Previously used keys for brand new steam games....

[thealien2000uk]

i have bought several games from game the highstreet game retailer and when installing from disk or using the code from inside the sealed game package Steam reports that the key has already been attached to an account.... i took the games (orangebox and dishonored 2) and they refused a refund or an exchange due to the seal being broken and the codes have been used..... what the hell i just bought the games from their shop.... i believe someone in the shop is "borrowing" games and keeping them on their steam account then resealing the games and putting them back on the shop's shelves..... any idea what i can do ...i did report the orange box package to steam and provided scans of the original code etc a while ago but i received no come back.... any ideas.... i try to avoid steam games as they are a pain when crap like this happens...

[suffolknwot]

Цитата допису J4MESOX4D:

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

Again, most of my CD games were never installed via Steam, so never appeared in my library at any point.
Its only recently since buying a new PC without a DVD drive that I thought I would try to add my CD based games on steam as I wouldn't be able to install them without a drive when I came across this problem.

Sorry OP didn't mean to hijack your thread.....

Your post makes no sense. If a game requires the Steam DRM then you have to activate the code irrespective of you using the disc drive or not. You can't pick and choose when to use the code. If you are using a disc with a Steam key then you have to use the code. If you then try and reuse the code later on without the discs then it wont work because the code has already been consumed. Discs merely act as property to house partial installation files - the code is all that matters to claim ownership of a game/licence.

Sounds like you are getting muddled with old games that don't require Steam in which you then can't activate them on this platform as the key wont work because it's not a Steam key.

Yep most of the games are old before I started using Steam, But I just find it odd that it says "duplicate key"
My thoughts were that the key must just be for CD version only but then surely Steam would say "invalid key"??

Also Discs used to have ALL installation files on as not everyone had interweb's! I can remember getting game patches on cover CDs from magazines!!!!

[Muppet among Puppets]

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

Цитата допису Muppet among Puppets:

Try what happens if you follow the steps of duplicate key to see if they are yours.

Have done a couple of time on different games - it says " click to send a request to the owner of the account" or something like that which would be me......

And how is it with these keys?

[suffolknwot]

Цитата допису Muppet among Puppets:

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

Have done a couple of time on different games - it says " click to send a request to the owner of the account" or something like that which would be me......

And how is it with these keys?

The same.
All that happens after you click on it up pops "a message has been sent to the Account holder"
I checked my email but no joy. Get the same messages again if you retry the Key

[J4MESOX4D]

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

Цитата допису Muppet among Puppets:

And how is it with these keys?

The same.
All that happens after you click on it up pops "a message has been sent to the Account holder"
I checked my email but no joy. Get the same messages again if you retry the Key

If the game 'belongs' to you they should be in your library as the account hold holder. If they are not, then they aren't your games regardless of you having worthless installation discs in your possession or you have another account.

Steam games with discs included still require the user to activate a code to add the game to an account. Yours have been added somewhere along the lines either by you or someone else. The discs are merely there for partial installation or as tea coasters.

[suffolknwot]

Цитата допису J4MESOX4D:

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

The same.
All that happens after you click on it up pops "a message has been sent to the Account holder"
I checked my email but no joy. Get the same messages again if you retry the Key

If the game 'belongs' to you they should be in your library as the account hold holder. If they are not, then they aren't your games regardless of you having worthless installation discs in your possession or you have another account.

Steam games with discs included still require the user to activate a code to add the game to an account. Yours have been added somewhere along the lines either by you or someone else. The discs are merely there for partial installation or as tea coasters.

Ok last words as I feel like we are going in circles / I'm not really that bothered about 10+ year old games / feel like I've hijacked OPs theard....

Hitman Blood Money, bought brand new on disc when first came out, I can install it from the disk - it asks for CD Key during installaion, enter the Key and it works fine without Steam. If I try to add the CD Key to steam (before I tried installing from disc) It gives the "dupilcate key" message....
My copy has never been added to steam while in my possession.
hence I think the earlier poster nailed it when they said that some old games cant be activated on steam due to different DRM

All the old CD based games I own and I've trested seem to work this way, But I can use my "worthless installation discs in my possession" this way to play them without Steam

Anyway enjoy whats left of the weekend people!

