Sims 3 $18.99 Spore $13.99 Champions online $22.99 plus others

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There are already a few games that use region based activation methods.

Sacred 2 had that at launch, cdv might have disabled that issue now. But its possible, so to say " When it comes I'll write you a letter of thanks" is pretty silly, its here, its been here.

Oh and it was a broken kludge mess that basically resulted in a good game being put into the shit pile because of it.

So, while it might look like that method would be beneficial to publishers, I disagree completely, and that is pretty valid proof. (and their patches sucked balls too, they unloaded the game to another publisher they f'ed it up so bad).

As far as these places go. We're living in a global economy. I can buy things from meritline.com that are shipped to me via Hong Kong air mail, for less than $1, compared to $5-7 USD. My transaction is no more illegitimate than the other methods.

Sellings stolen or keygenned keys is not the same as selling keys intended for other regions. Just as I can buy from Hong Kong, if I truly wanted to, I could probably find a retailer in India to sell me this same product, and at their regionally adjusted pricing. This is no different, except you're not attaining the physical product. But that never stopped me from doing business with Steam.

The only reason I should have to pay $50 for a game instead of $20 is because the publisher is forcing me to do so, and basically impeeding capitalism. If I buy a product for $10 and resell it to you for $20 when you can normally buy it for $40, who loses? The first guy got his $10, I got my $10 and you saved $20. There's no issues with that transaction, everyone got to eat, and that $20 you saved, moves down the line into someone elses hands.
 
Update: The second key they gave me worked.

When I registered it on the Champions Online website, it said it was a Retail Version: Gamestop. I don't think Gamestop is outside the US, so they very well might be legitimate US region keys.
 
ordered a champions online key from them, showed up as a Direct2Drive key and worked just fine. hopefully they don't go on a ban spree of accounts registered with these serials, but i don't see why they would. if so, big deal, i'm only out $22.99
 
me0w0w said:
i'm still tempted.. red alert 3 for 12??

And their FAQ's are funny..

"Why arent proxy server allowed to use the shop system?
We are using SSL to protect our shop and SSL dont accept proxy server. It\'s coz of alot of hackers and scammers are using this proxy servers. Like every body dont want to get scammed, we also dont want to loose money."
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OMG, your not kidding. That is too funny. Yeah, I wanna buy something from this guy.

Honestly, this is no better than just downloading from The Pirate Bay. Why even waste your money?
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
OMG, your not kidding. That is too funny. Yeah, I wanna buy something from this guy.

Honestly, this is no better than just downloading from The Pirate Bay. Why even waste your money?
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these aren't pirated keys. They work perfectly fine registering them/playing them online.

The FAQ's are funny though, albeit unprofessional
 
dr.stevil said:
these aren't pirated keys. They work perfectly fine registering them/playing them online.

The FAQ's are funny though, albeit unprofessional
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Your still supporting the developer the same either way. I wouldn't give that guy a penny, personally.
 
stiltner said:
There are already a few games that use region based activation methods.

Sacred 2 had that at launch, cdv might have disabled that issue now. But its possible, so to say " When it comes I'll write you a letter of thanks" is pretty silly, its here, its been here.

Oh and it was a broken kludge mess that basically resulted in a good game being put into the shit pile because of it.

So, while it might look like that method would be beneficial to publishers, I disagree completely, and that is pretty valid proof. (and their patches sucked balls too, they unloaded the game to another publisher they f'ed it up so bad).

As far as these places go. We're living in a global economy. I can buy things from meritline.com that are shipped to me via Hong Kong air mail, for less than $1, compared to $5-7 USD. My transaction is no more illegitimate than the other methods.

Sellings stolen or keygenned keys is not the same as selling keys intended for other regions. Just as I can buy from Hong Kong, if I truly wanted to, I could probably find a retailer in India to sell me this same product, and at their regionally adjusted pricing. This is no different, except you're not attaining the physical product. But that never stopped me from doing business with Steam.

The only reason I should have to pay $50 for a game instead of $20 is because the publisher is forcing me to do so, and basically impeeding capitalism. If I buy a product for $10 and resell it to you for $20 when you can normally buy it for $40, who loses? The first guy got his $10, I got my $10 and you saved $20. There's no issues with that transaction, everyone got to eat, and that $20 you saved, moves down the line into someone elses hands.
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Excellent post!
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
Your still supporting the developer the same either way. I wouldn't give that guy a penny, personally.
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true. I probably wouldn't try a steam game from him. A member here bought a steam game key off of eay I believe and they banned his account (turns out the key was stolen or something like that). He was able to get it reinstated though.
 
stiltner said:
There are already a few games that use region based activation methods.

Sacred 2 had that at launch, cdv might have disabled that issue now. But its possible, so to say " When it comes I'll write you a letter of thanks" is pretty silly, its here, its been here.

