Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase

Steam is now offering a pre-purchase bonus for Empire: Total War, offering those who buy the next installment in Creative Assembly's large-scale real-time strategy series in advance of its release can receive a free copy of the Rome: Total War Gold Edition, which can be downloaded and played immediately. Empire: Total War is currently expected for release on February 3, 2009.
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51 Replies. 3 pages. Viewing page 2.
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31.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 18:43
31.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 18:43
Oct 29, 2008, 18:43
 
And you were saying Bhruic?

I was saying you were jumping to conclusions. And I was right. The fact that the conclusion you jumped to happened to be the correct one doesn't mean you were justified in presuming it.
30.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 18:25
30.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 18:25
Oct 29, 2008, 18:25
 
It is when you have every intention of canceling that payment when you are done with the "bonus" portion of the offer, which you clearly stated was exactly your intention.

According to the terms of steam this is not a free item at all. It costs $50 and you'll get another game at a later date. Non refundable. So rest easy Dagok, no one will be playing Rome Total War without paying $50 first.
29.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 18:22
29.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 18:22
Oct 29, 2008, 18:22
 
Apparently when you pre-purchase a game on Steam you are paying upfront and cannot get your money back I assume. The agreement says:

Steam - Purchase Empire: Total War (Preorder NA) and costs 49.99. According to the agreement:

ALL STEAM FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE AND ARE NOT REFUNDABLE IN WHOLE OR IN PART.

This is one of the only parts all in upper case so I'm guessing it applies.

No thanx. It's too bad, they almost had me willing to try their game.
28.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 18:15
28.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 18:15
Oct 29, 2008, 18:15
 
Taking something offered free is part of a thieving agenda now?!

It is when you have every intention of canceling that payment when you are done with the "bonus" portion of the offer, which you clearly stated was exactly your intention.
27.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 18:03
27.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 18:03
Oct 29, 2008, 18:03
 
Thanks for proving yet again the kind of scum you are Tumbler. As with your pro-piracy arguments, you are twisting the interpretation of the offer to justify your thieving agenda.

Taking something offered free is part of a thieving agenda now?!

My Pro-Piracy arguments? I just spent the last 15 min trying to find something on steam that explained what you are agreeing to when you pre-purchase/pre-order a game via steam because I have no intent on spending money I cannot get back on Rome or Empire.

Wouldn't it be easier to just go download Rome Total War on a torrent right now instead of spending my time trying to use the system legally to get the game I want?

You're a fool Dagok. You just can't see the forest with all those trees around you.


And can someone point me to a link that explains the terms for pre-order/pre-purchase on steam? I tried reading through the agreement but it doesn't mention pre-purchase or pre-order, it does say that all fees are charged in advance and if that is the case I'm not interested in paying for a game months before it's released.

This comment was edited on Oct 29, 2008, 18:04.
26.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 17:41
26.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 17:41
Oct 29, 2008, 17:41
 
Tumbler - And to be fair when I first noticed this I absolutely intended on playing Rome and then canceling my pre-order.

And you were saying Bhruic?

Thanks for proving yet again the kind of scum you are Tumbler. As with your pro-piracy arguments, you are twisting the interpretation of the offer to justify your thieving agenda.
25.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 17:34
25.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 17:34
Oct 29, 2008, 17:34
 
There is absolutely no argument here that would convince me that Sega intends for people to disregard the demo and "try" out the full game of Rome just to have someone cancel their pre-order for Empire when they are done with Rome.


Wow. So even though the argument you're not willing to accept is PRECISELY what Sega intends and is doing RIGHT NOW, you won't acknowledge it...

You can't think of ANY possible reason why a company making a game they are spending millions of dollars on would be willing to offer free incentives to get people interested in purchasing that game?

Really!?



And to be fair when I first noticed this I absolutely intended on playing Rome and then canceling my pre-order. If you think that is wrong take it up with the company offering the promotion. I plan to take advantage of this just like I did TF2. I wasn't planning on buying TF2 when I accepted the free trial and I ended up buying the game.

I refuse to buy a game unless I'm satisfied it's worth the asking price. And accepting a free game as part of a pre-order promotion does not make it worth the asking price.

If Sega wants to put restrictions in and make sure no one plays their game I guess they can live without my money and I can live with Rome Total War.

This comment was edited on Oct 29, 2008, 17:37.
24.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 17:25
24.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 17:25
Oct 29, 2008, 17:25
 
If that's how you want to interpret it, go ahead. I think it's wrong and is the reason we keep having privileges removed (like returns and refunds).

There is absolutely no argument here that would convince me that Sega intends for people to disregard the demo and "try" out the full game of Rome just to have someone cancel their pre-order for Empire when they are done with Rome.

