First game to sell out on steam?

[Ren.182]

Our sale on Prey was so popular we ran out of keys!! If we can get more, we'll try to bring this deal back. In the meantime, 2K Games has added BioShock to the set of daily deals on Steam, at 75% OFF today only. Happy holidays!

Is this the first game to be sold out on steam? Can't remember any other game doing so.

Not the best game ever but I'd say its worth it at that price

 

[Acepilotf14]

STALKER: Clear Sky also ran out of keys, from what I've heard from someone who tried to buy it a few days ago.

 

[Shem]

I don't know about any other games that have sold out on Steam, so this might well be the first. Perhaps Team Fortress 2 once sold out when it had all of those huge deals before.

 

[Feath]

Yeah Clear Sky sold out the other day.

When I got King's Bounty on Gamersgate, I had to wait a while because they ran out of keys.

 

[dfc05]

I remember a few years ago, Rome: Total War was listed on Steam but there was no button to actually purchase it. Not sure if it was "sold out" or if the page was just screwed up though.

 

[stemot]

Great, replace it with a game that won't work on Windows 7.

 

[Feath]

I assume you're talking about Bioshock. I searched around a bit and it seems some people do have problems on Windows 7 but there were plenty of people saying that it worked fine for them. So I say saying that it's a game that won't work with Windows 7 is a bit over the top.

 

[BlueWolf72]

devs purchase a package on how it will be used on steam. they get set amount of keys or downloads. The dev will need to pay up to get more keys = exposure on steam.

 

[stemot]

I assume you're talking about Bioshock. I searched around a bit and it seems some people do have problems on Windows 7 but there were plenty of people saying that it worked fine for them. So I say saying that it's a game that won't work with Windows 7 is a bit over the top.

The people that have got it to work, like me, are completely without sound in game for most cases.
It's got something to do with the sound formats used for the game as it doesn't use DirectSound.
It'd probably be very easy to fix but of course they've abandoned the original even though they still have it for sale.
So no, not over the top when a good majority of people with Windows 7 cannot get the game to work as it should be.
Every other game I have tried so far has worked flawlessly, a lot of them much older titles than Bioshock. I only wanted to see how DX10 looked.

 

[Feath]

Edit: I have edited out the reply in which I was a twat.

I think people always have these issues in games, but it's unfair just to narrow it down to Windows 7. From what I've just read, people have had sound issues with it since the game was released.

I didn't like most of Bioshock but I really think that people should buy it because it did some fantastic things. It's definitely an important game to play and I don't think people should miss out just because they use Windows 7 and think it won't run.

 

[Sledgehammer]

I have no problems with Bioshock, apart from some crackling in the sound, on Windows 7. It's terrible on Vista, though.

 

[Paulaner]

I have no problems with Bioshock, apart from some crackling in the sound, on Windows 7. It's terrible on Vista, though.

I played Bioshock on Vista without any issue. Imo it's the platform that matters, not the OS.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Bioshock works flawlessly on my Windows 7, without any hassles with sound.

As for Prey running out of keys, that strikes me as rather interesting. What was the sale price before they ran out?

 

[Feath]

£1.35 in the UK, $2.25 in the US. Basically, half a pint.

 

[BlueWolf72]

Prey?

Its on my list to download

Should I download it? is it that good?

 

[15357]

Wut?

You can run out of Keys? I thought you could generate new ones anytime, and it was only a matter of registering them to the database or whatever.

 

[BlueWolf72]

its like buying ads on a site. Devs buy into getting the game on steam and you get so many downloads/keys

 

[Gunner]

Prey?

Its on my list to download

Should I download it? is it that good?

The main character is pretty funny, kinda like a native american version of Duke. It's worth it for his dialogue.

 

[Darkedge34]

Double Agent and Penumbra sold out before.

 

[15357]

its like buying ads on a site. Devs buy into getting the game on steam and you get so many downloads/keys

Oh. That makes sense.


I always thought it was like a pay-for-spot, pay-per-download type of thing.

 

[StarBob]

£1.35 in the UK, $2.25 in the US. Basically, half a pint.

I like that. I'm going to start referring to the cost of things as it relates to beer. That's one thing we don't do in the US.... prolly because there's rarely a consistent amount such as the pint. You might get 12 ounces one place and 30 another. Plus the costs vary so much by region and venue that it's hard to say that, say, $5 is a pint.

Regardless, I'll figure it out.

Also, I don't recall a game selling out on Steam. I always assumed there was just this infinite amount of digital copies to go around. I figured CD keys could be generated to a point that there basically could be no sellout point.

 

[Kyorisu]

devs purchase a package on how it will be used on steam. they get set amount of keys or downloads. The dev will need to pay up to get more keys = exposure on steam.

This problem only effects games that use optional CD keys (Ones used for gamespy multiplayer and the like). It happened with Unreal Tournament a while back. The publisher/devs give Valve a batch of keys and when those run out this happens. Your explanation is utterly hilarious though.

its like buying ads on a site. Devs buy into getting the game on steam and you get so many downloads/keys

This is not how steam works. Stop the lies. Valve makes a cut on every sale so why on earth would they limit the amount of sales a game could make? That would hurt their own pockets and their brand image.

Wut?

You can run out of Keys? I thought you could generate new ones anytime, and it was only a matter of registering them to the database or whatever.

It's not that simple. Whoever is in charge of this part of the operation needs to generate some keys and have them added to whatever database is responsible for handling key identification i.e. Gamespy. Those keys that will now actually work are handed over to various digital distributors or packaged in retail boxes.

