Evening Reading: Digital Distribution and You!

by Brian Leahy, Mar 01, 2010 5:00pm PST

Portal 2 evidence?

As I sit and wait for Steam to finally go live with the pre-load for Battlefield: Bad Company 2--it might be live by the time you read this--my thoughts turn to how much PC gaming has changed for me since digital distribution became more prevalent. As consoles become more profitable and retail stores began cutting back on shelf space for PC games, it was harder to snag a new game on release day (without pre-ordering).

Now, I can purchase a game and pre-load it so that the moment it is released, I get access. I've seen a few users complain about "not owning" these digital games or express concerns about their digital library if any of these digital services go under. All valid concerns, but I'll blindly trust my digital overlords for the convenience.

Make sure to join the Shacknews BF:BC2 Steam group by posting in the comments, which will keep you updated on any Shack servers and Shackbattles)

Tonight's Game of the Evening is:

Homeworld - "Probably the most atmospheric RTS ever made. For such a simple story, it managed to make a lot of people turn into big sissies on the 3rd mission. One of the last games to have a real manual, too." (Beady)

I too miss manuals! Especially now that all of my PC games are digital and console game manuals are barely three pages long.

Here are some videogame stories from today:

The PlayStation 3 is having some problems.

Analyst Michael Pachter isn't too concerned, though.

Garnett previews God of War III.

Braid creator, Jonathan Blow, details his new game.

Also, StarCraft II vortex nukes! (Thanks, Felraier)

Read all the News

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See All Comments | 191 Threads | 3,317 Comments

#1223

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By: Trips x Show Full Post

Reply

BFBC2 Menz!

http://veteran.battlefield.com/

So I drove home to my parents' house tonight to dig through the attic to find my old BF1942 jewel case so I could get the serial to claim some more veteran status. I login to the site, type in my serial (from the back of the case I had to dust off) and lo and behold:

"This CD-Key has already been claimed."

What. The. Fuck.

This case has been in an attic since 2003. Is it seriously possible someone used a keygen and random got my key? Anyone think it's possible to contact EA and get this game credited to my veteran status? This is really disappointing that someone could do that, preventing a legitimate, loyal customer from ages ago from getting the garand unlock :(

Mar 01, 2010 7:30pm PST

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BFBC2 Menz! http://veteran.battlefield.com/ So I drove home to my parents' house tonight to dig thr... : Trips
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 78 replies.
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  Keep trying. I got that message a half dozen times until it finally went through. : pyide
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    Tried clicking through 15+ times. No go :/ : Trips
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      Same for me - won't take either my BF1942 or Road to Rome keys. : ArcKnight
      
      Keep trying, spam the damned thing. It will work, eventually. : Beady
- Fuck! I wish I wouldn't have given away my copy of BF:Vietnam : MagicWishMonkey
- its ok you can just take it off the Tromblyj's body, then you will have your own garand :) : Iwannaacura
- I went through 1942 both expansions and bf2 and not a single key worked : Crimsonbeak
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  it wouldn't work at all for me, then I decided to try it in IE and it worked : lonepie
  - Just tried in IE as well. Nope. Were you getting "This CD key has already been claimed?" : Trips
  - This just worked for me. I was only able to add Battlefield 2 in Chrome, but IE 8 let me add BF1942, Road... : UtilityMaximizer
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  I cannot remember my BF2142 account name. I want my friggin status >:( : Sturm08
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    pro tip download the demo and make a new account. it still counts as regular : oHnOES
    - grrr I have soo many hours in that game. (but good idea). : Sturm08
- I just installed the 2142 beta and Battlefield Heroes for a veteran rank. Hope one is enough :/ : Arctic Fox
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  What do you get if you add these things? : DM7
  - ++ ePenis and I'm sure you get weapon unlocks on day one (instead of having to play a bit to get them). : Sturm08
  - some sort of unlock. and cool numbers by your name in game. : Iwannaacura
  - You can start with a few unlocks, also, your veteran status shows up on the scoreboard. If you noticed du... : Trips
  - Supposedly an M1 Garand http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/02/17/bad-company-2-rewards-battlefield-1943-... : pyide
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  I had a hell of a time getting all my old Battlefields to register, but eventually they all went through.... : wendigo
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    did it say they were claimed? : eeeealmo
    - i did this back when bc1 came out and i must have typed them all in a dozen times and each time it said t... : wendigo
- I would be happy if they fixed 1943. : Goncyn
- I've got all of the games sitting somewhere. I'll have to dig them up. : MacemanInTW
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  Where the hell do you register? All I get is a page with battlefield boxes twirling around. : PointlesS76
  - "Select a battlefield game" dropdown box in upper left. Expect to have your keys rejected. : yAak
- Yeah, you can contact support and get it sorted. Same thing happened to me with 1942. I just took a pi... : Onward, to futility!
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  all of my 42 and expansions keys are claimed too :( : eeeealmo
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    Its a glitch : Lightzout
    - yea it suddenly started working lol : eeeealmo
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  Once you get Veteran Level 1 do it really matter? : ant_hillbilly
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    no, I think it's just bragging rights after the first : Goncyn
    - Ah ok, I have level 1 now, but my cd keys were used already for the other games. Glad I dont have to bot... : ant_hillbilly
  - It do it really do : Lightzout
- No matter what I do, it won't take my BF2142 info :( : etherboy
- same thing happened to me. i got BF1942 and i think call of duty 1 or 2 in some WW2 pack for cheap a L... : oHnOES
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  So is it also impossible to link your XBL account with your EA account? A SYSTEM ERROR HAS OCCURRED : kill9
  - mine was linked to an old email and i contacted support. they fixed it within a few days, i had to give ... : oHnOES
  - I had the same problem when I got BC1 recently. Had to download the Fight Night 4 demo and connect to th... : dirtboxer
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  holy shit, i just retyped my BF1942 key for about the 10th time and it worked on the first try. they mus... : oHnOES
  - I'm still having a problem with it : MercFox1
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    so.. it worked on the 10th try? :) : delataur
    - ive been there a couple times over the past week or two, but i submitted it more than 10 times yes : oHnOES
  - yea mine suddenly started workign too : eeeealmo
- It works now holy shit : ArcKnight
- #1796
  