If that were the case, they'd just release Rome freely to the public.
23.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 17:06
23.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 17:06
Oct 29, 2008, 17:06
 
His first post indicated he intended to cancel the pre-order after playing Rome.

No, his first post said:

Hmm sounds like it's worth pre-ordering, as long as I can cancel the pre-order...

The key word there being "can". Again, if I hadn't played the TW series, and was considering getting ETW, I would take advantage of this offer to try RTW and see if the series is for me. I also, if it turned out I didn't like RTW, would fully expect to be able to cancel my pre-order, which is exactly what he was suggesting he'd want to be able to do.

And if it wasn't clear then, his last 2 posts should now make it very clear that he is doing this with premeditation to play the game for nothing...He even states exactly that.

Again, no, what he actually said was:

And you're looking at this all wrong. They are offering this bonus as a way to get people interested in the new game. And in my case, it's worked. I'm not certain I'm going to buy the new game but I will be pre-ordering it to play Rome and see if I want to play more.

That doesn't sound like someone who has already decided to cancel his pre-order.

Again...if you want to "try" the game, get the demo and don't abuse the system. Enough people do that and we'll lose refunds altogether on Steam.

And again, this offer is entirely about trying to get people to try the game. Taking advantage of that offer is just common sense.
22.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 17:00
22.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 17:00
Oct 29, 2008, 17:00
 
Rome : Total War is over four fucking years old now. Why shouldn't they give it away? Not like people are clamoring to go out any buy it still.

I'd preorder Empire : Total War if they offered Medieval II : Total War rather than Rome. I have Rome and the expansion and played the everloving shit out of them, but skipped completely on Medieval II.
21.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 16:36
21.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 16:36
Oct 29, 2008, 16:36
 
You misunderstood the offer. It's free to pre-order.

I didn't misunderstand anything. It's the same with all their pre-order offers that include an additional game. Knowing in advance you do not get to keep RTW if you cancel the pre-order means you are knowingly abusing the system.

And I'm looking at this as a way to try something for nothing.

If you want to try Rome to see if you like it...try the demo.

You can try and twist this any way you like to make it look like you are doing nothing wrong and they somehow want you to play Rome for free and then cancel the pre-order. The more you try and justify it just means you know your intentions are not on the level.

Bhruic - I agree, but I didn't see anything that made me think that his decision was pre-meditated.

His first post indicated he intended to cancel the pre-order after playing Rome. And if it wasn't clear then, his last 2 posts should now make it very clear that he is doing this with premeditation to play the game for nothing...He even states exactly that.

Again...if you want to "try" the game, get the demo and don't abuse the system. Enough people do that and we'll lose refunds altogether on Steam.
20.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 16:27
20.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 16:27
Oct 29, 2008, 16:27
 
I think this all boils down to optimism vs pessimism...no?

You're worried about players getting something for nothing.

And I'm looking at this as a way to try something for nothing.

This is a glass half full / half empty situation.

You can be happy that people are playing your game and will be interested in buying your new games, or you can be mad that people are playing your old game without paying you...

Draws a comparison between piracy here because this pessimism is largely what pushes companies to add that DRM everyone hates to their games which only pushes customers away.

The idea of spending money was to make money, IE bring customers in...
19.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
19.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
 
At the end of the day it is abuse. If you want to play Rome: Total War then play the demo (if there is one) - don't pre-order another game to test it, particularly with the intention to cancel that order should you not like it.

Why not? That's exactly the reason they're making this pre-order offer. As was noted earlier, it makes absolutely no sense to offer RTW as a pre-order "bonus" to people who already have RTW. Therefore, it only makese sense to assume they are using this as a means to entice new players to try out the game. If I were to take advantage of that, I would only do so if I knew I wasn't going to end up paying for a pre-order for a game it turns out I wouldn't like.
18.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
18.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
Oct 29, 2008, 16:16
 
The game is free when you buy Empire: Total War.

Official Steam powered Page:
"Pre-purchase now and get "Rome Total War Gold Edition" for free today."

You misunderstood the offer. It's free to pre-order. They are offering the game free if you pre-order. Not buy. Big difference.

I think you and Dagok are trying to look at this as taking something without paying for it. The company is giving this away with a pre-order. They are giving it away. For free. They want people to take a copy for free.

The game sells for approx $10 shipped on ebay right now. It's essentially worth the cost of materials right now. The content itself has almost no value. You spend almost as much shipping it as it's worth in some cases so all this fuss about people getting a free copy is pointless, you're bitching about $5 that the company may not earn by giving a copy of this away for free.

And completely ignoring the $40+ they will make on each person who is swayed by the free offer and purchases the game.

Spending money to make money.

