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Blizzard Opens Digital Download Store
shacknews.com — Warcraft and StarCraft developer Blizzard has begun offering direct downloads of select PC titles via a new portion of its online store. Furthermore, owners of certain Blizzard efforts can now register their CD keys on the site to add the titles to their Blizzard Account and download them for free at any time.
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- lowryba, on 05/06/2008, -15/+73Needs to be on Steam... :(
- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -8/+14I don't think they really do. Blizzard have obviously figured out distribution and have a huge customer base + widely known name and their own patching system. Steam is just a redundant middleman, second set of patches and probably almost unknown name when it comes to Blizzard and WoWtards.
What Steam needs to do is add a way to store product key and/or rego information when we add non-Steam games, and include them in the backup list.- Airloss, on 07/18/2008, -4/+10steam has over 19MILLION accounts, and I know tons of people who play steam games and wow.
- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -5/+4So 2 million more accounts than Blizzard sold copies of Diablo 1 and 2..... and then there's all Blizzard's other massive successes over the last decade and a half. I still think somehow that Blizzard is a more widely known company.
- antdude, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Are those active accounts?
- BearinG, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1What does that matter though.. I really don't see why Blizzard would need Steam..
- Marnault, on 05/06/2008, -1/+9 I would love it if there was just one place that you could buy, and download EVERY game, that you could get great download speeds from (2MB/s+)
- Airloss, on 07/18/2008, -4/+10steam has over 19MILLION accounts, and I know tons of people who play steam games and wow.
- noloveIII, on 05/06/2008, -2/+10No steam on mac which is a good portion of their customers
- Tyrghast, on 05/10/2008, -0/+1a likely representation of blizzards customers would be something like: 3% = macs, 95% = windows pc, 2% = linux pc
- Chompy, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4No, because competition is good for the consumer.
- Dracusis, on 05/06/2008, -1/+6No, they need to release the Mac versions for digital download.
- masterthiefster, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1The older games are for PowerPC Macs--they don't work on Intel Macs, right? There's no use selling titles only those with older Macs can play.
- IMustBeEmo, on 05/07/2008, -3/+1What they really need to do is stop stealing from the customers. I wrote to the Consumerist about this problem they seem to have with "accidentally" disabling CD-Keys for no reason at all. I have paid for 2 copies (me and my brother) of every single Blizzard game since WarCraft 2 BNE, and my brother paid for almost 3 full years of WoW, and not a single one of our CD Keys work anymore except for WoW because it is tied to a credit card. I have contacted Blizzard about it numerous times and they want ME to pay $10 a key to re-buy the games I already paid for.
This is the perfect example of anti-piracy measures gone wrong. Instead of using the CD Keys to prevent piracy, they are using them to commit piracy - I can no longer use my games because my keys have been disabled.
***** you Blizzard. Your games are awesome, your customer support is not.- Upsizer, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2I'm sure they could care less if you pirate the game. When you purchase a cd key, you're basically purchasing a battle net account. If you're not going to play blizzard games online, there's not much reason to buy them.
- AmnioticEntity, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2umm..how about u read the forums and not use jsp/red...botting will get you banned, as will maphacking. stop cheating your way to free mal runes and buy them from renegade blizzard north employees via online shops.
- IMustBeEmo, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2Bot? Maphack? I have never cheated/hacked in an online game in my life. You're a retard. Blizzard cancels CD Keys and then gives you a run around so you buy new ones. Don't believe me? Buy Starcraft, play with online with it and then uninstall. Wait 6 months, if you try to re install it it will say your CD Key was made for another product.
- ThreeDee912, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3I've played SC on and off for over 6 years now (with a big 2 year interval in between) and I've never had my original CD-key banned.
Unless you accidentally purchased a pirated copy, or gave your CD-key to someone else, I don't see why that would happen. And how would the CD installer know if you had it for a long time, other than the computer's clock, or phoning home? - Username314, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2Perhaps your computer is infected with malicious programs that stole your CD-keys...
