El ranto - PC-DVDs

[Huz]

Rrgrggh. While waiting for Steam to update its shite self, I decided to go and read about HL2. By following a link from Penny Arcade. That counts as in-depth investigation around here. Anyway...

It seems that the standard edition of HL2 will ship on six CDs. Six?!/!?/ But guess what - no DVD option available! To get the honour of not having to make six disc swaps during installation, you have to splash out for the Collector's Edition. Or get it via Steam. The latter seems increasingly tempting, even despite the second sentence of this post, but six CDs? What?

Why are publishers sticking with the CD format for gargantuan PC games? I'm sure the vast majority of PCs newer than, say, three years old have a DVD-ROM drive, so what's up with wanting to leave us stranded in anachronistic coaster-ville? Soon after the release of UT2004 in Europe, you only had to look at an online retailer that ranked its items, differentiating between the DVD and CD-ROM releases, to see which was clearly more popular. And yet the DVD version wasn't even released in the US, I hear. What?

Perhaps publishers are scared of having to spew out two separate versions of their games - though I can't imagine the choice of media being a big issue or anything - but it's seriously a pain in the arse for the poor gamer.

Incidentally, Vivendi could really do themselves a favour by making the retail release of HL2 DVD-only, I reckon - which fancy-pants net-savvy broadband user isn't going to have a cheapo DVD-ROM drive in their PC? - otherwise Steam really is the better option. I don't think Vivendi are really that bright though, so maybe I'd better start preloading.

[Roderick]

That said, the Half-life 2 Collector's Edition is set to be extremely tempting, so it's DVD for me. Besides, since I don't own Half-life yet, it's a good offer.

Still, they haven't quite gotten to the point of besting the World of Warcraft Collector's Edition in terms of overall scrumptiousness and delirious amount of goodies! Blizzard still reigns supreme in the Collector's department, and they keep increasing the yumminess with every release. This one even brings you exclusive in-game content, and heralds the return of cloth maps! Hurrah!

[Marek]

Ummm, the Collector's Edition is not that awesome at all. Yes, it comes on DVD, but it's just regular edition + HL: Source + tshirt + book sampler.

If you get the Steam Gold Package you get all of that, but instead of a book sampler you get an actual book, as well as Day of Defeat: Source + all games currently available on Steam + 3 posters + hat + postcard + stickers + soundtrack CD + Gabe Newell's wife (while supplies last) + some other shit.

Though perhaps it was Steam Gold that you meant.

[Roderick]

Yeah I meant the super-turbo-deluxe version. But I understand there are some forty-three thousand different editions of Half-Life 2 coming out. But I do always have a fondness for having pretty gameboxes on the shelve. And the HL2:CE-box is neat.

But still, cloth maps rule, as do hardcover artbooks and Blizzard on the whole. Still unbeatable

[Tanukitsune]

"Collector's Edition" is music to my ears...

I just can't resist the alluring call of a Collector's Edition...

I'm gonna get the CE as soon as it's out!

What's this Steam Gold thing?

CE and Gold edition are shiny! POING!

[toblix]

The Steam Gold pack is the ultimate one, and it kicks the CE up into the ass of it, lewt-wise.

Now, of course, there's the question of whether they're going to be shipping the Gold lewt to Europe, more specifically Norway. I'm guessing they're not, but hoping they are.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Screw the freebie t-shirts and all that other crap, I just want the game. If it ships on 6 cds, fine. If it's on DVD, fine. I'm not interested in Steam, as long as Valve offers separate patch downloads for those of us who bought the discs.

[Erkki]

I think I'll get the cheapest Steam version. I'd like to play the remastered Half-Life, but not enough to pay for it.

[jokemaster]

I'll get either the CE, or the steam gold. I like extra stuff.

[Simon]

Hopefully, in a year's time, the majority of PC games are going to finally be on DVD-ROMs (only). That seems likely. I'd be surprised if many people with the kind of processors and graphics cards required for brand new games haven't stuck a DVD drive in their computer yet. Also, they are pretty much standard with any new gaming machine you could buy now.

Even I've put a DVD-RW drive in by now, and I tend to doggedly stick with my outdated hardware until it blows up or begs me to upgrade it. So: get with it, publishers!

[Huz]

Looking at the Steam survey, over 75% of 'gamers' have DVD-ROM drives. And you'd think that these 'gamers' who play the original HL are more likely to have less good (read: more crappy) PCs than average PC gamers.

In conclusion, publisher HATE. DVDs are the future, mang!

[manny_c44]

Well, Blue-Ray discs are going to be coming out within a year or so, maybe they don't want to force a huge update throughout the PC gaming world (which includes the millions of 9 year olds playing the Sims) when a much better medium is shortly going to be available.

[Huz]

Well, Blue-Ray discs are going to be coming out within a year or so, maybe they don't want to force a huge update throughout the PC gaming world (which includes the millions of 9 year olds playing the Sims) when a much better medium is shortly going to be available.

Won't Blue-Ray drives be backwards compatible with standard DVDs, then?

In which case, what difference does it make?

HMM?

[manny_c44]

My god you're right!