 

[jverne]

how can you run out of randomly generated keys???


edit: oh nvm

 

[MultiVaC]

Prey is a decent game. For under $5 it's a complete steal.

 

[stemot]

After deciding to sit down tonight and not quit until I had Bioshock working (it is a great game after all) I searched through shitloads of links with apparent solutions to the problem, none of which worked. Some said run in compatibility mode, others said I had to disable the stereo mixer in the sound properties and others even mentioned editing the .ini to use a different sound solution. In the end I found one stuck in the arse end of the net that recommended uninstalling OpenAL. Surprisingly this worked, no need to edit anything or any compat modes just simply uninstall OpenAL and all worked fine. Just in case anyone else is having the same issue.

 

[Ennui]

Prey is worth it at that price but don't go expecting a good game, it's half decent at best (although whoever said the best part about it is the protagonist is so right).

 

[BlueWolf72]

This problem only effects games that use optional CD keys (Ones used for gamespy multiplayer and the like). It happened with Unreal Tournament a while back. The publisher/devs give Valve a batch of keys and when those run out this happens. Your explanation is utterly hilarious though.



This is not how steam works. Stop the lies. Valve makes a cut on every sale so why on earth would they limit the amount of sales a game could make? That would hurt their own pockets and their brand image.



It's not that simple. Whoever is in charge of this part of the operation needs to generate some keys and have them added to whatever database is responsible for handling key identification i.e. Gamespy. Those keys that will now actually work are handed over to various digital distributors or packaged in retail boxes.

prove me wrong.. I will agree that some games gives steam keys to use with the game but most are steam based keys that give to the devs.

 

[Krynn72]

prove me wrong.. I will agree that some games gives steam keys to use with the game but most are steam based keys that give to the devs.

What? Steam doesn't give keys to developers...

The hell are you talking about? Im not crystal clear on how games sell on steam, but I'm positive that its not how you're describing it. If you want proof, I'll ask my production manager tomorrow how it works for our game on Steam. I guarantee you that Steam isnt the one who ran out of keys for Prey, and that Developers don't buy a number of keys from valve. Valve takes something like 30% of every sale, so like Kyorisu said, your explanation doesnt make any sense.

 

[stemot]

What? Steam doesn't give keys to developers...

The hell are you talking about? Im not crystal clear on how games sell on steam, but I'm positive that its not how you're describing it. If you want proof, I'll ask my production manager tomorrow how it works for our game on Steam. I guarantee you that Steam isnt the one who ran out of keys for Prey, and that Developers don't buy a number of keys from valve. Valve takes something like 30% of every sale, so like Kyorisu said, your explanation doesnt make any sense.

Sorry Krynn, but can I just ask, what is the game your company has on Steam?

 

[Krynn72]

Its a game called Doom Rails. I never made any posts on it since its more of a kids game, and I doubt anyone here would be terribly interested in it.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

I don't know about any other games that have sold out on Steam, so this might well be the first. Perhaps Team Fortress 2 once sold out when it had all of those huge deals before.

Wouldn't think that Valve Products would run out of keys, as they are tied directly to the Steam Services

 

[stemot]

Its a game called Doom Rails. I never made any posts on it since its more of a kids game, and I doubt anyone here would be terribly interested in it.

Ah, I've seen it for sale on Steam. So you work for a dev studio?

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah. Dreamforge Entertainment.

 

[stemot]

Yeah. Dreamforge Entertainment.

Cool, didn't know that, so is Doom Rails your first game?

 

[BlueWolf72]

What? Steam doesn't give keys to developers...

The hell are you talking about? Im not crystal clear on how games sell on steam, but I'm positive that its not how you're describing it. If you want proof, I'll ask my production manager tomorrow how it works for our game on Steam. I guarantee you that Steam isnt the one who ran out of keys for Prey, and that Developers don't buy a number of keys from valve. Valve takes something like 30% of every sale, so like Kyorisu said, your explanation doesnt make any sense.

Only reason why i say that is most of the keys HL2.net receives are not from the devs and when I was talking to one they had said devs buy into steam and valve makes money and so does the dev but any keys come from steam not them.

 

[Krynn72]

Yeah, it was our entire studio's first game. The studio just started up a little over a year ago now, with almost entirely people like me, just out of school. I think there are like, three people who worked on a game before that project. Game turned out pretty well in spite of that, and our next game(s) are already a huge improvement.

EDIT:

BlueWolf: There is no "package" as you say, and theres not like, a fee for getting onto steam (that I am aware of, again, I'd have to ask). Pretty sure my bosses just contacted valve asking how we can get our game on Steam, then they negotiated a percentage of each sale that Valve would take. So I guess technically, we're buying into steam via that percentage, but there is no package that comes with a set number of keys or anything.

 

[BlueWolf72]

^

and your hiring!

 

[Dinnesch]

EDIT: This post was a reply to a very old post... ignore it, sorry

 

[stemot]

Might have to check out your next game then Krynn, it's pretty awesome that you've got your first game up on something as influential as Steam.

 

[huntingbear]

The people that have got it to work, like me, are completely without sound in game for most cases.
It's got something to do with the sound formats used for the game as it doesn't use DirectSound.
It'd probably be very easy to fix but of course they've abandoned the original even though they still have it for sale.
So no, not over the top when a good majority of people with Windows 7 cannot get the game to work as it should be.
Every other game I have tried so far has worked flawlessly, a lot of them much older titles than Bioshock. I only wanted to see how DX10 looked.

wut? are you having problems with Bioshock on Win 7? mines fine granted i'm using a retail boxed version not Steam download