Steam Begins Pre-Loading BioShock (Updated)

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  Some people would rather not drive down the road and then mess with having to put a disk into the drive e... : PenicillinX57
  • bloody hell......how lazy can you be ffs.......LOL : elessar777
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  I like how Stardock does it. If you buy digital, you download it instantly and they mail you a box. ... : hawke
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    I agree. Charging the 49.99 for a non-box version is a fucking ripoff. It should be less or they should ... : duncandun
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      I see it as more money going to the people I care about (Valve, 2K & Irrational). : Sylvanus
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        LOL....ROFL....LOL! You realize these folks probably care a rats ass about you and more about their pr... : samduhman
        • Its about bypassing the publisher and giving more money directly to the developers! "These folks" you re... : Decepticon Matrix
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    "The extra bucks that are saved by skipping the distribution/retail cycle can pay for shipping. " You ... : lord cecil
    • Then why are new titles going to steam as well? : Decepticon Matrix
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    Your post is so great, it almost makes too much sense. After all, bandwidth isn't free. If I had a CS:S... : treefingers1
    • Hmmm did you know you dont have to download it every time you install your OS etc? I made backups of the ... : elessar777
• Well I can sit in my underwear in front of the computer and play it after already preloading it. : majinpsyduck
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  At the same price point, I would choose Steam 99% of the time. : crummynz
  • Same here. I'm bound to lose the CDs/DVDs sooner rather than later anyway. : mulu
• I like that with Steam I don't ever have to find my discs ever again... and I don't need to drive down th... : jake2000
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  Boxes and manuals end up in the trash and discs end up taking space. Digital downloads for games are much... : Serpico74
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    Not for archival. You know how every now and then somebody finds and old copy of TIE Fighter and they po... : SinistarX
    • I usually just download older games I have a craving to play. If ten years down the road I get a boner t... : Sapiens
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  Just because you fail to see the point doesn't mean it's not there :-P Steam saves you from a hassle of g... : High-g
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    I don't see driving/walking to a store as a hassle ;-P I also enjoy looking at my game library on the sh... : samduhman
    • It's all personal preference. Personally I don't care about the box. I don't have room for the boxe... : dantastic
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  Actually I think it does, since there is activation in the retail version you might as well get the versi... : ovrlrd
  • I'd rather have a cd check. at least there's a physical cause I can trace if there's a problem. valve has... : thebigbeefsandwich
• I think it would be nice if the digital distro just also included like a pdf of the manual or something. ... : action wombmate
• Well, I saw some games that do include the manual as pdf on steam. Wouldn't be surprised of Bioshock does... : gravitazz
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  I have do agree, but also for different reasons. I live in Australia where DSL is expensive and relativel... : popkorn
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    I do it all the time. I just start the preload during offpeak hours and it's fine. 18mbit isn't slow D: : aeg1x
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      18mbit isn't slow but I have much less than that, with only a 12 GB cap :( How big is Bioshock? Will i... : popkorn
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        5.5 gigs apparently. So, yeah. Surely you can get on some better value plans? :( iinet or TPG or someone. : aeg1x
        • Dunno about over east but in country WA westnet is better value, at least on ADSL 1, on ADSL2+ in city fo... : elessar777
• Steam is easier, plus I don't pay tax on steam. I can just download stuff without a CDkey mess and just p... : gnoleb
• Absoloutely agreed, in this transitional period of digital distribution I need INCENTIVE and they aren't ... : abrasion
• I agree with you 100%. It's funny that its so difficult for people to leave the house now. I just sto... : samduhman

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  This may be the title that starts me shopping for a new rig. My 4 year old PC has held it's own with mo... : coyoterys
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    If I'm going to get a new rig it will be for Crysis not BioShock. I can get BioShock for my 360. As muc... : manlyman
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      what makes you think the 360 has better graphics? the demo looked excellent but there were certainly pla... : smacknca
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        I apologize, I meant if I ran it on my current rig, if I even could. We'll see how the demo runs tomorro... : manlyman
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          PS. My system is a Athlon 64 3200, 1GB Ram and a Geforce 6800GT 256MB. Not even close to the minimum spe... : manlyman
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            yea I feel your pain. I'm a little better off so I'm hoping it will run decently but in the end it will ... : smacknca
            • Exactly, and even on Steam at a cheaper price. Its at least good to see Steam lowering their prices over... : manlyman
      • You won't ever find out how good or bad a port it is since it ISN"T a port :-) 2k have had an entirely... : elessar777
      • You won't ever find out how good or bad a port it is since it ISN"T a port :-) 2k have had an entirely... : elessar777
    • yeah sound will be awsome, I have a high end sound system too but sorry to disspoint you but Graphics wil... : elessar777
• Just upgrade yours, it's going to be worth it considering Crysis and UT3 arriving at the end of the year ... : Autocrawler

