According to reader Todd, there are quite a few customers are finding their “Orange Box” games have been deactivated by Valve because they bought them from a seller that wasn’t authorized to do business with US customers.
The seller made the mistake, but the gamers are paying the price.
Todd says:
This complaint is about Valve, a PC video game company which makes games like Half-Life 2.
This effects many thousands of customers.
They recently released a product called the “Orange Box”, which is a bunch of games.
All their products are activated online via unique serial numbers through the Steam service.Many of us bought the product (and hence, the serial numbers) legitimately online via well known international game stores, as they sell them significantly cheaper than American stores.
We were able to activate the products without a problem.
One week later, Valve, via the Steam program, inactivated all Orange Box games (after they had already been active for some time), stating that they are in the “incorrect territory.”
There was no warning or anything, just completely inactivated.The thread that was started on http://www.valve.com has been removed by the operators there.
I think this is absolutely reprehensible customer care. We paid for our products, and they just go and remove it without warning from our computers.
Thanks
-Todd
Here’s a thread of irritated Valve customers like Todd who are trying to get refunds from their international vendors (with varying levels of success.) Customers who have purchased the game a second time from a US vendor and are having difficulty adding it to their accounts are having trouble communicating with Valve’s customer service.
Date Posted: Oct/22/2007 7:57 PM
Rating: +1same crap here
this was my question======================================================================================
Customer (xxx xxxxxxxx) 10/20/2007 11:07 AM
Hello my cd-key was invalidated and game removed
i get a steam error
Steam – Game unavailable
Team Fortress 2 is not available in your territoryok so i contacted retailer to get a refund
and purchased a new copy at a local Circuit City here in Tacoma
but when i enter new cd-key says game is already installed log in to steam
but of course that doesn’t work and takes me back to
Steam – Game unavailable
Team Fortress 2 is not available in your territoryso i guess i need the supposedly invalid cd-key removed
so i can enter my new one
thanks======================================================================================
Response (DougV) 10/22/2007 05:06 PM
Games purchased in Thailand or Russia can only be played from those countries. If you purchased a game from Thailand or Russia and you do not live in one of those countries, you need to contact the seller for a refund.
======================================================================================
Customer (xxx xxxxxxx) 10/22/2007 05:37 PM
yes did you even read what i said?
and do what i asked you to do
guess not
What a mess!
Valve Orange Box for ~20$ [Fat Wallet]
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Where did the end of that reply go? Stupid comment system…
@Phildawg: Try getting support from Microsoft and they won’t support you if you are using it from a different region. The same is true if you buy computer hardware from an overseas vendor, you can’t get hardware or RMA support for said product. This is nothing new. Again, this is a Publisher territory issue not a game developers.
@skrom: Maybe if Valve would of let me buy just TF2, then I would have paid the 30 dollars US and been happy. I don’t care about the 2 hours of portal, I’m sure it is good, and hell at 2hours, I’m sure I’ll play it, but that’s not even worth 5 bucks. And who cares about episode 2? Honestly, in my opinion, the half life 2 series is WAY to drama and not enough action. I bought the orange box for TF2.
Oh and how did I get around this? I bought 2 copies from somebody in Virginia for 35 bucks a piece… 3 dollars more than what I paid for the Thai versions. And yes, they are U.S. versions.
@FREAKHEAD: Actually I currently own 3 copies of BF2, BF2142, and all expansions and booster packages that are from Thai. They work perfectly fine, I have never had trouble. So this must be something new for EA if it’s them… but I doubt that it is.
@gniterobot: It’s never been an established policy. It’s never been documented anywhere. The only time I have EVER heard of region locking is with the big MMOs and they do that because they have regional servers. Somebody in China can still buy the US copy of WoW. The can only play on US servers though.
@Phildawg: It is b/c Valve has a way to enforce it, they have to. I am also sure that people have downloaded a lot of games (pirated) and gotten away with it, but if a company has a way to enforce policies then I am sure they are obligated to do so.
If you have a problem with Valve for pricing strategies, then go ahead and complain, I understand that, but getting pissed b/c they had to comply with publisher agreements because STEAM gives them that power, then you’re on your own.
While I feel for the people who are getting screwed (Valve really ought to do something here instead of just cutting them off) people in general need to stop this ‘effing resistance to digital downloadable content. CD/DVD’s are a thing of the past with programs like STEAM. You have to install it (STEAM) anyway so what the hell is the difference? The only ones who should be demanding a hard copy are dial-up users.
