Valve Responds to Foreign-Purchased Orange Box Key Lockouts

Valve has responded to complaints of foreign-purchased Orange Box keys being shut down on Steam by telling owners they are essentially out of luck.

Some U.S. customers looking to save a few bucks by purchasing the game from overseas vendors have recently found themselves locked out of the game. Although the games were purchased legally and activated without difficulty, starting about a week later gamers were met with "incorrect territory" warnings and unplayable games. Further, gamers who attempted to rectify the problem by then re-purchasing the game from U.S. vendors found the new copies still wouldn't run.

Doug Lombardi, Director of Marketing at Valve, recently responded by telling Shacknews that this is a normal aspect of Steam operation, and that Valve will continue to enforce regional restrictions. "Valve uses Steam for territory control to make sure products authorized for use in certain territories are not being distributed and used outside of those territories," he said. "In this case, a Thai website was selling retail box product keys for Thailand to people outside of Thailand. Since those keys are only for use in Thailand, people who purchased product keys from the Thai website are not able to use those product keys in other territories."

"Some of these users have subsequently purchased a legal copy after realizing the issue and were having difficulty removing the illegitimate keys from their Steam accounts," he continued. "Anyone having this problem should contact Steam Support to have the Thai key removed from their Steam account."

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Wow...I actually bought Prince of Persia from England (while I was visiting), and thankfully it worked on my computer. I guess I should remember not to do that again.

It's only an issue when you buy from countries with much lower RRPs than your own. England isn't one of them...though it would be nice if it was. :-)

I'm a pretty rabid Steam-hater to begin with, so for me this is just fuel on the fire. I'm buying a copy of the Witcher imported from the UK, which as far as I know won't have any activation limitations, but what happens in two or three years when every game is under some kind of Steam-style online control, and if you buy your game somewhere or some way the publisher doesn't like, you suddenly find yourself unable to play it? This is far more egregious than than BioShock activations fiasco, so where is the uproar?

There's not going to nearly be as much uproar from steam, people will literally bend over and put up with almost anything (see delays) for valve.

Isn't it wonderful when people just decide to bend over and take it? These games should not be region coded in any way shape or form. It is perfectly reasonable for people to buy games at a cheaper price due to exchange rates. It's also reasonable for people to purchase games (or anything else.) from a different region because said product has not been or will not be released in their territory for whatever reason. I wish sony would take the extra step and remove region coding from their movie releases as they have done for playstation 3 games. (and as hd-dvd does for their movies.)

I still haven't purchased the Orange Box because I refuse to pay extra for product I already own. Valve can spout all it likes about throwing in Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 "free," but the fact is that the Orange Box costs more than the Black Box was going to. It's driving me nuts to hear everyone yammering about how awesome Portal is, how awesome Episode 2 is, how awesome Team Fortress 2 is, but I won't pay twice for content I already own.

Which I suppose just goes to prove your point that people will put up with almost anything from Valve. But someday it won't be just Valve, it'll be everything. And you'll get in line and play what they tell you to play because you won't have any choice.

True, Valve ripped you off, but only after giving you what is essentially a very good deal anyway. Just about every gaming review site in the world agrees: Episode Two, TF2, and Portal are already worth more than $50.

"Hey, we'll sell you an orange for $2."
"Oh, that's cool!"
"Hey, we have a new idea. Let's throw in an orange peeler, no extra charge!"
"FUCK YOU! I already have an orange peeler."

The thing is, besides VAC-hacking, this is pretty much the only time I've heard of Valve intentionally disabling games on Steam accounts. I would actually have to say, at least compared to other forms of DRM such as iTunes (which expect you to keep track of your music after downloading, and keep it on one player) Steam is pretty lenient. The only thing I could acknowledge your frustration for is Steam's bugginess, which even I can't deny.

