Where do you buy your games from these days?

Call me crazy but I just had this really silly idea that digital was supposed to be cheaper than retail.

So why is it that here in Australia I can buy Fallout 4 (RETAIL) for about $60, whereas on Steam it costs about $110?

Also, Steam doesn't even seem to be competitive amongst their digital rivals either.

For example, Direct2drive is selling Fallout 4 at about $US60, but Steam is selling it for about $US79.

Anyway, I think from now on I'll buy from Direct2drive and then download the game from Steam.

I buy most of my games from Steam.. here and there I buy games from Origin.

I'm not sure why games cost over $100 for you but in US they're normal prices ($60 a piece.. NO MORE then that).

Here's proof from Steam.

@insane_metalist said:

I buy most of my games from Steam.. here and there I buy games from Origin.

I'm not sure why games cost over $100 for you but in US they're normal prices ($60 a piece.. NO MORE then that).

Here's proof from Steam.

Alright, thanks for that.

What's happening is that Australians are getting screwed over from Steam - for some reason. Exactly who's in charge or why it's happening - and why it's been happening for so long now, I'm not entirely sure.

But at least they seem reasonable (if not downright good) in the US.

I mainly buy from either Instant Gaming or cdkey.com. I don't use G2A any more as they stole money from my bank account

it's not just steam or even video games. many software companies have ridiculous prices in Australia. adobe CEO was once asked about why his company's software cost twice as much in Australia as in the US and the answer he gave was nonsense.

from the interwebz

Steam or from the companies' client, like Battle.net. The Australian store is a rip-off. I'm going back home to Canada in two weeks so I'll wait until I'm home before I make any purchases.

steam, origin, d2d.

I don't do digital, buy everything from Amazon.

I've looked into various cd-key sites and they sound pretty dodgy for the most part.

I don't like the idea that my game might be rejected later on due to being bought with a stolen credit card or something similar.

Yeah, people will just do what they can get away with! No doubt about it, Australia has become one (if not THE) most expensive country in the world to live in.

Nice idea, but Amazon won't ship any electronic-related goods to Australia for some reason. And trying to fool companies by circumventing geo-blocking or giving false addresses is not something I feel comfortable with.

@thereal25: I buy Steam keys from Kinguin always. No reason to buy from Steam anymore unless you want to pay more and make the rich richer.

@klunt_bumskrint: what happend with g2a?

I still use them time to time so this is concerning

Since I mostly prefer physical (not as much as I used to), I prefer using amazon.co.uk and the cheapest local stores.

But the last 6-12 months, I used steam a lot especially during special offers and sales.

Lately I am also checking allkeyshop.com, which check prices from all digital key sellers (like intant gaming, greenman gaming, kinguin etc etc) and shows who has the best offer in the game you want.

@thehig1: It was to do with the monthly "shield subscription". They activated it without my consent, wont admit that it was their mistake and took £2.18 from my account. Of course they are saying I asked them to activate it which is rubbish, I have no interest in it. It's happened to someone else on another forum I use. Thieving Scum. I just have better things to do with my life than keep chasing them for £2.

I also asked for evidence that I asked them to which they haven't provided.

Avoid G2A like the plague.

I have bought around 10 or so games from CJS CD Keys and cdkeys.com (including a fallout 4 pre order which I got yesterday) with no problems whatsoever. I always check the trustpilot rating and read online forums before buying from online sites. Also I don't trust g2a/kinguin as they themselves dont sell keys rather its like eBay where you have to depend on the reputation of individual sellers which is too big of a risk for me.

I'm wary of these types of places.

wherever is cheaper between Steam/GMG/Gog/gamersgate/humblebundle

I occasionally use allkeyshop to buy from cd key sites but that is rather rare

retail copies from a local store or key sites,usually the retail copy is cheaper

Steam expects me to pay almost ~50% more.

Sounds more like you didn't uncheck a box or read TOS rather than outright theft.

CDKeys.com is your friend.

@bonafidetk: Nope. I always uncheck that crap.

@klunt_bumskrint: Isn't there an option to pay with Paypal at G2A? It adds something like €2 to the price, but then you know you're safe.

Who told you that? and were they on something?

GTX 970

Intel 120GB SSD

iPhone 5

Nexus 4/6/7

PS4

All bought from Amazon, took about 7 days to get here, and in perfect condition. I buy plenty from Amazon and they haven't complained once.

@FelipeInside: Well, maybe, but I've heard some rather negative reviews about those "steam key" sites. Also, there seems to be the possibility that they're effectively supporting organised crime.

I'd rather pay an extra $10 or so and shop elsewhere.

Not sure how you've circumvented the system. But if you google it, you'll see that there's a long list of items that Amazon won't ship outside of the US.

Anyway, physical copies seem a bit old-hat nowadays.