I also have purchased many Blizzard games and I've never had a problem with their CD keys.
- ThreeDee912, on 05/07/2008, -1/+3I've played SC on and off for over 6 years now (with a big 2 year interval in between) and I've never had my original CD-key banned.
- AmnioticEntity, on 05/07/2008, -4/+4Steam sucks.
- ilves7, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2I think its funny that a year ago everyone was bitching about how horrible steam is and suddenly everyone loves it
- darkyplasma, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1what is this steam?
- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -8/+14I don't think they really do. Blizzard have obviously figured out distribution and have a huge customer base + widely known name and their own patching system. Steam is just a redundant middleman, second set of patches and probably almost unknown name when it comes to Blizzard and WoWtards.
- HandofLettuce, on 05/06/2008, -2/+13Ouch, the pricing on War3/D2 and their expansions is pretty brutal
- seraph582, on 05/06/2008, -3/+6Agreed. It should be $20 for game/xpac together for both of them.
- hamdoken, on 05/06/2008, -6/+41Blizzard is well known for milking every penny they can off their fans. It won't be lowered, and I assure you that fanboys will still buy it in droves.
Blizzard could sell piss in a bottle, label it "Zergling Juice", and makes millions.- ThreeDee912, on 05/06/2008, -5/+8I smell a troll...
- Akaji, on 05/06/2008, -1/+30I looked, but I can't find Zergling Juice on their website... I must know where it is so I can buy it!
- centerblack, on 05/06/2008, -4/+3Yep, just look at WoW. They nickel and dime you on every service they offer. Name changes, character transfers, account transfers, even the PvP tournament server...
Why the millions of people who pay them $15/month for "content" aren't upset about having to pay another $40 for "expansions" is beyond me. Especially since spending time/money playing at level cap is a waste when you know the level cap is going to increase!- Shawn4168, on 05/06/2008, -2/+7The fees on account transfers and name changes are to prevent people from abusing the system. If name changes were free, I'd do it every day. I could think of a few ways to easily harass people doing that as well. And if there were no fees on character transfers, what's to stop people from always moving characters from server to server in order to exploit individual economies? (or other reasons)
As for the PvP tournament server, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of prizes associated with that tournament. So yes, an entry fee makes sense there.
And I agree, $40 for expansions is a bit much. But I'll pay it gladly knowing what I'm getting. It's a hell of a lot more content than you see from "free" expansions in other MMOs. Plus Blizzard does regularly provide major content patches free for their clients.- HolyChimp, on 05/06/2008, -0/+5So limit it to every 3 months or something. They could even charge for additional ones beyond the first free one.
- stanfy86, on 05/06/2008, -2/+1The reason you have to pay 15$ a mo. is mostly because of the bandwidth usage....think of how huge of a connection you would need to have thousands of systems connecting to just a single server, now multiply that by the overall amount of realms available....im not saying its an awesome thing, but it is understandable..
- centerblack, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2You think it costs them $15/month/subscriber in bandwidth?
- Strungout, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1They have to maintain on online world that boasts 9 million suscribers worldwide, do you think this is going to be cheap?
Also almost every MMO has used the same pricing structure. Singling Blizzard out for it is *****. - ThreeDee912, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Agreed with "Also almost every MMO has used the same pricing structure. Singling Blizzard out for it is *****.", disagree with "The reason you have to pay 15$ a mo. is mostly because of the bandwidth usage".
Basic text packets are the only things that are transfered, it's not like they are actually streaming all of the graphics to your computer.
- centerblack, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2You think it costs them $15/month/subscriber in bandwidth?
- Shawn4168, on 05/06/2008, -2/+7The fees on account transfers and name changes are to prevent people from abusing the system. If name changes were free, I'd do it every day. I could think of a few ways to easily harass people doing that as well. And if there were no fees on character transfers, what's to stop people from always moving characters from server to server in order to exploit individual economies? (or other reasons)
- Syphon8, on 05/06/2008, -2/+8They're allowed to do this, because they make the best games period.
