing it once or twice. The gameplay seems to very simple and not enough it in such as Iron sights, leaning or cover system. Just basic point and click like all valve games. I think ill put my $50 to cod waw and wait for a left 4 dead demo. :)
Shan’t be purchasing. I’m a semi-Valve Fanboy, but this is far too expensive for a one-trick pony, albeit a charismatic and polished one.
Orange Box effectively had 5 great games (plus all the source mods that it unlocked) and cost only slightly more; everything I’ve seen about L4D has the feel of a really really well-made mod, but a mod nevertheless.
Some good will come of it however; at least someone reckons co-op campaign multiplayer is worthy of attention. Off the top of my head, OFP/ArmA are the only other games I can think of that get co-op absolutely right.
“Now, buying pre-orders or near release prices on steam makes no sense at all, unless your desire for downloadable games and no CDs (for non-Valve games) is so high that up to 30% premium makes sense…”
Pretty much, yeah. I’ve got no space in my flat with all my books, CDs, DVDs and games. I’d really rather not clutter it up any more than I absolutely have to (Rock Band on its own is bad enough).
“What exactly is the benefit from pre-ordering a game on an online service such as Steam?”
Well, you get to play it the very second it comes out, if you’re into that sort of thing (and the authentication servers hold up). Not really worth it unless they offer a pre-order discount or other incentive, though.
Also you still won’t need the CD to play it, I think once you’ve registered it on Steam you can download it. Forever and ever, etc. (obviously not)
also to whoever it was who said that he wanted steam to be buried by a calss action lawsuit: good god no, have you lost your mind?
I shall be buying it off play, or shopto, wherever’s cheapest :D
I am absolutely amazed by the complaints about the 45/50$ price for this game (with the exception of those dealing with exchange rates..)
With any other game made by any other company, it is rare to hear people complain about the 50$ price (and PS3/360 users are paying 10$ more!), yet when Valve does it you all throw a shit storm? Not to mention the guy who called TF2 half a game… (Hell, 300 hours there compared to what 10 for Crysis and 20 for COD4..)
Complain about the price if you really care that much, but what is the alternative? Spending 50$ for a game that won’t be supported for more than a month and lacks any polish?
BF2 springs to mind – a full price, stand alone (i.e not part of an Orange Box style thing), mulitplayer only* game. No one complained about that.
* OK, technically you could play offline against bots, but you’d have to have been insane to buy the game for that reason.
I wasn’t trying to denegrate TF2, but rather trying to figure out why I wouldn’t pay over $25 for it. Imagine if TF2 was only a single player game. Think of the amount of content available; it’s really really small and short. However, that content is perfect for playing a mulitplayer shooter. The variations of tactics and events created by other real players makes the content provided useful for hundreds of hours of play.
Maybe L4D will be different than this in a way that justifies paying more. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has as much content as the single player campaign in many games. I might rethink my cost inhibitions once I read some reviews.
WoW, or other MMOs, have tons of content, and can be played “solo”, so they aren’t comparable. Counterstrike is, and I wouldn’t pay over $25 for it. Maybe instead of saying it is “half a game”, I should say it comes with “half the content”. Maybe I’m just used to “mulitplayer” being this little addition to most games; an addition that sometimes provides more hours of entertainment than the single player campaign. So, no single-player campaign makes it seem like something big is missing. ::shrug::
Man, it’s that old “Decent Zombie Game Premium” rearing its ugly head again. You want to fight zombies in a mall? You have to buy a 360!
You want to slaughter the walking dead in a variety of well-realized environments with massive AI and three of your closest friends? You have to pay $50 for a multiplayer game!
You want to trade funnies with an evil undead pirate? You have to lose your girlfriend and your job to become a SCUMM-playing aficionado!
It’s painful. But we in the society of people who all play zombie games (SPAZ-G) think it’s worth it.
Don’t give up on zombies. They wouldn’t give up on you. (TM)
Oh cool, 70 dollars for a half life 2 mod.
I just can’t get why people are anticipating this so much. I love zombie games, and I LOVE multiplayer Co-op. But this just looks so uninspired. I couldn’t get excited about it if I tried (and I have).
“The gameplay seems to very simple and not enough it in such as Iron sights, leaning or cover system”
Please, please, please tell me that was satire.
@Cunningbeef: I think what’s got me excited is the Director system. I’m an AI dev, so I know that it’s probably not going to be perfect, but having an AI that’s essentially TRYING to make the game dynamically more fun and exciting gives me the happy shivers.
Also, you’re playing a survival horror game that’s specifically designed for multiplayer. Awesome? Yeehaw.