I don't suggest either of you run a game company. If you're trying to ensure that only the "right" people get to play Rome Total War you're failing to see the extreme benefit the company stands to gain from this promotion. (Even from people who don't plan on spending $50 or $60 at the point of pre-order)

Getting people to try your game is a HUGE hurdle for most companies, a foot in the door is what you want.
17.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 16:14
17.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 16:14
Oct 29, 2008, 16:14
 
Being premeditated makes it an abuse of the system.

I agree, but I didn't see anything that made me think that his decision was pre-meditated. It struck me as "I'll try out RTW via the pre-order, but if I don't like it, I better be able to cancel the pre-order". Which makes sense - why would you want to hold on to a pre-order for a game you aren't likely to enjoy?
16.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 15:57
16.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 15:57
Oct 29, 2008, 15:57
 
Even though Steam allows for cancelling of pre-orders I don't know whether than applies when another game is received for free as part of the offer.

Don't have a link, but I recall reading on the Steam forums with other pre-order offers that people purchased and got refunds on...the bonus game was also revoked from the account.
15.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
15.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
 
How is that an abuse?

It's a fine line. Pre-order, and then find out DRM is being added or it doesn't run on your system, ok. Demo would answer the latter though.
Pre-ordering knowing full well in advance that you will request a refund on the pre-order before Empire goes live just to take advantage of the Rome offer for a few months...yea that's abuse. Being premeditated makes it an abuse of the system.

Just like when game stores used to take returns on opened boxes. It was eventually disallowed due to people abusing it, which left legit purchasers with legit reasons for doing returns out in the cold.

This comment was edited on Oct 29, 2008, 15:57.
14.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
14.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
Oct 29, 2008, 15:55
 
The game is free when you buy Empire: Total War. However, if you play it and then cancel the pre-order then you're getting access to a game you shouldn't have had, regardless of whether the intentions are honourable (which they don't seem to be). Even though Steam allows for cancelling of pre-orders I don't know whether than applies when another game is received for free as part of the offer.

At the end of the day it is abuse. If you want to play Rome: Total War then play the demo (if there is one) - don't pre-order another game to test it, particularly with the intention to cancel that order should you not like it.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
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13.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase
Oct 29, 2008, 15:54
13.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: Total War Pre-Purchase Oct 29, 2008, 15:54
Oct 29, 2008, 15:54
 
play Rome for a few months and then cancel the pre-order for Empire (which also revokes the free game, you don't get to keep it if you cancel the pre-order).

That is precisely what I'm considering doing. I was going to read the details of the pre-order tonight when I'm at home.

And you're looking at this all wrong. They are offering this bonus as a way to get people interested in the new game. And in my case, it's worked. I'm not certain I'm going to buy the new game but I will be pre-ordering it to play Rome and see if I want to play more.

After watching the video clips on gametrailers.com I'm VERY impressed with the naval combat and the game in general. It looks like a more advanced version of civilization at some points. I've heard people really like this series but it never caught my attention enough to make me want to pay for one of the games. I'm a sucker for naval combat so assuming this game will run well on my machine they probably just sold me a copy by offering a free gift.

I would not have considered making the leap if they'd tied the Rome: Total War game to a purchase instead of a pre-order. Their intent was to get me to try Rome: Total War in hopes that it would encourage me to buy Empire: Total War and it's looking like they are successful.

It's possible that after playing Rome: Total War I may not like the game and may choose to cancel my pre-order. I may get to keep Rome, I may not. But their objective has been achieved. They got me interested in their game by giving me a way to sample it for free.

You've heard the expression you have to spend money to make money? This is a perfect example of that, they make an offer to potential customers and if done effectively there will be a percentage of people who become paying customers. Which is what you want. You won't ever get 100% conversion.

By your logic anyone who reads an advertisement, or looks at a promotional video for free and doesn't buy that game is abusing the system. Those ads, video clips cost money to create and put in front of you, and many people never pay for the product.

This is no different. They are putting Rome Total War in front of players in hopes they will buy the game. They are probably paying for this promotion in some fashion, or steam is, who knows.

It's all spending money to make money. This isn't a reward for people who know and love this game, it's a way to encourage people who's never played these games to get involved without losing money if they don't like it.
12.
 
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To
Oct 29, 2008, 15:42
12.
Re: Rome: Total War Free with Empire: To Oct 29, 2008, 15:42
Oct 29, 2008, 15:42
 
No it's an abuse of the system to pre-order a game, play Rome for a few months and then cancel the pre-order for Empire (which also revokes the free game, you don't get to keep it if you cancel the pre-order).

How is that an abuse? The only rational reason for CA to make this offer is to give people who haven't played RTW a chance to try the game out, and get them into the series. A necessary caveat of that is that some of the people who try the game out aren't going to like it. If they don't like RTW, it's unlikely they'd like ETW, so cancelling their pre-order would be the smart call.
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