- Strungout, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0Agreed
- metroidragon, on 05/06/2008, -3/+10Are you serious?
Starcraft's online was 100% free, Warcraft III's online was 100% free, both of their expansions had free online as well. Battle.Net was one of the most populated (if not *the* most populated) gaming hub around. It cost Blizzard a huge amount of cash to keep it up and running. Then they ask for a monthly fee to combat the astronomicle costs of bandwidth and dedicated servers they have, all at a pretty reasonable price compared to some other MMOs, and you think that they are "milking their fans"?
Blizzard could easily, easily be making many times the profit they are now if they so wished, but they don't because they are good to their fans.- snapple232, on 05/06/2008, -1/+5Blizzard certainly makes great games, but it's a bit naive to suggest that they're not out to maximize profit like any other successful business.
- metroidragon, on 05/06/2008, -0/+6Yes, I understand that they are a business, and their goal is to turn a profit. But they are a business that understands that a greater profit margin can come from good customer service and good customer relations. They sacrifice money that could be earned by "milking" fans, in order to gain dedicated customers. These dedicated customers buy more of their products, recruit more people into buying their games, which in turn creates more dedicated customers.
It's one of the reasons that companies who make good, quality products are so succesful. People like their products and or services, so they come back time and time again. Blizzard uses this tactic to increase it's sales but still keeps all the customers happy.
- metroidragon, on 05/06/2008, -0/+6Yes, I understand that they are a business, and their goal is to turn a profit. But they are a business that understands that a greater profit margin can come from good customer service and good customer relations. They sacrifice money that could be earned by "milking" fans, in order to gain dedicated customers. These dedicated customers buy more of their products, recruit more people into buying their games, which in turn creates more dedicated customers.
- psg188, on 05/07/2008, -1/+4As opposed to the other PC games with pay for multiplayer? Common now, no RTS has ever charged for multiplayer.
- metroidragon, on 05/08/2008, -0/+1No other RTS had a fraction of the bandwidth costs or userbase that Bnet did.
- snapple232, on 05/06/2008, -1/+5Blizzard certainly makes great games, but it's a bit naive to suggest that they're not out to maximize profit like any other successful business.
- dagamer34, on 05/06/2008, -2/+11Ever heard of DotA? That's why they still charge $40.
- htan, on 05/06/2008, -2/+8***** dota
- darkyplasma, on 05/08/2008, -1/+1DotA is a Waste of life man, its all one thing over and over. after a few times of playing it, i assure you that it can go suck donkey balls.
- atticus8, on 05/06/2008, -5/+2http://tinyurl.com/5588yl
And free shipping to boot. - atticus8, on 05/06/2008, -9/+1http://tinyurl.com/5588yl
And free shipping to boot. - saikyan, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3lol 10 soj
- Jezon, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4The Manufacturer has to sell their products at the MSRP, retailers can choose to sell it for cheaper if they want to. Hence why its rarely cheaper to buy products from the manufacturer, and it keeps the retailers happy for being able to offer a 'deal' to their customers.
- Tunguska, on 05/06/2008, -10/+72Steam melts Blizzard.
- victimofkratina, on 05/06/2008, -5/+14Gas Powered is better than Steam.
- Elliottx, on 05/06/2008, -2/+14Windows turn Steam into condensation.
Condensation...- idavidtang, on 05/06/2008, -0/+21Condensation spoils Apples.
- Charlesbian, on 05/06/2008, -0/+17all this water matter change causes global warming which kills tux's family
- Rikushix, on 05/06/2008, -1/+20In about six hours, we'll see a screenshot of these nested comments pop up on the front page with the title "This is why I love Digg".
- Elliottx, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5Well in that case...