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• Well it seems to have been denying because my display drivers were out of date, if anyone else runs into ... : action wombmate

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  Reports are that on average 15-20 hours, but can even go as high as 30 hours if you explore every nook an... : sevogajre
  • Well, that's enough for me.. I just hope my 7600GT will handle it with 800*600 and 4xAA : gravitazz
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  I won't pay more than $2.50 per hour of entertainment. : jake2000
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    I usally draw the line at $350 / hour, unless it includes a BFE or butt-sects. : coyoterys
    • Good god that's expensive! : lookitzpancakes

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• agreed, though it's already at the top of my gamefly queue (with everything else removed) : dedgecko

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• Yeah, I'm starting to worry about that as well. After an hour it's only 0.6% : Dynotaku
• Might want to try restarting to get on another content server. : aeg1x
• My download went fine using all of the available bandwidth (about 1 MB/s on average)... The particular co... : High-g
• Mine is chugging too...I just tried restarting and it seems like everything has locked up hard...not exac... : Waverider
• Same shit here. : Priest77
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  ive got nearly 700k/sec : dantastic
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    me too... we must be having all the bandwith for us... : Bingo
    • me too it didnt take an hour. : barichnikov

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• Of course not, "Games for Windows" means that the game will work properly under Vista, support certain re... : High-g
• BioShock is not a Games for Windows live game, and it has no achievements for the PC version. : dahanese
• I understand that is the case, but you should pass on that that particular shortcoming is just sucky. : gnoleb

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  Nobody's said officially yet. I wish they would say one way or the other. I want the CE goodies, but not ... : jet-poop
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    locash said no - http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=14945247#itemanchor_14945247 : Jonathan
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      Well, phooey. I want the CE but I'd rather have it managed by Steam. : Johnny Law
      • Haha ... sigh ... apparently it just now became too late to cancel Bioshock preorders. Guess that makes ... : Johnny Law

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• Yes, this is an issue I've had with digital distribution since Half Life 2 and especially with Steam. Th... : manlyman
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  my savings will be that i pay in USD rather than paying probably 10-20 dollars extra price in canadian re... : dantastic
  • yea the no tax and no shipping would normally be enough to make me happy - except i get that with amazon.... : smacknca
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  You save yourself the hassle of going to the store. Hell, I'd pay more if they charged it just to avoid h... : bozer
  • probably not. : Pneum0
• They can't make the prices cheaper than retail simply because otherwise, the retailers complain and may e... : Autocrawler
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  Honest, not-trying-to-start-a-fight question: What do you think about Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart puts the sque : Schnapple
  • I think the difference is that it's physical distribution vs. digital distribution. Steam and other simil... : Bingo
• As has been mentioned, retailers would balk, if not outright refuse to carry titles entirely if digital d... : monofurioso
• Time to stop asking for this, because it's not going to come. There are benefits you get from Steam that ... : jake2000
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  One less apparent benefit of digital download is that you've saved the manufacturing of product materials... : Hyper-r3v
  • Thanks for the reminder, and you are quite right. This had not even occurred to me : rms
• I save 30% buying games through Steam. That's the premium we pay on retail games in Australia. : aeg1x

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  You can preload without purchasing. The game won't unlock until you purchase though. I'm preloading while... : jet-poop
  • Oh. dammit. : lookitzpancakes
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    Same here. But I doubt I'll cancel my preorder, simply because I'm frustrated about the $5 price premium ... : mulu
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      Even with 19%tax in Germany you just pay 45€.. so that's less than in most stores... : gravitazz
      • Sorry, I fail at math.. it's 50€ :( : gravitazz
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  For the CE I pay 55.90 € + 3.25 shipping + 2.50 extra fee because it's 18+... so 61.65 âÂ... : mulu
  • stupid reply button : mulu
  • the 18+ fee sucks.. plus you gotta be at home when they deliver or get it from the postoffice.... i doubt... : gravitazz
  • Yup, be nice to have o Steam but not so bad as it's a single player game. It's MP games I really like hav... : node
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    "2.50 extra fee because it's 18+" What the hell is this? You have to pay more based on a game's rati... : MR 9000
    • Kids can't afford $2.50 extra apparently :P : crummynz
    • Not in stores. Only if you buy it online because the postman has to check your ID... It's a fee for DHL. : gravitazz

