Legal game downloads...

[pam123]

Anyone here use Direct2Drive ?

http://www.direct2drive.com/

What's been your experience with it?

[Dheann]

um no. but there are sites out there that are legit so it is not impossible. I mean even some game publishers offer game downloads now. Personally I like buying hard copies but whatever.

[ToyotaSupra]

direct2drive.com is like sony's station digital download stuff or EA's digital download for their BF2 packs.

my friend bought eq2 with it and hasn't had a problem with it.
the only thing I can think of that could go wrong is forgetting login info and losing an email or something.

[Stretchman]

That looks interesting. After getting my copy of Acronis True Image 9 directly via download from Newegg, I became more interested in this method. How cool would it be to cut down on all the recycling waste from boxes and manuals. I'd love to be able to download a copy directly from the publisher and then burn it to disc to keep as a backup. Of course, the legal copyright ramifications of that would be tricky to say the least. How does Direct2drive handle it?

[pam123]

They limit the number of copies you can make with each install.
They appear to be making an attempt to be fair and unlike buying music you can re-download a game in event of hard drive crash or file corruption.

[Stretchman]

You know, I have to admit that does sound cool. One of the only reasons i've ended up playing Steam games over the years (though not so much lately) is that my account is retained in their records, and all it takes to get all my old favorites back is my username/password, a fast connection and a little patience. Unfortunatley sometimes my collection of cd-roms gets misplaced or shuffled around, so games that are exculsively on cd-rom get put by the wayside.

I know Steam isn't everyone's favorite example of direct downloading, but the concept itself sound like it might be way things are headed. So now you can read the reviews, download the demo/pics/videos and then download the whole game, all online.

[pam123]

There are several game download sites now, in addition to Steam and Direct2Drive.
I just wanted a general check on PCMech members experiences with them.
That way I can keep this forum up to date on what to expect from them.

[wolfie]

i've used directdrive a few times. no problems at all. you can dl the game as much as you want. it stays on there site for you to get. and you dont have all those cd's laying around. plus if you want to give out games as gifts works great too!!

wolfie

[Smidget]

It's not a bad option considering all CD's eventually get scratches on them. Some older games I can't play anymore because of that.

I bought some music programs like this (online with no hardcopy) sure enough I got a hdd failure and had no problems re-downloading my (the) install files and activating my SN#. it's also good to save your preferences folder for any program

[Kareeser]

I personally haven't had any problem with Steam. Keeping my username and password to myself, I've installed and re-installed the same copy of HL and CS many times over

(One at a time, of course )

[Nuclear Krusader]

I just recently had an extremely bad experience with this kind of media distribution. I bought Thief 3 from Trymedia, but the problem extends to every downloadable games's site (I did check their policies and read the fine print), in which the game was not patchable.

In short, these are the reasons why you should avoid game download stores:

-Games are non-patchable. When bugs and problems happen nothing sucks more than not being able to address them and be left out in the cold. With these downloadable games, the game maker will not help you since it's a modified version of the software and the patches they publish are for retail versions. The game vendor does not publish patches for the software they sell (their business is being a store, not developing software), and they actually warn customers that they must not install patches for retail versions as they are incompatible with the titles; furthermore, should you install a patch anyway and run into problems, tech support will not help you.

-Stupid tech support system and options. Whenever you turn to the game vendor for support they will make you go through their dumb and slow automated troubleshooting system whose suggestions are mostly dumb and useless, like making sure the game is compatible with your system, downloading it again, etc. As if a fatal exception in a game could be solved by allowing cookies in your web browser... Furthermore, you will mostly NEVER be able to have a useful conversation with a live technician. In the case of Trymedia, not even a phone tech support number is available; all is through the internet.

-No problem solving at all. When you notify them that their all too standard suggestions don't work, they will tell you to refer to the developer for help. Uh? How can they suggest that when they are well aware that any patch from the developer is incompatible with their modified software?

-Long wait for downloads. One of their hook lines is "don't feel like wasting time going to the game shop? Get the game NOW!" Yeah, right. The average connexion will download 2 GB of data in 2 hours. Going to the store takes me half an hour.

-Limited installations of the software. You can install the software only so many times. This is worse than the Microsoft Product Activation, specially since their most bright suggestion to address problems is to download the game and install it again... and there it goes another of your allowed installs.

PS: The points above DO NOT apply to Steam. Steam makes a reasonable good job of patching its software and addressing issues; mostly because Steam is the storefront of the developers. This is not the case with other downloadable games's vendors who sell games from a wide variety of publishers, some of which are no longer extant.

[DarkPacMan77]

dang... just as I was starting to think it was looking like a decent idea...

I sure am not going to purchase online like that lol

[FireByyrd]

uhh, i'm not so sure if that applies to all download stores. I've downloaded Chaos theory, splinter cell. It allowed me to patch it.

Some games, im sure fear has it too, I know chaos theory has it. It's a special patch made for digital downloaded games I believe.

example here:

http://www.ubi.com/US/Downloads/Info.aspx?dlId=806

Note that D2D download version patch is available. It might be a bit complicated and hassle, but if the website is actually at a cheaper price with downloading... why not?

[Smidget]

I haven't had a problem downloading patches, either for music software or games (though I don't play the games I purchased online anymore, so forgot online retailer).

But good point, should be something to look out for...

I myself look in their forums, or find feedback somehow, before purchasing. Even similiar type of networking like this site.

[Stretchman]

I haven't had any problems myself, but it definitely pays to do your homework before downloading. Make sure you completely understand the terms of the software and its uses, in addition to any recourse and customer support the company provides you in case anything goes awry.