...Boobies. - Rikushix, on 05/07/2008, -0/+4Aww, you ruined it.
- Elliottx, on 05/07/2008, -2/+2Just call me "the guy who ruins stuff.......guy" ........Yeah.
- purplehaze420, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1If that is the case, then the submitters must really love Tunguska, as his post started the "I ***** believe it's not butter" post as well.
- Elliottx, on 05/07/2008, -1/+5Well in that case...
- Elliottx, on 05/06/2008, -2/+14Windows turn Steam into condensation.
- victimofkratina, on 05/06/2008, -5/+14Gas Powered is better than Steam.
- Rotkiv, on 05/06/2008, -11/+1damn, i still need just D2.LOD expansion, why isn't that available yet?
blizzard is a G... or a bunch of G's (g is for genious).- Akaji, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3A G you are not, then.
- twtmc, on 05/06/2008, -7/+1http://www.duggmirror.com/
- haxr, on 05/06/2008, -1/+11Prices seem to be about the same as would be paid in a store... They need to lower them.
- franciscofelipe, on 05/06/2008, -1/+5... or raise the store prices.
- Shawn4168, on 05/06/2008, -0/+4Why? Steam's typically not any cheaper than retail prices of games either (and actually more expensive in some cases). The system works. People will gladly pay the same amount of money for the convenience of not having to get off their butt and actually go to the store.
- Rikushix, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Steam can be tremendously cheap. I bought HL2 for $9.99 when Valve was holding a sale over a year and a half ago. That's amazing. I don't think it's a big deal to still pay $20 for WC3, but I think Steam is definitely cutting corners when it comes to selling to the consumer. It's great.
- Shawn4168, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Stores have sales too.
- LemmingJesus, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1I bought TF2 last week because they were selling it for $20 on steam rather than the $30 in the stores.
- Rikushix, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Steam can be tremendously cheap. I bought HL2 for $9.99 when Valve was holding a sale over a year and a half ago. That's amazing. I don't think it's a big deal to still pay $20 for WC3, but I think Steam is definitely cutting corners when it comes to selling to the consumer. It's great.
- whyufail, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Actually thats not so much the problem as the problem that retail stores don't like to play fair. If any online service tried to cut their prices by say even 10%, retail would go ***** and start firing off "unfair business practices" and other frivolous lawsuits until it was changed back. That's besides the point though, because Steam does not control the prices, the publishers they are aligned with decide on the prices for their games on Steam.
- Darunium, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0Plus, what reason is there to lower the prices below store prices? You're getting essentially the same product, and the cost of shipping the games probably has no part in the actual price of the game.
- Buddhaismybuddy, on 05/06/2008, -4/+35Heres direct link so you don't have to go through the blog spam.
http://www.blizzard.com/store/browse.xml?f=c:1,c:7- SteveGibson, on 05/06/2008, -7/+2the 'blog spam' actually includes additional information straight from blizzard detailing all of the upcoming games and plans for the store.
- FearLess77, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1*straight from blizzard*
'nuff said, blog spam.- SteveGibson, on 05/07/2008, -1/+0*additional information* that is not listed on the store website straight from blizzard. but hey whatever. not like i should expect anything but kneejerk reactions around here.
- FearLess77, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1*straight from blizzard*
- quaunaut, on 05/06/2008, -3/+4Shacknews isn't a blog. They're one of the oldest gaming websites on the web.
- bevans, on 05/06/2008, -0/+2Yup. Shacknews was around before 'blogs' was such a hip word.
- SteveGibson, on 05/06/2008, -7/+2the 'blog spam' actually includes additional information straight from blizzard detailing all of the upcoming games and plans for the store.
- Lyk4n, on 05/06/2008, -4/+14Starcraft FTW!
- Jovensdesciple, on 05/06/2008, -28/+1What a stupid name, Blizzard... What kind of loser would play a game made by a guy named Blizzard?