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  By: MaxPete82 x Show Full Post
  
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  Man, I wish I could find my 1942 discs. At least I still have my BF2 case, so that in addition to BF 1943 should definitely get me the M1 Garand.
  
  Mar 01, 2010 8:39pm PST
  
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  Man, I wish I could find my 1942 discs. At least I still have my BF2 case, so that in addition to BF 194... : MaxPete82
  - go make an account with battlefield heroes, and download the demo of BF2142, those count towards your sta... : oHnOES
  - It counted 1943 for you? I can't get it to register mine no matter what I do. : Goncyn
- How do you register BF1943 for the 360? : Serpico74
- i can't find my 1942 cd case = ( : Break
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  What does this actually get you? : Lunatic Angelic
  - m1 garand : oHnOES
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  Update: Success!! Just tried again in Firefox, and boom! It worked! Did use another computer though, with... : Trips
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    Mine keep saying the cd-keys are invalid. : ant_hillbilly
    - mine never said that, it always said they were already claimed : oHnOES
    - So did mine, try it a bunch of times, then try it in another browser, then try again the next day in both... : Trips
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  Uneccessarily infuriating : snuff
  - This is a great band name. : Wyvern
  - FUH-HUCK!!! : snuff
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  What do I get if I bought 5 copies of BF1942, 2 Vietnams, 3 BF2s over the years, dicks? : Lunatic Angelic
  - Share the love with Shackers that want to raise their veteran level. :v : Link.
- It's so close. Any minute now, i can feel it. : burning eye
- My local Office Max sells both Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam for $9.99 each, might as sell go and buy both... : Darkfox76
- Question Is there a way to unlink my Xbox Gamertag from one account so that I can add it to my other ... : Mad BH
- lame. still broken. : edgewise
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  Ugh, so frustrating. I have every Battlefield game (I know! I was surprised too) and has taken none of m... : mrwolf710
  - toggle
    Keep trying, and try different browsers. What finally worked for me was waiting 2 hours after my initial ... : Trips
    - It finally worked. I'm level 3 now...wish I would've bought a 360 at some point so I could have some of... : mrwolf710
- What unlocks do you get for this? I only found this reference: http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/02/17... : nomaad
- the site is all fu*ked up. None of my serial #'s will work. : mikefr24
- Tried with 1942 and Vietnam (yeah, I actually bought that) with no luck. Maybe tomorrow it will feel lik... : contentious roy
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  Holy shit, the veteran system is awful. This thing is a fucking gong show. I got my rank 1. Fuck it. I... : Rice-Rocketeer
  - hha, Same here. I got Rank 1 and I'm out. : jonin
- Took both my games right away now, must have been a traffic issue : snuff
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  Does 1943 not show up for anyone else? : n0v4
  - Yeah - I have it on PS3 and my account is linked to my EA profile but it still doesn't light up for me on... : dengar65
- This site, and trying to get the 2142 icon to appear, just serves as a painful reminder of how EA switche... : riptyde

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