Aspyr launches GameAgent online store
Mac games publisher Aspyr has thrown the switch on their online game store GameAgent. Somewhat similar to Valve's Steam, GameAgent allows buying and downloading games for your Mac. They seem to be starting slow with only Call of Duty 4 ($54.99) and a trivia / SAT prep game called futureU ($39.99) available at this time. But other classic Mac games like Stubbs the Zombie appear to be coming soon at $19.99.GameAgent also offers an Extended Download Service for an additional fee of $4.99. Basically, what this does is give you the right to re-download the game anytime within two years. So, if you have a hard drive crash and no back-up, you can download again.
One downside is that the game is locked to your computer, so you can only play them on the machine they were downloaded on. If you want to re-download the games on a new computer, you must purchase the EDS service when you buy the game. Even then, a given serial number can only be activated three times.
[via Macworld]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
reallycrazyguy said 6:24PM on 9-25-2008
What a deal! Full retail price, more limited activation and no first-sale rights. And, you get the opportunity to pay extra up front, in case the download is corrupted or gets erased (why would it get erased, it's only a couple of gigabytes).
Reply
Justin H. said 6:26PM on 9-25-2008
They really don't get it! Such crippling DRM measures are not only unreliable, they take away one of main reasons that everyday users prefer to buy (rather than pirate) software--it's easier!
When you have to jump through hoops to get normal usage out of a product that you pay for (such as installing it on an upgraded computer), it becomes a lot easier to get a pre-cracked version online for free and not have to bother with that mess.
Reply
aanidaani said 6:27PM on 9-25-2008
http://www.macserialjunkie.com/ lets you download a game as many times as you want with unlimited activations!
Reply
dukrous said 6:54PM on 9-25-2008
No one gets it, huh? It's simple...monkey see Steam, monkey do Steam. Valve has it right...the material is protected, it's attached to a single account, and you can download it any time you want, to any PC you want, as long as you're signed into the service at one PC and the client is running. With some prep work, you can play offline, too, by just signing the game out of the client.
This is why Steam has cornered the PC market on downloadable games and has multiple publishers, none of which have any other relationship with Valve, and their content for sale.
Until these guys realize that Steam is the minimally accepted solution that pleases both gamers and publishers by making the DRM as transparent as possible and still protect content, piracy will continually rank as morally acceptable to their one-sided, we-say-so arguments.
Reply
Ed said 7:05PM on 9-25-2008
Agreed. Steam is the only implementation of DRM that's never gotten in my way. Services like GameAgent aren't going to help when the games have the same pricing as retail discs and more restrictions.
War Machine said 8:20PM on 9-25-2008
Now if only they released Steam on Mac. I really wish I could play Team Fortress 2 without having to boot into Windows.
Bill Grant said 8:26PM on 9-25-2008
Sorry, I don't buy it. A $4.99 tax so that you can download software you paid for, for 2 years, for 3 machines, is acceptable? I don't know about you but I've used more than 3 computers in the last 5 years.
Frankly I don't understand why most publishers don't stick with the simple "register with name and unique code" method. For users that will do the right thing, entering the data will be a reminder that using illegitimate information is wrong, and for places that interact online they will be easily recognized. For those that will steal it anyway, they can do that with this method or the more complex DRM schemes out there.
Snap said 7:30PM on 9-25-2008
Epic fail Aspyr. RIP.
Reply
sonicwind said 8:05PM on 9-25-2008
this is interesting
Reply
dimitrios said 10:16AM on 9-26-2008
I have to agree with all the positive comments about Steam. If your download service doesn't offer what Valve does at a minimum then you are going to fail. I was kind of psyched about this service, because I was hoping for something similar to Steam. Then I read it and I was like, wtf and extra 5 bucks to download again. What kind of crap is that.
Do these people understand the fact that their customers do not live in a freaking bubble? I know what is available on the PC. I know what passes for good a good digital delivery system.
Oh well, Aspyr must be taking their digital delivery advice from the RIAA.
Reply
Weston said 2:15PM on 9-26-2008
I, too, was disappointed when I saw what this actually ended up being. When they were first talking about it, they made it sound exactly like Valve's Steam, not some steaming pile of crap like this.
Reply
smoke_tetsu said 6:42PM on 9-26-2008
I was excited when I first saw that they finally brought this out. I have been waiting for this for years now. But then I too was disappointed to read about the limitations. Even macgamestore.com is sounding better right about now.
Reply