- idavidtang, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4The kind of losers who knows what they're talking about.
It's a company, not a guy. - cr4wl3r, on 05/06/2008, -1/+3Apparently it either hasn't made a negative impact or (i'd be more inclined to believe) it's actually been beneficial to the company's success in that it's a name/branding that's instantly recognizable...... So i guess that loser is probably pretty well off now.
- idavidtang, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4The kind of losers who knows what they're talking about.
- gcman94, on 05/06/2008, -31/+5someone can save us
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- Kalakov, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1Only Carl can save us...
- gcman94, on 05/06/2008, -8/+1Negative diggs c'mon almost at 10, 20, I want 100
- tumbler360, on 05/06/2008, -1/+15"Prices seem to be about the same as would be paid in a store... They need to lower them."
I'm finding prices in stores are often well below these. The more online offers that come out the more obvious it's becoming that digital distribution has nothing to do with lowering prices.- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1The cost of getting a box into a store or a gig onto your hard drive is negligible either way. The benefit was always about convenience not price. It was only ever about price to idiots who think the price of bandwidth is the value of anything they can download.
- Tazmaster, on 05/06/2008, -1/+3There's no physical media/production, packaging, documentation, or distribution. Those four things are what supposedly keep the cost of products as high as they are. Digital distribution is just a way to cut costs and increase profit margins.
If I am paying the same price either way, I would prefer to have the boxed product. I'll still register it online and be able to download it if needed.- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1"There's no physical media/production, packaging, documentation, or distribution"
So they don't have to spend a penny on the disc and a dime getting it onto a shelf in Best Buy....
The disc, the distribution and the packaging aren't what sets the price or a significant factor of the price. The stuff on the disc is what you're buying and that's also what you're buying when you purchase online. You're arguing the coffee should be free or significantly cheaper if you BYO cup to Starbucks.
- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1"There's no physical media/production, packaging, documentation, or distribution"
- Tazmaster, on 05/06/2008, -1/+3There's no physical media/production, packaging, documentation, or distribution. Those four things are what supposedly keep the cost of products as high as they are. Digital distribution is just a way to cut costs and increase profit margins.
- dukrous, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2The issue has always been the B&M stores. If you undercut them online, they'll refuse to put your product on the shelf. Until you can get a company who will happily kiss away the shelf-space and decide to offer a AAA quality game online for less than $30, you'll never get lower Digital Distritbution prices.
- Rojahon, on 05/31/2008, -0/+1That's pretty much what S2 games did with Savage 2.
- fkr3, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1The cost of getting a box into a store or a gig onto your hard drive is negligible either way. The benefit was always about convenience not price. It was only ever about price to idiots who think the price of bandwidth is the value of anything they can download.
- TwistyMcFister, on 05/06/2008, -3/+23Diablo 3 FTW (when it actually comes out i mean)
- webcrumb, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2FTW-WIACOIM?
- AzureRise, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1Hell yeah, man! Hey, wanna wait in line for Duke Nukem Forever with me?
- Picaroon, on 05/06/2008, -17/+11I have such a love/hate thing with Blizzard. WoW, I think, is a huge waste of time and money. Yet Warcraft 3, Diablo, and Starcraft are all amazing. Then again, they have their little rip-off store and continue to charge high prices for old games. Finally, their cartoony style gets on my nerves sometimes. Games need to be gritty, not Disney.
/rant- XBSHX, on 05/06/2008, -2/+5Don't like it don't play.
- centerblack, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2If you think Diablo 3 online play will be free, lol.
- Synapse84, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1same, Unless blizzard decides to blow us away.. but i highly doubt it...
i'd probably still be playing Diablo2 if they didn't ***** up the cow games :( I still hear those damn cows in my sleep.
Javazon + Perfect Ethereal Titans + 1.08 Vamp Gaze + 1.09 patch > All.
- Synapse84, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1same, Unless blizzard decides to blow us away.. but i highly doubt it...