Oh and it was a broken kludge mess that basically resulted in a good game being put into the shit pile because of it.

So, while it might look like that method would be beneficial to publishers, I disagree completely, and that is pretty valid proof. (and their patches sucked balls too, they unloaded the game to another publisher they f'ed it up so bad).
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Which is exactly what I was expecting. It wouldn't work and be painful for everyone involved. But apparently my prediction is late.

But failing on a few games won't make them give up on the fact they will feel that they are losing the full sale price. If it happens on a wide scale, they will keep trying things to stop it. That may include trying to enforce regional verification. In fact, I wouldn't doubt win7 had more under the hood to support this at some point in the future.

As far as these places go. We're living in a global economy. I can buy things from meritline.com that are shipped to me via Hong Kong air mail, for less than $1, compared to $5-7 USD. My transaction is no more illegitimate than the other methods.

Sellings stolen or keygenned keys is not the same as selling keys intended for other regions. Just as I can buy from Hong Kong, if I truly wanted to, I could probably find a retailer in India to sell me this same product, and at their regionally adjusted pricing. This is no different, except you're not attaining the physical product. But that never stopped me from doing business with Steam.

The only reason I should have to pay $50 for a game instead of $20 is because the publisher is forcing me to do so, and basically impeeding capitalism. If I buy a product for $10 and resell it to you for $20 when you can normally buy it for $40, who loses? The first guy got his $10, I got my $10 and you saved $20. There's no issues with that transaction, everyone got to eat, and that $20 you saved, moves down the line into someone elses hands.
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Do you know what capitalism is? What makes it function? When a producer makes something available in a marketplace for a price, they expect to get their set price for it. Just like the buyer expects to get what they paid for.

When people in the market don't get what they expected from the people they dealing with, on either side, they get pissed. They stop wanting to participate. Integrity in the marketplace is essential for healthy capitalism.

Otherwise, you get a viscous escalating cycle of seller and buyer trying to screw each other over that makes what happens today seem trivia, taking time and energy away from making a good product. Producers stop participating and those left make junk.

The whole world started in capitalism. The West took off because they brought integrity to the marketplace relatively speaking without making it overly bureaucratic and corrupt. Debtor's prison may have been overkill, but things like intellectual property rights and product liability take the fear and hesitation out of participating in the marketplace on both sides. But mostly it was really the integrity of the players that allowed integrity to exist without excessive and potentially corrupt regulation.

So I laugh at the way the term is being used today. What's your talking about is selective capitalism that I hear get invoked all the time. One where only an aspect of capitalism is summoned up and only applied from their personal perspective.
 
jpm100 said:
Which is exactly what I was expecting. It wouldn't work and be painful for everyone involved. But apparently my prediction is late.

But failing on a few games won't make them give up on the fact they will feel that they are losing the full sale price. If it happens on a wide scale, they will keep trying things to stop it. That may include trying to enforce regional verification. In fact, I wouldn't doubt win7 had more under the hood to support this at some point in the future.


Do you know what capitalism is? What makes it function? When a producer makes something available in a marketplace for a price, they expect to get their set price for it. Just like the buyer expects to get what they paid for.

When people in the market don't get what they expected from the people they dealing with, on either side, they get pissed. They stop wanting to participate. Integrity in the marketplace is essential for healthy capitalism.

Otherwise, you get a viscous escalating cycle of seller and buyer trying to screw each other over that makes what happens today seem trivia, taking time and energy away from making a good product. Producers stop participating and those left make junk.

The whole world started in capitalism. The West took off because they brought integrity to the marketplace relatively speaking without making it overly bureaucratic and corrupt. Debtor's prison may have been overkill, but things like intellectual property rights and product liability take the fear and hesitation out of participating in the marketplace on both sides. But mostly it was really the integrity of the players that allowed integrity to exist without excessive and potentially corrupt regulation.

So I laugh at the way the term is being used today. What's your talking about is selective capitalism that I hear get invoked all the time. One where only an aspect of capitalism is summoned up and only applied from their personal perspective.
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That's fine and good but they are getting their set price for it... no one's infringing on the seller's rights here. If they didn't want to risk middlemen, they shouldn't sell the items high in one spot and low in another.
 
A long-standing concept of a free market economy is that something is only worth what people are willing to pay for it, after all.
 
chiablo said:
Update: The second key they gave me worked.

When I registered it on the Champions Online website, it said it was a Retail Version: Gamestop. I don't think Gamestop is outside the US, so they very well might be legitimate US region keys.
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Sweet.
 
me0w0w said:
bought 2 red alert keys, worked. they respond pretty fast too.