What makes it look uninspired, by the way? And which zombie games in the last decade HAVE been inspired in your opinion?
Personally I’m happy to pay full whack for a good multiplayer-only game.
Its the ’single-player only’ and ’single-player + not very good multiplayer’ games that I am becoming less and less interested in purchasing.
Actually, after FEAR, the HL2-etc lack of a lean button does seem like a significant omission when you’re fighting the Combine. Obviously, when you’re dealing with melee-only zombies it’s not required…
It’s perfectly understandable why people are up in arms at the price tag.
This game is essentially multiplayer only.
Think about it for the 360.
You pay 50 quid for the game and then you have to pay MORE to play it over live monthly.
Even WoW has the decency to only charge £10 for a game that’s useless on it’s own.
Still buying it though.
For the 360 that is; in 4 player split screen I can see it being a great party game but for one player sitting on the PC alone?
There is no value in it.
Ginger Yellow, you’re missing the point… The second you pop the retail release into your PC, it will try to either install Steam if it isn’t there already or just register the key on the active account if it is! As far as Valves are concerned, the disc is simply the delivery method of getting the game data to you.
In all fairness, Valve could easily employ an iTunes card-like system where you simply buy the key from a shop and download the game from the net, but then again, the layman will probably feel a bit miffed paying anything more than £10 for a plastic scratchcard (not realising that is all software is these days).
By the way, just to get everyone in the mood… Survive the Outbreak
(needs a fast connection to work properly)
No, it isn’t perfectly understandable. At all. In fact, it’s the opposite of understandable.
There have been plenty of full price mulitplayer only games: BF2/1942/2142; Quake Wars; Tribes 2/Vengence; UT3/etc.
That’s just off the top of my head and discounting MMOs (Full price AND a subscription).
Why has it suddenly become unreasonable/strange to charge full price for a multiplayer only game? Or is it only Valve who aren’t allowed to?
Dammit! the above was in response to:
“It’s perfectly understandable why people are up in arms at the price tag.
This game is essentially multiplayer only.“
I feel the price is fine, for me it was still cheaper than many other new game releases I’ve seen, especially awesome as Left 4 Dead has potentially limitless replayability. If the Director A.I. lives up to its promises, then I can envisage hundreds of hours of entertainment.
In the past two weeks alone I’ve managed about 50 hours of Zombie Panic! Source, as Left 4 Dead sounds even better than that then it’s definately on my “must have” list.
Ergates I personally don’t have a Valve axe to grind; I enjoy most of their games.
But maybe it does have something to do with Valve set expectations of the price? Expectations they set with the value they placed on the Orange Box games.
If you buy TF2 on it’s own it is only $20 so why is another mp only game $50? [bot play aside.]
“But maybe it does have something to do with Valve set expectations of the price? Expectations they set with the value they placed on the Orange Box games.”
There’s a lesson to be learned here for Valve; never give a sucker an even break.
P.
lol a fool and his money are easily parted guv :)
I’ve had over 200 hundred hours pleasure from TF2. I’m happy to pay £30 to Valve for L4D primarily because I anticipate it being another game that I spend another 200 hours on. Also, the free-for-all climate that the internet has created in Music, Films, and Gaming – you can get whatever you want for free if you have no ethical qualms about it – is bringing about a system where people try everything on offer for nothing but then give their money to the producer who’s product you like best in order that they survive and keep making the good stuff. I’ll pay ‘over the odds’ to Valve whilst trying all manner of other games for nothing. If I like the product then I want to support the producer.
As a musician I have been on the receiving end of internet piracy – both albums for the band I was in were torrented straight away despite us being a smallish cult band. I don’t resent the lost royalties as the system is outdated. I welcome the ‘Radiohead’ model of ‘give us what you think it’s worth’. Plus, in music at least, someone with a torrent of your album is more likely to come to a gig. I know this doesn’t translate to the games world, but it does mean that a pirate who likes your work will, perhaps, buy the next product or feel guilty and cough-up for the current game.
Valve can do no wrong in my book. I’m sure this will be video game gold. Or platinum. Or oil. Whatever it is these days that’s worth anything.
My first valve games were HL and HL2. Every time I think im paying too much for a valve game, I quickly find that it happens to be one of the most solid games to exist in its part of the fps genre.
Pretty much everyone, respected journos included, who have been within ten feet of this game tell us that Valve has this thing totally sorted. So ill frown at the overall price, pay the extra £5 for the convenience of doing it all on steam, and wait for this game.
And when it arrives, im sure ill stop caring how much it cost.
Yep, 50U$S is a little too much. But… the hype machine… and my weakness for spending all of my money…