News THQ opens online store

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2011/10/05/thq-opens-online-store/1

 

"It's worth noting though that digital titles bought through ShopTHQ have an 'Extended Download Service' added to the basket automatically for a cost of £3.73. This allows multiple downloads of the game for up to two-years. "

What does that mean? You can download it as many times onto as many computers DRM free? Or does it mean you can purchase something and download it only during 2 years. Effectively meaning that if 1 day after your 2 years is up your computer screws up and you have to format it you would have to pay for it again.

One is awesome the other is rubbish!

 

Costing money for only 2 years of availability? No. Steam has it for life. Why on earth are publishers putting out services that don't even match the feature set of Steam and expecting them to succeed?

 

'Extended download' and you have to pay for it? Bad, bad joke.

 

Paying for the ability to redownload stuff you've bought? Dirty pool.

Unless, of course, the games are 100% DRM free, and you don't need the ShopTHQ software running to play the game, or an internet connection (that'll just mean keeping good backups of your games).

However, I doubt that will happen.

I give it a few years before each major publisher has their own digital download service, requires the use thereof to play their games, pulls the ones already available on other distribution systems and the PC gaming market fragments terribly.

 

My understanding of it is that your license is unlimited length, but you can only download from their servers for 2 years, and you have to pay for it. Now, if there was some significant discount, this could make sense, but seriously? Space Marine: £39.99 + £3.73 off THQ for 2 years. Or £34.99 off Direct2Drive forever. Or, of course, doing it properly: Amazon - £24.25 & free shipping - yours forever.

Interestingly, Space Marine is no longer on Steam it appears - or is this due to THQ's slightly odd no-Steam-for-the-first-month thing?

 

Best thing about THQ is their little jingle/logo noise which is the same as the intro from dre's second album.

ShopTHQ fail

 

I noticed this too. May be heading to THQ site for this...

 

EA Store had an extended download service a few years back, ridiculous as it is, its nothing new!

Hate on Origin all you want but at least EA had the sense to scrap the extended download service payment, and the decency to add the games you downloaded without the extended service to your origin account!

 

EA are doing the same with origin. BF3 is 40 FECKING QUID! In comparison its £35 on D2D and £30 on amazon. The hell is going on?

For the first time in over a year I will be buying a disc version *throws up in mouth a little* and I don't even have a cd drive! I can borrow an external one to install it.
I assume once I link the serial from the Amazon bought version with origin I won't need the disc to play? Anyone know if that's the case?

 

This is exactly the problem I have with Origin, I don't want a billionty publishers only making their games available through their own portal, or with exclusive benefits if brought directly from them. I want one place to keep all my games and don't want to remember a ton of passwords or where I need to go to get X game because I can't remember where I brought it, I like just using Steam and D2D, but I fear that if we tollerate Origin and their ilk this is going to become very irritating before long.

You'll need a Activision Webawesome Store login, a Steam Login, D2D, Ubisoft, Origin and god knows how many more, the futures dark, the futures more bloody passwords to remember.

 

It's an idiot test - they're trying to find out how many stupid people there are (and there'll certainly be at least some who'll buy stuff there).

It would have been more useful if BT had flagged what sort of DRM THQ's shop is using - the website is so fantastically broken it won't let you look at the T&C's unless you have cookies enabled.

 

No thanks
Steam is ok, origins and all the rest,
bandwagon , jumping, and TOO LATE.
Steam will stop selling games that are on other download formats.
Steam becomes less and less THE place to down load as it dosn't have the new games
Downloading will then be less and less peoples first choice ( well them that do right now any way).
Dont they see in thier efforts to drive Digital down loads forward , they are getting futher from thier goal.
Even without 'Extended Download Service's' lol

 

This online downloading market will become so saturated that people will resort to buying physical copies once again. I know I will if this continues.

 

WTF, THQ already had an online store.

 

Call me strange ...go on... but I prefer the buy the disc/insert the disc method of buying games. You can't beat the always there satisfaction of having it in your hand(innuendo unintentional).

 

Ive had my optical drive disconnected for about 6 months. Discs are a hassle.

 

"Discs are a hassle."
Depends on your connection speed.
lots of the UK still on 2 meg or less, now thats a hassle.

 

But not all of the UK, I've had 50 meg for ages but before that I still preferred digital distribution on my 10meg connection.

Simply less hassle and easier to keep track of games in my steam account, I've already got 350+ CDs and 250+ DVDs/Bluerays and 50+ game disk boxes taking up shelf space, I've literally got 2 fairly large bookshelfs full of games/DVD's/Bluerays/Music I'm just glad that I'm not adding to the collection in terms of music or games anymore as digital distribution is easy and convenient enough through my chosen vendors.

Finding room for physical belongings, alphabetical ordering, and actually finding the thing your looking for on a whim and not losing anything is a much bigger hassle for some.

 

You can redeem BF3 by entering the product serial into Origin so you don't even need the CD drive.