Episode 1 sold for twenty bucks. Portal is, what, two or three hours long? TF2 is great as long as you have an intention of playing it online. Guess what? I don't. Even if I did I have a hard time believing that those three titles are worth 55 bucks when Ep2 itself is only worth 20, but even if it's true, so what? I want Ep2 so I can keep up with the HL2 continuity, and Valve is forcing me to pay 50 bucks for it. Or I can get it over Steam, minus the box, manual and media, for the same price I paid for the first one which included the box, manual and media - not what I'd call a deal by any stretch, without even taking into consideration my own aforementioned objection to Steam's control over what I can and can't play. I'm not really seeing a "very good deal" here at all.

Also, bear in mind that "the only time" you've heard of Valve disabling games on Steam accounts is the same as saying it's "the first time" you've heard of it.

Merlynn: You know that Steam's attempts at lockdowns are very different when you see people PREFERRING to buy games on Steam as opposed to boxed, non-locked editions. (there's far more than the HL games on there)
Malygris: The best damned reviewer on your site is preparing to kill you with the Weighted Companion Cube. Just because it's two hours, doesn't mean it doesn't count; the experience is extremely unique and there's already about an hour's worth of custom maps out. Less than a month after release.
I'm also a bit confused at your adversity to playing online. Are you just afraid that everyone else is so obsessed with the game that they'll be far more skilled than a new player? (as is sometimes my fear with games) I was completely new to the concept, and now I'm dominating everyone; it's built to be easy to learn. Surprisingly, the online players are actually intelligent as well (no more of that "OMFGFAG" from Halo)

Also: Steam does not control what you can't play. It has an offline mode whereas you can play SP games without being connected to the internet. The only way in which it would be legal for Valve to disable your game is if there's a horrible network bug. (true, this does happen. But they do their best to fix them. And let's face it. No game code is perfect.)

Oh noes, big brother steam is screwing over the common man with its game bundles and anti-piracy measures.

Curse you steam and your awesome orange box product.

Seriously though, if your missing out on one of the years best games/game compilations over a few bucks, then i feel sorry for you. Portal is one of the most original and cool games to come along in awhile. The rest of the package kicks serious ass as well.

Granted, I never finished the original Half-life 2 or played episode 1, so i am getting the whole package as fresh to me. I don't think I would get bent out of shape about it if i did already have those games. It's not that much money unless you're super poor or something, which begs the question, 'how do you afford a somewhat high-end PC if you can't afford a game?"

Or, if you refuse to buy it out of principle, then congratulations on such high moral convictions. In the tradition of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, your steadfast refusal to pay twice for a game you already have will surely usher in a new era of understanding and prosperity.

I think I'm gonna go enjoy the orange box now.

Merlynn:
Yes,and those people are idiots who don't know about Gametap where you can play almost all the same games for 10 bucks a month. And that's only if you want to keep legal. If you don't mind breaking the law,you can just download games off the P2P networks for nothing. So in the end,Steam is already behind on service and can go fuck itself for all I care. The only Steam exclusive product they have that I got is the Orange Box and I bought that at the store. So tell me again about how Steam is this great innovation. I need another good laugh.

While Gametap and Steam have a few games in common, I fail to see Bioshock (activation-free by-otch), Call of Duty 2, Darwinia, DEFCON, Company of Heroes, Civ4, Medieval 2, etc. I actually have a Gametap subscription, and am already quite tired of it, as they seem to get the bottom bin of games for the most part.

Why are you encouraging piracy? Are you saying Steam would be more up to date if it let you pirate stuff?

When Steam first came out, it was undeniably an innovation; you can buy games over the web, and download them over the web, and update them over the web. It took things further by letting you install the game anywhere you could install Steam, as well as allowing for backing up your games, and now the new Community interface, something a lot of people have really liked. Makes it just as easy as X-fire in joining games, and supports more games than X-fire for ingame chat. (in fact: anything using directx)

Besides that I've actually seen some pretty low-priced games there because of a lack of packaging. Whereas Prey was $50 at Wal-Mart, it was $20 on Steam. SiN Episode 1, though shitty, once sold for $5. Even if it was only halfway decent, that's pretty damn cheap.

