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General discussion (archive)What's up with Bethesda/id?(25 posts)(25 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted July 30, 2012
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StingingVelvet: I think they just love Steam and are very slow to do anything else.
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Fuzzyfireball: Bingo. They started adding games to impulse, but just kinda.. stopped. Like LucasArts on Steam.
Except those games on Impulse were severely region locked.

There might also be an issue with a certain monopoly-like distributor in Russia raising a fit if some of the games it sells show up here...
Post edited July 30, 2012 by Foxhack
Posted July 30, 2012
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gammaleak: Hmmm... this seems like an attractive explanation... but they have released on other distribution platforms.
No, they haven't, at least NOT on PC. Steam is the only digital platform to sell old id shooters. Well, unless a smaller company i'm not aware of has them too, but i have never seen these games on Impulse, Getgames, GMG, Gamersgate, Amazon, Dotemu, Nuuvem, Gamefly or anything else.

However, Doom is available on Apple's App Store (for iOS devices) and XBLA, but these are not PC distrbution platforms. The XBLA version is actually a revamped HD version with 4-player coop support. This HD version is not available on PC.

EDIT: Looks like Impulse has a few id shooters too, but i have never seen them because of nasty region locks.
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jungletoad: I'm pretty sure that the old iD games are some of the few DRM free games on Steam. Copy them out of your steamapps folder and I think you can play them on other machines or without Steam.
Probably, since these games use DOS-box and they can't force their DRM into DOS mode. Just like X-com games.
Post edited July 30, 2012 by Neobr10
Posted July 31, 2012
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GameRager: The same reason why SS 1/2 will never(most likely) come to GOG....the rights holders don't like the money/exposure such acts would bring.
On the contrary, in the case of SS1/2 - and I suspect, also for Bethesda's IP - they'd want to market it in such a way that they'd want more money than any potential distributor would be willing to offer.
Posted July 31, 2012
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GameRager: The same reason why SS 1/2 will never(most likely) come to GOG....the rights holders don't like the money/exposure such acts would bring.
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rampancy: On the contrary, in the case of SS1/2 - and I suspect, also for Bethesda's IP - they'd want to market it in such a way that they'd want more money than any potential distributor would be willing to offer.
Sarcasm detector on the fritz, friend? ;)
Posted July 31, 2012
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jungletoad: I'm pretty sure that the old iD games are some of the few DRM free games on Steam. Copy them out of your steamapps folder and I think you can play them on other machines or without Steam.
Yes, that's how I play them - I just took out the appropriate .wad files and put them with the source port of my choice. The same went for Heretic and Hexen.

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GameRager: Sarcasm detector on the fritz, friend? ;)
:P
Post edited July 31, 2012 by rampancy
Posted July 31, 2012
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Foxhack: There might also be an issue with a certain monopoly-like distributor in Russia raising a fit if some of the games it sells show up here...
Very much this. Zenimax has some sort of exclusive digital distribution contract with 1C Russia, which together with its many subsidiaries covers the entire region of Central to Eastern Europe. And that one fucking contract causes no end of complications. (Want to buy Skyrim on Steam? You can't. But you can buy it in retail, which you have to activate on Steam anyway.)

I'm willing to bet GOG can't get worldwide distribution rights from them as long as that contract remains valid.
Posted July 31, 2012
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Foxhack: There might also be an issue with a certain monopoly-like distributor in Russia raising a fit if some of the games it sells show up here...
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bazilisek: Very much this. Zenimax has some sort of exclusive digital distribution contract with 1C Russia, which together with its many subsidiaries covers the entire region of Central to Eastern Europe. And that one fucking contract causes no end of complications. (Want to buy Skyrim on Steam? You can't. But you can buy it in retail, which you have to activate on Steam anyway.)

I'm willing to bet GOG can't get worldwide distribution rights from them as long as that contract remains valid.
A considerable portion of Zenimax thingies appeared in the Steam RU this summer sale, although at inflated prices. Isn't it almost exactly a year since they started accepting rub(b)le payments?
Post edited July 31, 2012 by grviper
Posted July 31, 2012
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bazilisek: I'm willing to bet GOG can't get worldwide distribution rights from them as long as that contract remains valid.
You just won this bet. They can't.

Zenimax is one of the last big companies that does those exclusive deals. Hopefully they've seen the error of their ways now.
Posted July 31, 2012
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grviper: A considerable portion of Zenimax thingies appeared in the Steam RU this summer sale, although at inflated prices. Isn't it almost exactly a year since they started accepting rub(b)le payments?
According to this, that was sometime in September.

Odd. I thought it was going for longer than that.
Posted July 31, 2012
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bazilisek: Zenimax has some sort of exclusive digital distribution contract with 1C Russia, which together with its many subsidiaries covers the entire region of Central to Eastern Europe. And that one contract causes no end of complications. (Want to buy Skyrim on Steam? You can't. But you can buy it in retail, which you have to activate on Steam anyway.)

I'm willing to bet GOG can't get worldwide distribution rights from them as long as that contract remains valid.
Very interesting. I had no idea they had made such a deal. And that would seem to explain things. Thanks for the insight.
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General discussion (archive)What's up with Bethesda/id?(25 posts)(25 posts)
(25 posts)