Far Cry 3, I bet, will continue to be Uplay. That'd only affect people buying two 7900's though. But Uplay is nothing but trouble. It won't even accept a CD serial key.
Even better, Far Cry 3 is available on Steam, but then it launches a special version of UPlay. Whee! Fun! Ubisoft's anti-piracy approach is anti-consumer, and the pirates can still download and play Ubisoft games through the usual channels.
You're mistaken in that you think this is AMDs/Steams/Origins fault.
Far Cry 3 has always been uPlay and will continue to be uPlay, as will their Splinter Cell, Watchdog and Rainbow Six games. That's their DRM technique and has nothing to do with Valve, EA, AMD or NVIDIA.
If you were to buy Far Cry 3 on Steam right now, it would download and install uPlay. Launching the game through Steam would launch uPlay, which launches the actual game EXE.
So this doesn't affect "only people getting Bundle Codes from buying AMD GPUs". This affects everyone who purchases a Ubisoft game whatsoever.
Regarding the new Bundle, I'm ecstatic that AMD is finally taking game bundles seriously as I know about least 4 people who bought entry level NVIDIA cards simply because they came with Arkham Asylum. I am VERY disappointed however that they're making me choose between Crysis 3 or Tomb Raider, as I'm interested in both and don't appreciate having to blow $700+ in order to get them.
If they were really smart, they'd have a website based redemption scheme where the customer would have to register/trade their email address for getting the codes emailed to them, with the website allowing selectable combinations of games based on the customers value motives. I'd happily give up the older 3 games for the newer 3 alone in exchange for purchasing a single 7900 series, and that capability in itself generates immense brand value for every customer being able to get exactly what they want from the Bundle Buffet.
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online.(Click Home information) http://goo.gl/4P6GJ
Actually HisDivineOrder, on a quick second read through, maybe I replied prematurely.
If the games from the prior bundle were not Steam/Origin, then what were they? Physical DVDs? Some sort of mail-in redemption of a physical copy? If they weren't actually digital distribution codes, then it could be looked at one of two ways.
Either AMD is losing out on possible cost savings by still shipping physical media in the bundles rather than providing digital distribution codes, or they're providing gamers exactly what they want as there has be a recent rise of vocal minority gamers shouting they'd much prefer physical copies of the game data rather than being dependent upon download servers that remain online only at the whim of bandwidth costs and functioning internet backbones.
They ship a never settle bundle key related to what you bought, which you redeem online. They then send you CD keys for each game that your bundle entitles you to. Uplay DOES redeem CD keys, or rather, coupon codes (100% discount code). Games that can be redeemed on other platforms are sent as game CD keys for steam/origin.
No, they don't send physical media. Source: The Never settle coupon paper sitting on my desk.
Oh, so you're basically saying that HisDivineOrder is incorrect? And that all codes/keys provided by these AMD bundles are in fact digital distribution codes and redeemable by submitting them over the internet and getting GBs of game data in return?
This Guy has a point. Anyone interested in Shield will want an NVIDIA card to go with it, so this is a selling point. Not perhaps a huge draw as This Guy implies, but it exists.
It's not like this is a new processor that's 15-20% faster. These are two products my mates and I are interested in running. One won't run on AMD and I don't know how much gpu or ram I'll need for the other. I think that's a pretty good reason for us to wait six months.
It's like buying an PS3 to play xbox Kinect games.
"Although game bundles are nothing new ... digital distribution ... has allowed GPU manufacturers and their partners to get a lot more creative ... by allowing them to bundle ... yet to be released games..."
I bought my 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 at launch. The game bundle included full versions of Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Need for Speed 3 Hot Pursuit, and more (trial of Descent 3, IIRC). The thing is, Unreal Tournament wasn't released yet, so it had a voucher to claim it by mail. Clearly, they intended to release UT with the card but thing didn't work out with the "logistics of physical distribution" and the timing of their product launch. The disc had Unreal Tournament on the label but contained Unreal on the disc, which was very strange. The actual UT discs I got in the mail had full-color labels while the Unreal disc with the incorrect label had a monochrome version of the same label art. Many years later, I found an Unreal forum that was looking for an unreleased version of the UnrealEd (level editor) program to open up some leaked beta maps. Even though they advertised that every copy of Unreal included UnrealEd.exe, mine didn't, but it did have the UnrealEd DLL file that was from the missing version and they were able to get those leaked beta maps opened. The logistics ended up leaking private utilities, even if no one knew until many years later. :)
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HisDivineOrder - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Far Cry 3, I bet, will continue to be Uplay. That'd only affect people buying two 7900's though. But Uplay is nothing but trouble. It won't even accept a CD serial key.JarredWalton - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Even better, Far Cry 3 is available on Steam, but then it launches a special version of UPlay. Whee! Fun! Ubisoft's anti-piracy approach is anti-consumer, and the pirates can still download and play Ubisoft games through the usual channels.Fiercé - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
You're mistaken in that you think this is AMDs/Steams/Origins fault.Far Cry 3 has always been uPlay and will continue to be uPlay, as will their Splinter Cell, Watchdog and Rainbow Six games. That's their DRM technique and has nothing to do with Valve, EA, AMD or NVIDIA.