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  What's your people's problem with 2K trying to cut down on piracy by having the game register itself once... : mrwolf710
  • Because some states (like Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, and Kentucky) don't have more than one tube of Internets... : xpaladin
  • I don't get this either. It takes like a few seconds, and considering how tedious it can be to type in C... : majinpsyduck
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    I used to agree with you, I thought it was silly and pointless to complain about it. then one day I trie... : smacknca
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      It's still the same today. You have to activate offline mode while online. Basically it's your fault for ... : zehh
      • * for not knowing : zehh
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        I don't have that problem - I just disconnected my network cable with no Steam running in background, the... : High-g
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          If you manually disconnect your ethernet connection, it works. It's the sure-fire way to have Steam work ... : zehh
          • I've had my internet down in the past and it's worked in offline mode. The only game I can recall on Stea... : K1Bond007
          • Huh? What's the difference with physically disabling your connection and internet "going down"??? Oh, and... : High-g
      • If there is no connection to the internet on your computer and you start Steam, it will ask you if you'd ... : ripper9
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    Because it's ineffective at preventing piracy and only annoys paying users? : Conan
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      how do you know this system is ineffective? have any games done it this way before? : pyide
      • Yes, actually, several games have required activation. Halo 2 Vista, for one. Did Activation stop Windows... : Conan
    • I'd rather that system than get 'CD key is being used elsewhere' . I'm looking at you Far Cry >:-( : shirif
• (Gets wave of nostalgia remembering the anti-Steam crowd of days past) : Vangoghs Ear

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• Very strange. I'm buying it anyway as soon as I order my new PC soon, can't wait to get into this game. I... : niceguynick
• Hah, wow, everyone was going nuts thinking the demo was tomorrow. Dreams dashed...once again... : hohoh0
• It was expected to be released the day *after* tomorrow, the 18th actually, or such is the word on the of... : Autocrawler

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• Not on Steam's page: http://storefront.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=7670&cc=CA : Bingo
• It's showing up as $54.95 here too, must be a Europe thing. Its also unlocking on August 24th too so ther... : amber996
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  *cough* play.com *cough* Much more cheaper, and free shipping to most of Europe. : Turin Turambar
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    If you're unlucky with customs (as I frequently am ordering from them) you can wait 1-3 weeks though. : yemeth
    • I usually have to wait 7-10 days. Which is fine for me, because i am cheap. :) I prefer to wait a week m... : Turin Turambar
  • Indeed, amazon does the tin box for 25 quid as well. : pieman

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• signed! Steam rocks. : vynn
• Agreed. Gimme Steam ... because how you feel can make it real : smegmar

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• america dollars arent worth shit they want your golden euros : duncandun
• It costs them nothing to convert our money into theirs, because they take it in dollars from our cards (s... : Beady

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• Yeah I'd get it on Steam over D2D (like yourself I haven't ever purchased anything over D2D) what with th... : Schnapple
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  I don't really like D2D with the horrible patching experience and installation hassles I had. I'm going w... : Autocrawler
  • Also, unless it changed, D2D had/has pretty restrictive DRMs on it. Limited install times and everything... : valael
  • I just got GRAW2 from D2D, mostly because the Best Buy I live near never has PC games in stock other than... : Bruzilla
• I got about 3 or 4 games through D2D, and had no problems. I've never had an issue with patching either.... : majinpsyduck
• I have a few D2D games. Never had patching issues (all regular official patches work) but my issue was w... : Matt Burris
• D2D only lets you download games 3 times before you need to either buy it again or jump through hoops. ... : Beady

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• I'm in the same predicament, I'd rather have it on PC/Steam but I'm pretty positive my computer won't be ... : boarder2
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  How does one define 'full out graphics'. 1920x1200 at 16xAF and 16xAA? Even a GTX won't run that. If y... : bipolar
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    4x by 4x or 8x @ 1280x1024 would be fine. The resolution commented was 1280x1024. ::shrug:: : Sylvanus
    • You'll easily be able to do that, I would guess. : bipolar
• Uh...what? Your computer is fine. Even better than fine, you'd probably get Bioshock to run better on you... : Jenga21
• I'm pretty sure your PC can run it. Though, of course, verify it with the demo first. : Autocrawler
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  Hm i got A64 X2 @ 2529 Mhz X1900XT 512MB 1 GB Ram hopefully i can run the game decent on most set... : swebarb
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    Ram is cheap right now, you'd do well to grab another gig imo : bipolar
    • >:( : Bingo
  • you could add a gig of ram. It's quite cheap these days. : Bingo

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• americaaa : steve_o

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• I was planning on picking it up, but having it right on steam means i'll probably buy it right now. : buzzbat

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• ugh, had more to post. Has the info of a Steam release been known or is this new? : mrwolf710

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• Midnight at pacific time. Hl2 unlocked at 12 pst time. : Iwannaacura
• Well, it was midnight for HL2... (or 8am as I call it) : johnsto
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  Last few things I pre-bought were unlock-at-noon-pacific dealies. : Schnapple
  • There's a countdown at steampowered.com that does seem to indicate Noon pacific as the unlock time. : dirge23