Steam supports any small, independent developer so long as they can create an EXE file that is fun to play. Many people wouldn't have their games noticed at all were it not for Steam. Darwinia and DEFCON primarily became successes through Steam. So unless you have some bitter hatred for indies...

Finally, they're not some corporate entity with a huge wall between them and their customers. Besides putting a bit of personality and sometimes office photos into their Update News, when you send an E-mail to Gabe Newell, the head of Valve software, it GOES to Gabe Newell, the head of Valve software. I have E-mail replies in my inbox directly from him.

I kind of doubt your opinions on Steam will change though...I'll try to avoid this thread now, so as to avoid flaming. Just say what you wish.

That was highly amusing. I want to thank all of you for making me laugh. ^_^

See, I just bought Portal by itself. Twenty bucks. If you're not interested in TF2, then Portal and Episode 2 are cheaper than the Orange Box, whereas if you are interested in TF2, the Orange Box is a good deal.

Anyway, region lock-outs are regrettable but real, and not worth public outrage. Refusing to revoke the keys so that people can play a version that they got in the correct region, on the other hand, is just plain unprofessional, and it's a shame it's taken any hoop-jumping at all for people to deal with it.

@Merlynn:

I find it very humorous that you imply that people have never heard of or have not played Quest for Glory and then dismiss Darwinia out of hand for its sparse graphics. If we applied the "good graphics are a must" to all games throughout history, we'd end up with a very short current list worthy of playing.

Also, your dismissal of DEFCON for having been influenced by WarGames doesn't take into account that it remains a highly stylish, strategic game.

I'm sorry that you don't like Steam, but that's not really an excuse to trash the games that are available on the service.

Whether I agree with Katana or not, I found your statement to be the more hypocritical of the two. And while I'm not in a position to judge who is wrong or right on the issue, I'm perfectly capable of recognizing and being irked by hypocrisy. If an older game can still be fun, even if its graphics aren't up to date (currently, I'm having a blast with Deus Ex), then I see no reason why that should count against more recent games done on low budgets. I would prefer their limited resources be focused on GAMEPLAY instead of GRAPHICS.

Disclosure: I like Steam AND GameTap, even if my own personal preferences tend towards ownership over renting.

I'm not going to make an argument, just wanted to let you know I HAVE played the majority of those games.

I played Splinter Cell, and it gets frustrating quickly; wasn't my thing.
Dues Ex is very good, and is definitely one of the better games on Gametap (and according to PC Gamer, one of the best of all time!). My save file got corrupted though, and whereas in a normal installation I would copy the save out to a safe place, or get another one off the net...in gametap you just have to reinstall entirely.
I played Sam and Max and that was definitely fun while it lasted. Unfortunately, it's not a game you can really re-play.
I tried some of the arcade fighting games, and my big problem was that they just feel wierd played on a keyboard. Metal Slug was very fun, and that's pretty much the only thing I still play on GameTap.
I also played Darwinia, and found it to be a lot more interesting, and while it isn't "flashy" graphical, it has nice effects that look really good to a graphics-descerning gamer.
Yes, I played Serious Sam. Felt like a nice Quake throwback, but after beating one boss I was just bored of doing the same things over and over. Felt like MMO grinding.
I enjoyed Heroes III long before Gametap, so that one's sort of out. I have beaten Beyond Good and Evil, and I own Psychonauts on Steam (so that I can look at cutscenes, and move savegames). Some of the other games you mentioned, I tried, and just found dull and out of my tastes.

Katana314:
Malygris: The best damned reviewer on your site is preparing to kill you with the Weighted Companion Cube. Just because it's two hours, doesn't mean it doesn't count; the experience is extremely unique and there's already about an hour's worth of custom maps out. Less than a month after release.
I'm also a bit confused at your adversity to playing online. Are you just afraid that everyone else is so obsessed with the game that they'll be far more skilled than a new player? (as is sometimes my fear with games) I was completely new to the concept, and now I'm dominating everyone; it's built to be easy to learn. Surprisingly, the online players are actually intelligent as well (no more of that "OMFGFAG" from Halo)

Also: Steam does not control what you can't play. It has an offline mode whereas you can play SP games without being connected to the internet. The only way in which it would be legal for Valve to disable your game is if there's a horrible network bug. (true, this does happen. But they do their best to fix them. And let's face it. No game code is perfect.)