@FREAKHEAD: Bro, what valve should have done is punished the distributor, not the consumer. I purchased my versions from Thailand, this is correct. But they were being advertised as for sale to the U.S. And until 5pm last friday, this has worked for EVERY SINGLE GAME out there! I generally buy 3 of each for myself, my brother, and my dad. I might only save 5 bucks, but for me it’s 15. On BF2142, I save about 10 per copy and this save me 90 dollars for BF2, BF2142, and Special Forces expansion. The booster packs all came from EA link.
Now I’m betting that these Thai sellers made a bundle off me, and this is the real problem. I am just trying to save money because I spend more money on video games than probably anybody in this thread since I constantly buy for 3 people.
@Phildawg: no… you’re the IDIOT who ruined your Steam account buy buying a cd key from some ladyboy in Thailand.
you will get nothing, you are entitled to nothing… except me laughing in your face.
You have no case, no recourse and your diaper needs to be changed after your crybaby fit.
As they say… a fool and his money… soon end up as a crying thread on the internet.
I only bought 2 copies of orange box because my dad isn’t a fan of the half life series =) incase anybody wondered.
I’m just trying to get a good deal, and I’m patient. I don’t mind it taking 2 weeks to play the game, I’m busy anyways so playing games for me at least is for the weekends. Now my dad and brother play during the week but they have plenty of other things to play the first couple of weeks of a release. haha!
And for those of you too stupid to realize, the reason some companies sell software products in third world countries at discounted rates is because the people there can’t afford to buy the games at American prices. It is not designed for morons to go and buy games from third world countries to try and get a deal.
Region locking is fully supported by various Federal laws. I don’t think region-locked DVDs and DVD players come with a legal disclaimer… they’re region locked and that system is protected by the DMCA among other laws.
Buying the game in Thailand is no different than buying a counterfeit software program in any country. They were both purchased for a use not intended, authorized or allowed by the publisher.
I have done some litigation work involving proprietary software/design… and I can assure you that this imaginary lawsuit would not even make it past the summary judgment phase… in fact it probably would not even get to that point because no lawyer with half a brain would touch this loser of a case.
Next time I would avoid buying software from Thailand, Nigeria or Turkmenistan… especially if that software requires online validation like YOU KNOW Steam is going to do.
If you sent $20 to some idiot in Thailand… then you’re not really in position to be calling others “dumbass”.
@Crazytree: Actually, since I was so delayed I never entered the keys into my steam account. I’m shipping them back to the seller, he paid the shipping and refunded my money. I picked them up for 3 dollars more in US from eBay seller in Virginia. It’s an inconvenience, but I hardly ever get screwed. Deal makers aren’t known to be stupid, we don’t pay full prices, those are the stupid people.
@Phildawg: “But they were being advertised as for sale to the U.S.”
don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
especially if it’s by someone in a third world country who wants your money.
protip: don’t send money to Nigeria either.
@Crazytree: You mean you don’t own a region free dvd player? lol and DMCA has nothing to do with region locking, haha, it deals with copyright.
I think people forget that you are purchasing a licence. If you read the EULA it states that valve retains the right to terminate your licence. So even if they bought this game in the US for $20 and valve decided it wanted to ban them they wouldn’t have any recourse. Its very similar to MMORPG’s ability to ban people.
@crazytree: I guess it’s not surprising that an anti-consumer troll would also be racist, but wow.
@iransofaraway: What exactly does “semi-illegal” mean? Other than the laws against false advertising, would you care to tell us which law has been “semi-broken” here?
@Crazytree: I admit, I am very frustrated by the actions of Valve as they are cutting the customer, when the one to blame is the distributor. I called the guy a ‘dumbass’ because he was being one. He was first being a ethnically prejudice by making fun of the naming structures of foreign countries. He then proceeds to talk out his ass about something he is completely ignorant on. He finally makes a comparison between buying a pirated copy for 25 cents of an OS and saying 10% off a retail international copy. I say it again, he is a dumbass.
@raindog: I know don’t you just love these arrogant bastards who, while trying to prove a point, will use racial, ethnic, and cultural prejudice to prove their point. Almost as bad as me calling them a bastard =) But I speak freely when I think the moment calls for it!
@Buran: The seller is not dishonest. The buyer is.
If these were actual copies of the game they deserve a big fat lawsuit. This is really stomping consumer rights if I understand it correctly. They need a nice slap to the face (Valve) and they need it now.
@Crazytree: You are correct except in one small thing. The reason they price their products differently in countries like Thailand is because of piracy. They sell it at a low price to prevent people from buying a pirated copy. It’s not because they can’t afford. It’s simply due to the high level of piracy. The buyers are all at fault for buying it from a outside channel not intended for this market.