If you were to buy Far Cry 3 on Steam right now, it would download and install uPlay. Launching the game through Steam would launch uPlay, which launches the actual game EXE.
So this doesn't affect "only people getting Bundle Codes from buying AMD GPUs". This affects everyone who purchases a Ubisoft game whatsoever.
Regarding the new Bundle, I'm ecstatic that AMD is finally taking game bundles seriously as I know about least 4 people who bought entry level NVIDIA cards simply because they came with Arkham Asylum. I am VERY disappointed however that they're making me choose between Crysis 3 or Tomb Raider, as I'm interested in both and don't appreciate having to blow $700+ in order to get them.
If they were really smart, they'd have a website based redemption scheme where the customer would have to register/trade their email address for getting the codes emailed to them, with the website allowing selectable combinations of games based on the customers value motives. I'd happily give up the older 3 games for the newer 3 alone in exchange for purchasing a single 7900 series, and that capability in itself generates immense brand value for every customer being able to get exactly what they want from the Bundle Buffet.
FYI, I'm looking for work AMD. Just saying.
JanieMartin - Thursday, February 7, 2013 - link
Love my job, since I've been bringing in $5600… I sit at home, music playing while I work in front of my new iMac that I got now that I'm making it online.(Click Home information)http://goo.gl/4P6GJ
Fiercé - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Actually HisDivineOrder, on a quick second read through, maybe I replied prematurely.If the games from the prior bundle were not Steam/Origin, then what were they? Physical DVDs? Some sort of mail-in redemption of a physical copy? If they weren't actually digital distribution codes, then it could be looked at one of two ways.
Either AMD is losing out on possible cost savings by still shipping physical media in the bundles rather than providing digital distribution codes, or they're providing gamers exactly what they want as there has be a recent rise of vocal minority gamers shouting they'd much prefer physical copies of the game data rather than being dependent upon download servers that remain online only at the whim of bandwidth costs and functioning internet backbones.
Whichever way, apologies if I've jumped the gun.
xdeadzx - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
They ship a never settle bundle key related to what you bought, which you redeem online. They then send you CD keys for each game that your bundle entitles you to. Uplay DOES redeem CD keys, or rather, coupon codes (100% discount code). Games that can be redeemed on other platforms are sent as game CD keys for steam/origin.No, they don't send physical media. Source: The Never settle coupon paper sitting on my desk.
Fiercé - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Oh, so you're basically saying that HisDivineOrder is incorrect? And that all codes/keys provided by these AMD bundles are in fact digital distribution codes and redeemable by submitting them over the internet and getting GBs of game data in return?Paulman - Sunday, February 3, 2013 - link
I don't think HisDivineOrder meant an actual physical CD. I think he just meant a serial code (when he said "CD key").This Guy - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Nvidia don't need game bundles right now. They have Shield. And if there has ever been a time to wait six months, Oculus Rift may be the cause of it.GiantPandaMan - Saturday, February 2, 2013 - link
Huh? Oculus will work with either video card. Shield is in a whole other category and has nothing to do with high end video cards or their bundles.It's like me saying that you shouldn't buy a new phone because a new version of Office is coming out.
ET - Sunday, February 3, 2013 - link
This Guy has a point. Anyone interested in Shield will want an NVIDIA card to go with it, so this is a selling point. Not perhaps a huge draw as This Guy implies, but it exists.This Guy - Monday, February 4, 2013 - link
It's not like this is a new processor that's 15-20% faster. These are two products my mates and I are interested in running. One won't run on AMD and I don't know how much gpu or ram I'll need for the other. I think that's a pretty good reason for us to wait six months.It's like buying an PS3 to play xbox Kinect games.
CZroe - Tuesday, February 5, 2013 - link
"Although game bundles are nothing new ... digital distribution ... has allowed GPU manufacturers and their partners to get a lot more creative ... by allowing them to bundle ... yet to be released games..."I bought my 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 at launch. The game bundle included full versions of Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Need for Speed 3 Hot Pursuit, and more (trial of Descent 3, IIRC). The thing is, Unreal Tournament wasn't released yet, so it had a voucher to claim it by mail. Clearly, they intended to release UT with the card but thing didn't work out with the "logistics of physical distribution" and the timing of their product launch. The disc had Unreal Tournament on the label but contained Unreal on the disc, which was very strange. The actual UT discs I got in the mail had full-color labels while the Unreal disc with the incorrect label had a monochrome version of the same label art. Many years later, I found an Unreal forum that was looking for an unreleased version of the UnrealEd (level editor) program to open up some leaked beta maps. Even though they advertised that every copy of Unreal included UnrealEd.exe, mine didn't, but it did have the UnrealEd DLL file that was from the missing version and they were able to get those leaked beta maps opened. The logistics ended up leaking private utilities, even if no one knew until many years later. :)