- Shawn4168, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2And I bet you're the type of person who refuses to touch games like Mario, Sonic, Guitar Hero, Zelda, Team Fortress 2, or pretty much any flash game on the web due to their art style.
- Picaroon, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2No, actually, I love GH, Mario, and Zelda.
- Edrick, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2I can't get over the banality of your last statement. We don't need every game to be gritty, we need to have a diverse selection of styles in gaming. Just because something is "cartoony" doesn't mean it's Disney. Okami has a "cartoony" appearance but it's a very unique and artistic style. If "gritty" doesn't fit the theme and feel of a game a dev shouldn't feel compelled to make it that way to please young-adult males with a narrow sense of aesthetic taste.
- foofightrs777, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Yeah because any game which doesn't stray from the gray, brown, and black color palette is automatically good. But god forbid there's even a little bit of blue skies and green grass because then you just know that game is beyond horrible.
- sputza, on 05/06/2008, -2/+9I hope SC2 will be available via this Blizzard store so I don't have to line up in the middle of winter to buy it on release day.
- Syphon8, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1This.
- Lyk4n, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Indeed, I hope they are heading this direction as well. I don't need them to sell me a disc when I can burn my own..
- ilves7, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1You think their servers won't be ridiculously overloaded on release day? you'll wait either way
- FearLess77, on 05/06/2008, -3/+7Blog spam.
Cut to the chase: http://www.blizzard.com/store/ - carbonetc, on 05/06/2008, -0/+3The free download option is very cool. I lost my Brood War CD a year ago and still can't find it. I had to download it elsewhere to get it back.
But then Brood War itself doesn't have a CD key, so I don't know how that'd work out.- manitoba98xp, on 05/06/2008, -9/+1But it isn't new. Steam has done all of this, and more, better, for longer, and with more companies. Blizzard should've just joined Steam, rather than reinvent the wheel.
- kernel16, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Blizzard always does that, they take ideas and customizes for their needs. Some might argue better at times and sometimes worst (like the blizzards BT client [I think its improved a lot now]).
- centerblack, on 05/06/2008, -3/+2And they sue anyone who does it to them, what a wonderful company!
- tapo, on 05/06/2008, -1/+6I buy most of my games from Steam and love it as a platform.
That said, Steam wouldn't work for Blizzard. All of their titles are Mac/Windows, and Steam is Windows only.- jerrycan, on 05/06/2008, -0/+7Just sell the windows stuff there and keep the %.1 mac base in traditional channels. OW ZING! jk
- manitoba98xp, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Good point (I don't own any Blizzard games, despite being a Mac user myself). But honestly, I'd rather see them link to Steam and either get Valve to partially port Steam, or create a separate, pared-down Mac client.
- AzureRise, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2You'd be satisfied with an inferior client as long as you get something? People shouldn't settle for mediocrity because then they have no right to complain when that's all they receive.
- kernel16, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2Blizzard always does that, they take ideas and customizes for their needs. Some might argue better at times and sometimes worst (like the blizzards BT client [I think its improved a lot now]).
- manitoba98xp, on 05/06/2008, -9/+1But it isn't new. Steam has done all of this, and more, better, for longer, and with more companies. Blizzard should've just joined Steam, rather than reinvent the wheel.
- nollek, on 05/06/2008, -1/+48$40 for the d2 set. It's 10 years old you have got to be ***** kidding.
- AmnioticEntity, on 05/07/2008, -1/+1you can purchase keysets online for less than $10..enter them @ the store. more than likely they are stolen Diablo II Asia keys..but hey, they work on USEast!
- chaos7, on 05/06/2008, -1/+6k now they gotta release starcraft 2
- suttercain, on 05/06/2008, -2/+2Wow, three entire games... if you believe in math that is.