Everyone here has given you cheaper alternatives to buying from Steam direct, then you WANT to pay $10 extra so you have peace-of-mind that its not some crime syndicate.

Do you want cheaper or not?

The issue here is Steam itself in Australia. I've found out that pretty much every other legitimate source is cheaper than Steam in Australia. Including similar digital sellers like Green man gaming or D2D.

So yes, I want cheaper and D2D it it for me.

As for the other conversation, my intention wan't to be disagreeable or judgemental - just shining some light on the issue - people can make up their own minds what they want to do.

I use Allkeyshop to refer me to the cheapest key for any game I want and I also use Steam. Every key shop I've used has worked beautifully, and they often give nifty bonuses (like free games). But if I use Steam, I stick to the stales.

D2D will only get you so far, the other digital shops have more sales and more discounts regularly.

That's okay, I don't buy that often.

I was considering Green man gaming but all that pretentious blue coins bs kinda put me off a bit.

I want actual discounts - not childish little time-wasting gimmicks like steams "trading cards" or blue coins that might give you like 30cents worth for an $80 purchase. Also places that give discounts for playing alot or getting "achievements" can suck it also!

Most games I buy from Steam. The physical games I buy nowadays is Nintendo games, which I get from the swedish store Webhallen, usually. I have promised myself to never get anything ever from GameStop or GAME. Or some other store that likes to sell their products for 40% more money than they're worth.

@bonafidetk:

This happen to me and i still use them. unchek the box simpel

@klunt_bumskrint: i wont use them again, i had a little trouble with fifa 16 waiting 14 days for a refund.

There not a good company

Amazon cheaper for me when its not steam sale.

Steam and gamersgate, and yes, more times than not it *is* cheaper than retail.

Steam, Origin, Uplay, GoG.

Wherever the deals are at, really.

Almost exclusively from Steam... That has to change

I only buy games digitally now. Mostly from Steam and GOG.

How about games that don't come out on Steam (Exclusive Origin Games) like Battlefield series, Dead Space series, NFS series, Titanfall, Crysis 3, Star Wars Battlefront, etc..? I know there's no way you're avoiding all those games.

Battlefield is boring.. Well they are to short for me, and way to intense in a not so good way. I got Dead Space games but haven't played them yet, last good NFS game was Most Wanted years ago (I do want to try the new one... Is it just called Need for Speed?) Titanfall I won't bother with, Crysis 3 is OK, Star Wars Battlefront (I assume you mean the new one) will be bought on sale on Origin or humble bundle.

Okay so I looked up a little while writing this... So there was a new NFS Most Wanted in 2012... I think I'll get the new one if that game is good... On the other hand my gaming schedule for spring 2016 is quite busy already. 5 games I am planning to get and play during that time. 2 of them I consider a must have.

Yeah that's what I said Star Wars Battlefront. You're very picky about games.

New NFS Most Wanted & New NFS Hot Pursuit are both good in their own way. I can confirm that.. sadly I'm a NFS junkie since way back in the day. You can't mod cars or anything in Most Wanted but they have cars from Nissans all the way to Lambos.

I buy from Steam ONLY during sales.

Other times I buy from Origin ONLY during sales. If there is a game I really want to get I Google around to find the best places. So far I've used G2A to buy a bunch of games for dirt cheap, like literally $1 to $7 compared to the prices on Steam or Origin which were $10 to $20+. I've also used Bundle Stars and Gamestop (surprisingly). They sometimes have good sales on digital games, like Alien Isolation which was 50% off after first month on Gamestop. I've also traded in old console games for digital PC games. LOL There was once this stoned AF chick at a Gamestop who scanned all my games twice! She gave me double of what I was supposed to get all because my girlfriend asked her how was work. She started going off about Obama and other crazy conspiracies. I think I got like $50 for 5 old games which I redeemed for some digital games and Riot Points Cards.

I buy most of my games from amazon or bestbuy, whatever is cheaper. I rarely see a new game cheaper on steam so makes no sense to waste valuable bandwidth downloading it when i could get it on disc.

I mostly try to get a physical copy whenever i can because my isp's in my area don't have unlimited access so its costly if i go over my monthly limit.

Theres been a few games, mostly mmo's that were only in digital form, which took me several weeks to download because i had to carefully allocate my bandwidth usage just to be able to download them without getting badly charged for over usage... it was annoying to do.

Can you download the digital ones at work? or at a friend's place with better internet?

Mainly steam with their sales. But I'm not liking where some of their policies are going. So I might switch it up and go with GOG for a bit.

Recently ive been only buying from Humble Bundle store since they support charity, and i liked the GOG Galaxy Client, so im gonna try their store as well.

GoG if possible. Steam/Origin if necessary

I guess I am. Limited time to play. I will use that time to play games I will enjoy most at first. I always enjoy a good driving game every now and then.

DiRT 3 is one of my favorite's as far as racing games go. You should give it a try sometime.