[Kargor]

Цитата допису J4MESOX4D:

If they are not, then they aren't your games regardless of you having worthless installation discs in your possession or you have another account.

I actually have a story of myself concerning other accounts. Now, I have a bunch of other accounts, but those aren't the subject here. Not too long ago, I got a Steamguard mail with a code for an account that looked like it should be mine, but didn't match any of my logins. I even contemplated the possibility that Steam had turned the old support accounts into actual Steam accounts at some point. Eventually, I just tried the login name with a couple of low-security standard passwords that I use on throwaway accounts, and *bang* I got in.

That account is older than this one, and even has a game on it -- I have no idea where that comes from, though. I changed the password and recorded the account in my data; I don't have a use for it but it's obviously mine.

Case in point, even if you're absolutely sure that "this" is your account, you just might have forgotten your first contact with Steam because it didn't seem important at the time. Using throwaway credentials on a Steam account is a clear indication that I didn't think the account would be important, like, at all. And when I needed a Steam account a couple of years later, I didn't even remember that one.

The discs are merely there for partial installation or as tea coasters.

I'm pretty sure that old games contained a full "1.0"-ish release on the disks; I even have a 2-DVD Steam game. The tea coaster, or even DVD boxes with no disks at all probably didn't appear until much later, when Internet was much more prevalent and games grew too large so disk-distribution wasn't feasible anymore.

[J4MESOX4D]

Цитата допису suffolknwot:

Цитата допису J4MESOX4D:

If the game 'belongs' to you they should be in your library as the account hold holder. If they are not, then they aren't your games regardless of you having worthless installation discs in your possession or you have another account.

Steam games with discs included still require the user to activate a code to add the game to an account. Yours have been added somewhere along the lines either by you or someone else. The discs are merely there for partial installation or as tea coasters.

Ok last words as I feel like we are going in circles / I'm not really that bothered about 10+ year old games / feel like I've hijacked OPs theard....

Hitman Blood Money, bought brand new on disc when first came out, I can install it from the disk - it asks for CD Key during installaion, enter the Key and it works fine without Steam. If I try to add the CD Key to steam (before I tried installing from disc) It gives the "dupilcate key" message....
My copy has never been added to steam while in my possession.
hence I think the earlier poster nailed it when they said that some old games cant be activated on steam due to different DRM

All the old CD based games I own and I've trested seem to work this way, But I can use my "worthless installation discs in my possession" this way to play them without Steam

Anyway enjoy whats left of the weekend people!

If you can install a game using the installation code then it is not a Steam DRM based game so there's no need to add it to the platform. You can't just add any old code and hope it magically adds the game to Steam.

In regards to 'worthless' discs, once again you've missed the point - I am referring to the fact discs which are bound to DRM's are merely used for partial installs. I am not talking about old non-DRM games where the product is contained on those discs to be installed using its code.

You can't seem to tell the difference between a Steam key and a CD installation code. Steam accepts Steam keys only, NOT CD keys. Physical Steam games each have a one-time code which gets activated on the users account. The game can then be downloaded via the library entirely OR can be partially installed using the data on the disc. Old non-DRM games have their data stored entirely on disc and all that's required is a CD drive and the installtion code found on the case.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Цитата допису thealien2000uk:

i have bought several games from game the highstreet game retailer and when installing from disk or using the code from inside the sealed game package Steam reports that the key has already been attached to an account.... i took the games (orangebox and dishonored 2) and they refused a refund or an exchange due to the seal being broken and the codes have been used..... what the hell i just bought the games from their shop.... i believe someone in the shop is "borrowing" games and keeping them on their steam account then resealing the games and putting them back on the shop's shelves..... any idea what i can do ...i did report the orange box package to steam and provided scans of the original code etc a while ago but i received no come back.... any ideas.... i try to avoid steam games as they are a pain when crap like this happens...

Not even steams fault. YOU purchased them from a third party. YOU are the one taking the risk by not purchasing from valve.

[thealien2000uk]

The thing is I bought the game in good faith a from a high street retailer as a brand new sealed game and due to the shops in store "policies", refuse to replace or refund... and Steam (even though its a Steam code) refuse to issue a new code... ....

Does Steam even notify the "old" owner's account of the code's use.... being used on a new account for example...