Two hours of awesomeness is still two hours. Does it justify boosting the price from 20 bucks to 55? I'm inclined to think it does not, and I'm more inclined to be pissed off at the fact that I'm not even given the choice to miss out on it. The fact is that Portal is a side-dish, and utterly irrelevant to what I want: Ongoing Half-Life 2 continuity.

I might - might - consider making a purchase over Steam when Steam offers me a discount commensurate with the fact that I'm not getting a box, manual, media and whatever else would normally be included with the game. Until that happens, why should I? And my reasons for not playing online have no bearing on any of it; TF2 is of zero interest to me and that's all that matters.

As far as Steam not controlling what I play, are gamers not required to validate new game purchases from Valve over Steam before they'll run? I had to do that with both HL2 and Ep1, and in the case of HL2 I couldn't play the game for almost two days after I brought it home. If the game has to be validated or unlocked before it'll run, how exactly is that not controlling what we play?

shadow skill:
Isn't it wonderful when people just decide to bend over and take it? These games should not be region coded in any way shape or form. It is perfectly reasonable for people to buy games at a cheaper price due to exchange rates.

They do have to be region coded, any sensible company would do so. Think clear for a second here, I believe the OB was selling for 17 dollars on the Thai site, and all you need for a Steam game is the product key and then you can legally download it. So your options are: buy the game through Steam for 50 bucks and download it, or buy them game from Zest for 17 bucks and download it through Steam, there really is no threshold so of course Valve doesn't want that.

The price doesn't have anything to do with exchange rates, a European who bought the OB on Steam also profited from exchange rates. The price is so low because it's been made artificially low for a high piracy market, 17 dollars is not a price Valve can live off but it's better than charging 50 bucks and not getting any sales because then everyone in Thailand/Russia would pirate the game. The Thai copies are simply not meant for Europe/US because Valve/EA would be undercutting themselves. They have their low price for a reason and they should stay in the country they are meant for.

The only thing I disagree with is that the this has been done retroactively, people who had been playing their Thai-bought games for months were locked out. That was a very bad move, but as far as I know, that has been reversed and you're currently only blocked from registering a new Thai key in the US/Europe, but you can still use products you registered before this change.

And this isn't Valve's fault as much as it is the fault of the site who sold it. Because the box states the product is for use in Thailand only. Blame the store I say. The Shacknews article says it too, so nice objective newsposting!

Anyway, this whole region coding can be easily circumvented, but it's there to make the threshold of purchasing through those sites a little higher.

And what do you mean, with bending over for Valve? They haven't aggrieved me at all, so how exactly would I be bending over for them?

I still haven't purchased the Orange Box because I refuse to pay extra for product I already own. Valve can spout all it likes about throwing in Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 "free," but the fact is that the Orange Box costs more than the Black Box was going to. It's driving me nuts to hear everyone yammering about how awesome Portal is, how awesome Episode 2 is, how awesome Team Fortress 2 is, but I won't pay twice for content I already own.

You would've happily swallowed it if they boxed the three games for 50 dollars from the start and never even mentioned the Black Box, so why the whining? Ep1 and HL2 were originally added for console gamers, because if they haven't played HL2/Ep1 then they're not gonna buy Ep2 and if they have played it, it's likely they'll stick to the PC for Ep2. But if you add HL2/Ep1 to the package, the problem is solved. And then they were also added for the PC as a courtesy as well as a strategy (giving those games away to your friends will create new customers for Valve).

And selling the games separately simply isn't economically viable. You pay for marketing/shipping/boxes for three games AND you need three times the store shelves. The only reason a game like Portal was even made is because packaged it's viable to be sold as well as over Steam. A game like Portal would never be brought out as a stand-alone game.