@Phildawg: Err… you know you can buy each game on STEAM separately, right?
Why iss everybody complaining., the quote specifically stated that they knew it was from another country and cheaper then the u.s. They should not be blaming valve because they screwed up.
@Zunnoab: [en.wikipedia.org]
You should read up on “grey market” before blindly blaming valve.
yea but I own all the previous versions of the game and I want to play portal… I mean I would never pay to play portal for 20 bucks, but the orange box can be purchased in US for 38 dollars. I saved 6 bucks by going to Thailand = 12 dollars since I bought 2. I ended up getting orange box for 35 on eBay from US seller.
On steam they want 30 for episode 2, 30 for TF2, and 20 for portal. I really only want portal… and maybe I could buy TF2 for all the pc’s and swap logins to play portal… but that’s against their EULA. If I’m paying 50 bucks for TF2 and portal on steam when I can get all 3 for 35 on eBay from US seller… well it makes things a lot less complicated =)
Good point though, valve just mis prices their products separately.
@Hyland: Because it’s THEIR product and they price it accordingly to that the market they are selling it in will support.
@y2julio: ugh, they need a edit function. “They price it accordingly to what the market they are selling it in will support.”
oh even better! i could buy just TF2 copies then download portal on usenet, it’s all over there =) (I won’t do this, but really, the people who know how to find deals, know other routes too, we just try to keep it legal, as much as the developer wants us to =)
@Phildawg:
So make your Dad and brother buy there OWN copies and you can save money that way.
@Crazytree:
And they were probably more of a dumbass for sending a copy of their driver license and credit card to some unknown person in a third world country KNOWN for infestations of identity theft
I actually think its kinda crappy to just lock these out like this. Not sure if this is stated inside the games packaging that it is not for resell outside of said country it probably does but it better. As someone who imports console games I cant see were this is any different.
But the bottom line is this they should have never let the codes activate at all on a US Steam account if this was an issue and in violation of the terms of use. How do they determine if this is in violation in the 1st place what if you had someone that had a US steam account that got it while they were in school in the US or an exchange student that bought the game back home and is now connected to a US IP address.
Let the buyer beware.
Wow, somewhat hard to read this thread with Crazytree ignorantly flaming every person with the issue.
I agree with the guy up there that said while Valve has every right to deactivate these accounts, there has to be a better way.
Also, it’s not like these cd-keys never worked or Steam didn’t accept them. People were playing Orange Box for at least a week (and some Counterstrike players for years) when the killswitch went off on a Friday with no support around to answer questions for those involved. That’s a little dodgy.
The Orange Box is a Lie!
Seriously, I thought computer games were free from this region bullshit. So if I do some travel my games can get invalidated by my IP address just like that?
You suck Valve.
Yea it really is important that Valve at 5pm Friday decided to crack down on this major distributor (which is not Zest or the sellers, the distributor is the one selling the games to the stores to sell to us!) anyways, it was retroactive and hit folks who had purchased international versions over the past 3 years. It especially hit Australians hard because a lot of Thai stuff creeps into their stores since they are so close.
This is a distributor problem, not a store problem, not a consumer problem. A major warehouse was selling these all over as if they would work anywhere… and guess what? for years they have! It CLEARLY is not stated in any of my manuals! And surprisingly, most of these manuals are completely in English and can be almost identical to the US version.
@Crazytree:
@Phildawg:
I’m getting complaints about both of you — please take the flamewar elsewhere.
i mean did you morons seriously think you were going to get away from region locks?
the lesson you have learned today kids is that you never fuck with Big Brother’s money, no matter where on the planet you are, so do as you’re told dammit!
FYI, as someone who’s dealt with Steam customer support before, I can assure you that exchanges of this sort are not uncommon. I’m not uncompassionate towards the volume of nerd-rage they have to field every day, but I had to wait a week to get a canned response pulled directly from their support page (which I told them I’d already visited).
Steam is great when it works – I can take some of the greatest games available on the PC anywhere – but when it fails, it fails hard. For example, if the complainants in this story dispute the credit card charge, their Steam login will be deactivated and all of the games they’ve purchased thus far on steam become inaccessible.
I am getting a little tired of all this “anti-global” garbage. If I want to buy a product, why should I be limited to the “United States”?
If I bought a “comb” in India, would it refuse to work on my hair when I brought it home? Then why should Software or DvD’s do the same?
Answer: They should not. A product is a product is a product.