EDIT: Keys dont work for me to go online play :( "Serial key is invalid"
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If you look at the icons on the page of the game you are purchasing, it tells you if you can use the key online or if just offline. I was going to get COD4 for $13.99 but I saw that it was not for online or steam play. So make sure you keep an eye out for this.
 
rjolin01 said:
If you look at the icons on the page of the game you are purchasing, it tells you if you can use the key online or if just offline. I was going to get COD4 for $13.99 but I saw that it was not for online or steam play. So make sure you keep an eye out for this.
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No it doesn't. That icon you assume to mean online or offline indicates whether or not the title can be digitally downloaded or not.
 
Derangel said:
No it doesn't. That icon you assume to mean online or offline indicates whether or not the title can be digitally downloaded or not.
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i knew that. I was testing you. And guess what! YOU PASSED!!!! Good job! Actually I did what I shouldnt have done and assumed. Now to figure where to get COD4 from so I can get the key since its not a download. Also wondering if the key will work for online play.
 
chiablo said:
Update: The second key they gave me worked.

When I registered it on the Champions Online website, it said it was a Retail Version: Gamestop. I don't think Gamestop is outside the US, so they very well might be legitimate US region keys.
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Update: Update:

I registered the second Champions Online key while I was at work... The registration went through (showing that it was a Gamestop key) and even signed up for a recurring monthly subscription.

Flash forward a few hours and the champions online site shows that I do not have the game. The account page simply says "You have no products. Click here to enter a key." When I try to re-register the key again, it says it's already been used.

I sent a ticket into Cryptic to see if it's on their end... but this kind of throws up a red flag. Hopefully if it was rejected as a result of a stolen key, I can get my money back from the seller.
 
Might just be something on Cryptic's end. Mine is still working (knock on wood), and so are my friends' AFAIK.
 
chiablo said:
Update: Update:

I registered the second Champions Online key while I was at work... The registration went through (showing that it was a Gamestop key) and even signed up for a recurring monthly subscription.

Flash forward a few hours and the champions online site shows that I do not have the game. The account page simply says "You have no products. Click here to enter a key." When I try to re-register the key again, it says it's already been used.

I sent a ticket into Cryptic to see if it's on their end... but this kind of throws up a red flag. Hopefully if it was rejected as a result of a stolen key, I can get my money back from the seller.
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Response from Cryptic:


"Hello, Thank you for contacting Cryptic Studios Billing Support. We understand your frustration regarding the retail key and associated details being removed from your account. According to our records the retailer who distributed the key has informed us that the key was returned for a refund and is no longer valid. You may provide us with a new key or you may contact the retailer to resolve any issues surrounding the return. You may edit this ticket in order to respond. If you can provide us the retailer or online retailer URL it may assist in resolving your concerns. Thank you for your interest in Champions Online. Regards, Cryptic Studios Billing Support For more information regarding this issue, our most frequently asked questions can be located on our website located at http://champions-online.com/support"
 
Ouch, owned. I'm willing to bet the guy will take care of you, but if it's in the form of another key I wonder if this shit's just gonna happen again.
 
that sucks.

also decided to grab the galatic adventures DLC for spore and that worked perfect as well :) However, I wasn't able to download the US version (said that the key didn't support it), but the Asian version worked fine (was in english)
 
chiablo said:
Response from Cryptic:


"Hello, Thank you for contacting Cryptic Studios Billing Support. We understand your frustration regarding the retail key and associated details being removed from your account. According to our records the retailer who distributed the key has informed us that the key was returned for a refund and is no longer valid. You may provide us with a new key or you may contact the retailer to resolve any issues surrounding the return. You may edit this ticket in order to respond. If you can provide us the retailer or online retailer URL it may assist in resolving your concerns. Thank you for your interest in Champions Online. Regards, Cryptic Studios Billing Support For more information regarding this issue, our most frequently asked questions can be located on our website located at http://champions-online.com/support"
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Response from OnlineKeyStore:
"i need an exact copy of the email including the email from cryptic shown in the from mailto section"

My reply:
"Cryptic does not communicate via e-mail, they use an online Ticket system. I attached a screenshot of their response to the ticket in my last e-mail. I cannot find any support e-mail address for them.

*I then temporarily changed my account password and gave it him so he could log in and view the open support ticket.*

OnlineKeyStore:
"to be honest this is nothing to do with us and they should of offered another key to you
*Replacement Key*
will be the only replacement we offer next time its up to them to replace it"

So hopefully this last one holds. This will be the third key and after that I'll either have to get paypal involved to get a refund, or learn my lesson and eat the $22. I guess it goes to show that you get what you pay fore.
 
Could be a fluke thing. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Risk is minimal though, Paypal or your CC company will cover you. I'd fight with OKS a bit more tho, should it happen again.
 
I was able to download, install, and play the game for a little while... so it seems this last one worked.

I wish you all good luck if you decide to order through them.
 
Links to these gray market CD Key sellers is not acceptable. As many have noted, these resellers are in violation of many of the manufacturer's resale agreements, and often run into region based issues with the CD Keys they sell.
 
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