- lpferris, on 05/06/2008, -22/+2How the crap does stupid Blizzard news hit the front page with only 171 Diggs? Holy crap do I hate Blizzard. Until Starcraft 2 comes out, that is. Unless it sucks like WoW.
Please commence Digging down for a completely pointless comment. Seriously, I would Digg myself down for this if I could...- Jeffler, on 05/06/2008, -0/+6Did I just read only 171 diggs? Thats it, digg users are just becoming whiny bitches now.
- SSCrow, on 05/06/2008, -0/+6I've purchased starcraft at least 5 times so I'm glad they have finally offered this.
- vitriolage, on 05/06/2008, -1/+5So you can buy it a sixth or did you hold onto the jewel case for that last copy?
- rsmithrun, on 05/06/2008, -7/+5Steam isn't all that great. In order to play Counter Strike I have to wait for Steam to open, log me in, display advertisements for games I'm not interested in, pop up more advertisements labeled as "news." Then have their client use up 32 MB of memory, for no reason?
- tapo, on 05/06/2008, -2/+4It's running on my system right now, as I always leave it running for access to my friends list. It's using 12 MB.
I think 12 MB isn't much to ask for the nice updating, digital distribution, and community features of Steam, especially when its is moved to the swapfile, and you're not losing any RAM anyway. - geartype2, on 05/06/2008, -1/+7You fail at program management. In your steam settings you can set it up to not open the news channel, also you can create shortcuts that open the games up with little hassle(hell it automatically does this if you agree to it on install). Also, right now my steam memory usage is less than 6K, so I'm guessing you're blatantly fibbing at this point. Shame on you sir.
- FearLess77, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2The client shouldn't rely on the users ability to "program management", is should be good as is.
- rsmithrun, on 05/07/2008, -1/+2I know you can make a shortcut to a game, all the steps I listed occur after opening the shortcut to CS:S. My task manager said ~32,000K, so I don't know.
- IMustBeEmo, on 05/07/2008, -0/+132MB of RAM? Counterstrike is 8 year old...
- Lyk4n, on 05/08/2008, -0/+2Female hyenas have a penis.
- Gizza, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Is it really that hard to have it open on startup and automatically log you in, and then set it to not display the news.
- tapo, on 05/06/2008, -2/+4It's running on my system right now, as I always leave it running for access to my friends list. It's using 12 MB.
- bizarrorollins, on 05/06/2008, -0/+9I dugg this until I realized that the three items listed on the digital downloads section are the ONLY three options that are available at this time. Guess I'll have to come back later.
- username484767, on 05/06/2008, -2/+0oh, so only took a few years, huh...
- whyufail, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1And it still never should have happened. They should have buddied up with Steam. Just like EA, too freaking prideful for their own good.
- AmnioticEntity, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2steam sucks. mario kart source 2 FTW!
- whyufail, on 05/06/2008, -3/+1And it still never should have happened. They should have buddied up with Steam. Just like EA, too freaking prideful for their own good.
- whyufail, on 05/06/2008, -7/+2Ever since WoW Blizzard went from creating interesting and quality titles to completely selling out on mass market appeal. One more step down the slope.
- atticus8, on 05/06/2008, -2/+1Yeah, I love Blizzard and have for a long time. In fact, I was lucky enough to be one of the people to befriend Bill Roper during the pre- and post-WC2 days when they were soliciting advice from their players / fans for ideas for the new games. That's what makes them a great company. However, when you can buy incredible games like Baldur's Gate 2 plus an expansion pack plus a SECOND expansion pack together for $11 (check Amazon), a game of equal age like Diablo 2 + one expansion should be AT MOST $20. $15 is more reasonable, though.
- MadOgre, on 05/06/2008, -8/+5Well, isn't that special. They are like Walt Disney and Lucas Arts now - masters of Repackaging.
How about this instead:
DIABLO III
WARCRAFT IV
STARCRAFT II
You know what game I really want? Grand Diablo Theft Duty V. Now that would be SICK.- lotar732, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4 World of Halo Theft Hero Fantasy Brothers 3.
