warning - possible scam alert

[VolcanosD]

well i got scammed by a website when i was trying to find a legal website to download nwn from.

the site promised downloads of games, music, movies and more.

so i signed up only to realize that i was paying for someone to tell me about the p2p - limewire, which is technically illegal. i was paying for bad advise.

from all my research, a legal copy of nwn can't be downloaded.

only nwn 2 can be downloaded - (i think this should change).

the possible scam sites are:

Digital Products Retailer: Affiliate Program & Sell Online - ClickBank

Download Millions Of Games Online Now...

Download Your Favorite PC Games


due to my experience with these sites - i suggest you warn your friends about it.

so they don't have to whip all the egg - tears - frustration and more off their face like i did.

we all make mistakes - i just hope we can learn from others'

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

You can find NWN with the two major expansions (SotU and HotU) in most electronics stores that cater at all to PC gamers, and usually in WalMart, BestBuy, or your local equivalent.

Typically speaking, you won't find a legal download of a big-name video game.

[Jaigan]

Direct2Drive: Download Games, Movies, TV Shows and more at D2D
 
 bout the only one I know of that's anygood.

[Stephen_Zuckerman]

Among the ones you can download, it's rare that you'll find one with a unique CD-key that allows you to play online.

[darkstorme]

*nods*  From Amazon, I think it's $20, new.

Why expose your computer to the stuff that comes off warez sites, when you can get the genuine article, and keep the disk forever?

(Plus, we WANT to encourage Bioware to keep making games.  Mass Effect?  Nice stuff.)

[Eight-Bit]

Among the ones you can download, it's rare that you'll find one with a unique CD-key that allows you to play online.

Digital distribution is actually a HUGE deal these days. It's going to explode soon, and I can guarantee you that in a few years you won't find many PC games on the shelves. Why bother when the cost of bandwidth is cheaper than the cost of paying a publisher?

I rarely if ever will go to a store to buy a PC game. First of all, I hate bumping elbows with the slack-jawed mouth breathers that tend to populate most video game boutiques. Secondly, there is an infinitely available inventory of the game I want. Thirdly, it comes "out of the box" requiring no CD what so ever.

On the topic of limewire, the service itself is legal. Using it to distribute  copyrighted material is what will land you in trouble, possibly, maybe.

ninja edit - On the topic of Mass Effect - has anyone else bothered at all to read the dialog? My eyes have since dried up and crusted over, egad!

[Eorendil]

I've used Direct2Drive.  Its legit and pretty darn nice.  I've used Steam a number of times in relation to Half-Life 2 stuff.

[Falonthas]

and for diamond i just happen to see it for 9.99 at walmart, so its bargin bin rather then waste time,
 if you dont have a good broadband setup

[VolcanosD]

i was sharing with a friend. now i finally got my own. the only thing is i have a mac and a pc. grrrrr. i would like to have the choice of the computers. switch around.

i look forward to the day when i can simply purchase all stuff via download and  simply get new cd keys.

this will reduce the waist in the world!

[VolcanosD]

you won't believe this....

so i went to amazon to purchase a new game to get myself new key codes - i already have the game but i needed to replace my keycodes.

i get the game and look at the keycodes.

i have one code for all three. that is nice and easy. plug the one code in for all three - like the page tells me to and guess what....nothing.

nothing happens. its a bust. all that time an money for nothing.

now i have to call atari to get new codes or send the game back to amazon to get a replacement  - for my replacement - to see if i get even newer keycodes.

this is such a bummer because i ready had to re-load the game, which changed all my settings. i am now spending the time trying to get all my old stuff back for the game setting.

so much fun.

[lonnarin]

I've had good experience using both IGN.com's Direct2Drive and Electronic Arts' online site.  There's much to be said about owning the hard copy of a game, but sometimes when you're bored, too drunk to drive, it's 4am and only the discount aisle of WalMart is at your disposal, to have a new game delivered to your HD in about an hour is really worth it.

Thanks for the heads up about that other site though.  I won't be using some of the ones mentioned if they can't manage their key codes and liscencing properly.

On the plus side, I look forward to when direct2drive purchases become more and more common.  It'll go a long way towards opening the door for smaller game companies getting into the market without having to drop millions of dollars into advertising, publishing firms and robber baron middle-men of the industry.  (especially since 90% of mainstream gaming bugs are due to idiot marketers setting unrealistic release dates and going above the techs heads to have the game released before its finished. ie: NWN2!)  Galactic Civilizations II uses Starport to update and sell their other games, and most of them I would never have found in Best Buy or Gamestop.

[VolcanosD]

so i just got done talking with amazon.com.

they are going to refund my money for my nwn diamond edition that i bought.

they told me that that batch of atari games had too many bugs and all the keys are bad. so they could not give me a new game.

now i have to find a replacement game with usable keys.

bummer.

[miasma_hemlock]

Send an email to Atari.  The same thing happened to me, I re-bought the game on Amazon and it had bad serial numbers.  Actually it was the same number printed three times, like yours I think...  Which was weird..

So I sent an email Atari and they had me scan the booklet (the bad serial numbers) and emailed me back with good ones right away.  The whole thing took maybe twenty minutes.