It’s time for the courts to get involved in all of this and let companies know that just cause they don’t like “where” I bought their product, they don’t have a RIGHT to disable it’s use.
@david.c: They never wanted you to buy it from the any external distribution channel. How hard is that for you to understand? It’s their product. They can sell it however they see fit. Why should companies revoke their right to sell their IP at whatever price they want for different markets just because you don’t agree in the price. They aren’t forcing you to buy anything.
@Consumerist Moderator – ACAMBRAS: Thanks for the warning. Sorry to others for my sometimes abusive comments. I am very passionate about this and my posts definitely show this. I don’t believe that any copyright holder should be allowed the power they currently have and then wield that just to disfranchise consumers.
@BigChiefSmokem: lol I like this post. It really is hard to stick it to the ‘man’ nowadays!
@y2julio: See though, this is just as silly as how people visting France in the 80s-90s??? could make a lot of money by smuggling over ‘Levi Strauss’ clothing as there was an import ban on it.
@y2julio: Until 5pm on Friday, they weren’t forcing us to do anything. Keys were revoked starting from 3 years back.
Heh.
Heh, heh.
You guys just loved the convenience of Steam, didn’t you? “Man, all I need is a Steam account and I don’t even need to reinstall games when I format my computer!” “I love being able to access my games from everywhere!”
Welcome to the reality of digital distribution. You own nothing. If you so much as sneeze in a way the company doesn’t like, they can take away your purchase and not give it back. Yes, you can get the EULA overturned in a court of law and probably get your purchase back. It’s not that difficult. But be prepared to pay far more in legal fees than you ever would have if you just rebought the content on a different account.
I’m not an anarchist or a socialist. I’m actually a red-stater. One that believes in property rights as one of the cornerstone of a proper society. Once you buy something, you own it. You don’t own the distribution rights, mind you, but you own the product you purchase. Most companies are trampling all over this idea, and it is the duty of any proper American to protect their property rights from them. Hack for freedom, I guess you can say.
Last night, I actually decided to read the EULA for my Wii. (I was really, really bored.) They make the claim that, should you use any non-Nintendo product (like, say, a memory stick that isn’t the overpriced Nintendo licensed Sandisk one), that they have the legal authority to fry your system. Not just that they aren’t responsible for damage that system updates might do. But that they can fry your system for your insolence. Go read it if you don’t believe me. Welcome to your brave new world.
Repurchase “the orange box” from steam, steam will clear the charge and give you all the games back. Essentially, they just removed the games from your steam temporarily. Check the forum if you don’t believe!
@thenino85:
I think you missed the part where people bought things in a shady deal that involved giving their personal information to people in shady countries in exchange for a lower price. I smell identity theft.
I myself am for being able to buy physical non-bootlegged products from any region I wish, but buying anything from Thailand or Russia is extremely shady.
Regardless of how they got the game they paid money for the game and for Valve to do this is pretty low. I mean they should be happy people are buying their games, considering the PC market and the amount of piracy. Well this why I don’t play PC games anymore.
I was one of the unlucky few to get burned by Valve. I wrote a pretty long email to Valve support concerning the situation, and I got a two line response from DougV that essentially said “sorry, nothing we can do, not our fault, get your money back.”
I just want to reiterate that Zest and Luckito are legitimate retailers, and many people who purchased from Luckito have already gotten refunds. Zest has been a bit slower on this situation, but they’ve promised everyone refunds as well (no doubt credit card refunds take a few days to process even from stateside retailers, nevermind overseas).
I won’t be buying any more games from Valve, especially since we’ve been treated so poorly. If you even try to create a thread about the territory error over on the Steam forums, the threads are immediately locked and deleted by the moderators, and there is plenty of precedent for that behavior occurring in the past. I urge people not to support companies that do business this way.
I bought my copies from Australia! I don’t think I made that clear earlier actually. But I was told by the seller his supplier is in Thailand and he just found out when people began complaining the keys stopped working.
I don’t fully understand how it all works, but I am fairly certain there is some big distributor in Thailand/Russia who was taking these products and selling them to many others, such as Zest, my seller, etc. They were then reselling the goods (you didn’t think Best Buy actually bought their copies of the games from EA right? There is a distributor involved).
Anyways, these sellers didn’t think anything was wrong until stuff went bust.
So please, do not play ignorant any longer. People did not just buy the orange box, and they just didn’t buy from Thailand. This is something that affects all steam games from that distributor but were obtained from channels beyond just the distributor. My seller paid postage and full refunds on all of his copies sold (he said he had sold 120 copies and was going to lose 5000 US dollars over this).