Guitar and Drumset sold seperately.- Username314, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1You have yourself a customer.
- Krovvy, on 05/06/2008, -0/+5Except Blizzard releases actual quality games, and the time in between releases is on average about six years. Very different from other companies who do yearly releases to milk a concept to nothing. Blizzard also won't release games that they feel aren't up to par, Starcraft: Ghost.
- AmnioticEntity, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Warcraft Adventures, its in the back of the diablo 2 expansion instruction book ;)
- Strungout, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0You would have a point if Blizzard didn't have a track record for producing quality games. At this point in time the only other company that comes close is Bioware.
- ilves7, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1So your beating up demons and riding them like horses?
- lotar732, on 05/06/2008, -1/+4 World of Halo Theft Hero Fantasy Brothers 3.
- rkdotan, on 06/06/2008, -1/+2wait till you see the new battle.net, ull end up saying "steam who?"
- hotcoffeeburns, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Nice! I was about to go buy another copy of Starcraft too!
- Mikhail101, on 05/06/2008, -3/+2Hey Blizzard ever heard of steam, just give in.
- CyberSkull, on 05/06/2008, -1/+1Anyone else get a 404 at http://www.blizzard.com/store/ ?
- Hanzolot, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1Great move on Blizzard's part. Even if they don't allow direct downloads and do everything via torrents, it'll still be helpful when you go over to play at a friend's house and forget your CD/laptop.
- kutateli, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1anybody else getting a 404 on the store page?
- relientkjon, on 05/06/2008, -1/+2SITE IS DOWN... and they're the same dam price??!?!?! WTF FTW
- Hanzolot, on 05/07/2008, -0/+2Site's back up now. You guys are giving it the digg effect. =P
- Darunium, on 05/07/2008, -1/+11) As far as I can tell there's no need for hard copies of games or any application anymore as long as it can be downloaded forever (some applications, like quicken and MS office can only be redownloaded for a few years, then the CD key expires), why drive to a gamestop or EB when I can get it online right away? This will probably become the main application distribution method within the next few years. This bodes ill for retailers but is good for gamers and, in a small way, the environment and econonomy as this product now requires virtually no manufacturing, shipping, or inventory space. good move on Blizzard's part, they've always been ahead of the game.
2) I don't see why they wouldn't drop the price of games that have been out for a while more significantly, isn't it free money for them? - Strungout, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0I laugh at people saying "Blizz is milking their fans." In regards to WoW, if Blizz wanted to milk the ***** out of it, they would release a ***** expac every 5 months, and also charge people for downloadable content like Sony Online does.
As it the Burning Crusade was released, which many people consider to be one of the expansion packs ever released in the Gaming Industry, and WotLK is shaping up to surpass that.
As for the additional fees involved in server transfers and name changes, that's in place to prevent abuse not to screw people out of money. - illpoint, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0I am as big a counter-strike fan as the next guy. But why does everyone here have a hard on for steam? I have had many problems with it.
Blizzard's store is much more light weight (being web based and all).- Vriess, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Because steam is very simple, fast, and many people own games on it already from different publishers.
- jacenat, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1web-based systems are not lightweight, they just shift the weight to the server.
- velvus, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Prices probably are so high because Blizzard is more or less required to by their software distributors such as Vivendi.
- ssumit, on 05/07/2008, -2/+0Offer Online Free Games - Play and Download all the latest and the update versions of all categories games which are i am sure above your imagination and now time to break the monopoly of the top scorer at http://www.onlinegamesxl.com
- AionGlobalcom, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1All I can say is about time they have done this!
- JaLooNz, on 05/07/2008, -0/+3Anyone stucked with the email verification without any emails arriving at their inbox?
- jkgm, on 05/07/2008, -0/+1Looks like email verification is (still) down. It's been about 18 hours so far for me.
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