Or I can get it over Steam, minus the box, manual and media,

Have you actually played any games the last five years? Boxes are cheap plastic DVD cases and proper manuals have been absent for many years. Retail copies are purely a physical carrier, they have no added value.

PvtRyan:
You would've happily swallowed it if they boxed the three games for 50 dollars from the start and never even mentioned the Black Box, so why the whining? Ep1 and HL2 were originally added for console gamers, because if they haven't played HL2/Ep1 then they're not gonna buy Ep2 and if they have played it, it's likely they'll stick to the PC for Ep2. But if you add HL2/Ep1 to the package, the problem is solved. And then they were also added for the PC as a courtesy as well as a strategy (giving those games away to your friends will create new customers for Valve).

Ah, sorry Hoss, but that's pretty much completely wrong. Have a look around; 20 bucks is the sweet spot for episodic releases, and 20 bucks is what I paid for Ep1, so where do you get this idea that I'd pay 50 bucks for Ep2? Did I give the impression that I'm stupid enough to have done it if only I hadn't been momentarily distracted by the shiny Black Box? Because I know damn well I didn't say anything about it. You're making assumptions that couldn't be further from the truth, and furthermore, your comments that Valve threw HL2 and Ep1 into the PC version of the Orange Box as a "courtesy" seriously undermines any credibility you might have otherwise had.

And selling the games separately simply isn't economically viable. You pay for marketing/shipping/boxes for three games AND you need three times the store shelves. The only reason a game like Portal was even made is because packaged it's viable to be sold as well as over Steam. A game like Portal would never be brought out as a stand-alone game.

Don't recall saying I had a problem with the three NEW games. Release Ep2, TF2 and Portal, charge 30 or 35 bucks for it, and I'm there.

Oh, wait.

Have you actually played any games the last five years? Boxes are cheap plastic DVD cases and proper manuals have been absent for many years. Retail copies are purely a physical carrier, they have no added value.

Okay, let me see if I understand you: Packaging, documentation, media, shipping costs and stocking fees add nothing to the cost of the game, so therefore it's perfectly reasonable that we pay exactly the same price with or without these extra components?

See, there's that credibility thing again.

Yes, the store in Thailand acted in bad faith. However, Valve did so as well. After reviewing the STEAM ToS and EULA for Orange Box titles, nowhere does it state anything about region locks. If this was so important to Valve, why have they not included any language about it in either end user agreement? It seems like Valve could have handled this in a more diplomatic fashion. Instead they acted like a jilted lover, completely irrationally.

Malygris, I think your target price of 30-35 dollars for the "Black Box" is a little unreasonable. First, you imply 20 for Ep2, then state 30-35 for all three? TF2 and Portal combined are only worth 10-15 bucks? Maybe to you, TF2 is worthless because you don't want to play online, but that doesn't mean Valve should give it to you for free.

I'm more of the view that the "Black Box" should've (and really, did) cost 50: 20 for Ep2, 20 for TF2, and ~10 for Portal, or maybe split TF2 and Portal 15/15. And all would've been well with the world, if they'd just priced the stand-alones at those prices, instead of artificially raising them to push the Orange Box. Then you could've bought the two you might've cared about, Ep2 and Portal, and only spent 30-35, while the rest of us could've bought the Orange Box, gotten all 3 that we wanted, and been given spare copies of HL2 and Ep1 to throw to our buddies who've apparently been living under the proverbial gaming rock for the last few years.

You and I both know that nobody's "paying" for HL2 and Ep1 again. They threw those in because they had to on the consoles, and because the alternatives on the PC were less than palatable. But, people are being forced to buy all 3 "NEW" games together, with no reasonable alternative for picking and choosing. From day 1, I've not understood the rage over the inclusion of HL2 and Ep1, but I am 100% sympathetic to those who've been caught between a rock and a forced bundle of games they may not want.