What happens if a high street store uses a game on their in-store demonstration computers to advertise or demonstrate a newly released game.... as I have found someone in "GAME", has used the games I bought on several occasions, entered the code and then after the promotional period has lapsed, resealed the game in the plastic they seal new games in and put it on their shelves for sale as a new game and not removed the game from the shops steam account....

This all seams unfair to the consumer to me...

There are plenty of "policies" to protect the various vendors and none what-so-ever for the consumer...

I for one will be watching out and avoiding Steam coded games in the future.

And I will be boycotting the UK high street games vendor GAME in the foreseeable future.

[Crazy Tiger]

Цитата допису thealien2000uk:

The thing is I bought the game in good faith a from a high street retailer as a brand new sealed game and due to the shops in store "policies", refuse to replace or refund... and Steam (even though its a Steam code) refuse to issue a new code... ....

Because it's not the responsibility of Steam. It's the responsibility of the vendor you purchased it at.

Just because Steam is the DRM used, doesn't make them responsible in this. Nor do they have to issue a new code. You didn't purchase it at Steam, you purchased it at a 3rd party seller. And no, Valve sees NO money from that.

Цитата допису thealien2000uk:

Does Steam even notify the "old" owner's account of the code's use.... being used on a new account for example...

They get an email that someone tried to activate a game they own. Nothing more, nothing less.

Цитата допису thealien2000uk:

What happens if a high street store uses a game on their in-store demonstration computers to advertise or demonstrate a newly released game.... as I have found someone in "GAME", has used the games I bought on several occasions, entered the code and then after the promotional period has lapsed, resealed the game in the plastic they seal new games in and put it on their shelves for sale as a new game and not removed the game from the shops steam account....

Then it's a scummy store.

Цитата допису thealien2000uk:

This all seams unfair to the consumer to me...

It is. By the retailer. Nothing of this has anything to do with Valve or Steam, though.

[crunchyfrog]

Your ONLY recourse is with GAME. Nobody else. Under the law of England and Wales, specifically the Consumer Rights Act, you can only return to the place you bought something.

Them refusing you isn by no means the end of the world.

You could do what I do. I don't ♥♥♥♥ around with stuff. If a store pisses me off, I don't bother with the manager or their complaints department.

I write a letter of complaint, detailing exactly, and politely what happened (providing any evidence as applicable). Pop this letter in an envelope. Look up their Head Office address.

Then address the envelope thus:
In the top left corner of the front of the envelope write "Private and Confidential".

Then address it "FAO Chief Executive" followed by the address.

This means the letter will go right to the top (namely the CEOs scretary will open it. And as the saying goes, ♥♥♥♥ rolls downhill. He's not going to be pleased to be bothered about this, so he shifts it down to his minion, who shifts it down to theirs, and so on.

YOu can guarantee almost that it'll be dealt with well and quickly now.

So far over the years I've had 100% success rate using this method.

[Muppet among Puppets]

If you buy a game from a store, especially when its a key, and its not working,
you can demand a working key.

They can give you the same game again (and there is no loss)
or they can discuss with the police what happens in their store that they sell bad keys for real money.

Tell them the two choices.

An dishonest customer would not suggest any of the two choices because he would not have ANY benefit from it.

The rule about no return of opened box is not about not getting a working key that is unused.

[Crazy Tiger]

Цитата допису Muppet among Puppets:

An dishonest customer would not suggest any of the two choices because he would not have ANY benefit from it.

Unless they want to get a second copy for a different Steam account or a friend, of course.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Цитата допису Crazy Tiger:

Цитата допису Muppet among Puppets:

An dishonest customer would not suggest any of the two choices because he would not have ANY benefit from it.

Unless they want to get a second copy for a different Steam account or a friend, of course.

There is a way to prevent that without bothering an honest user at all. Thats why i said especially if its a key. But its also valid if a medium is replaced with the same medium.

Why should users have to pay for something they do not get, just to hold up this assumption? In the end the key costs nothing actually, while the money paid is real.

[Brian9824]

It's also probable that they are accepting refunds for unopened games which is a big no no. The reason most stores won't accept refunds at all for games is because people buy them, open them carefully, redeem the code and then return the game after re-sealing it.

Thus screwing over whomever buys it next.