CAN I BUY GAMES WITH ''RUB'' IF I DONT LIVE IN RUSSIA?

[OnGod]

HELP

[OnGod]

Originally posted by PsydeFX:

This brings me to a question I've had foe awhile but always forget to ask. What if I were to travel to Russia and buy a game for cheaper, then tavel back home?

No you cant the games will lock themselves but if you have a freind in russia he can give you a steam gift

[MaxThrusters]

Wow that would suck if games were "forbidden" that I had paid for. I know anything with nazi imagery is forbidden in Germany.. is probably why games like the newer Wolfenstein have the weird semi-nazi uniforms etc.

Anyway, back to the topic: I am aware that steam games are cheaper in Russia, but Steam (and other digital goods comapanies) don't want we 'rich' westerners to buy them there. I guess a $60USD game is like a month's wages there or something, so they charge less to avoid piracy.. and lock it up with DRM/geoblock. It's the vodka price: a game should cost 2 litres of vodka no matter where you live...so $60 in the west but dirt cheap in mother Russia! hehe

[76561198001062896]

Originally posted by MaxThrusters:

Wow that would suck if games were "forbidden" that I had paid for. I know anything with nazi imagery is forbidden in Germany.. is probably why games like the newer Wolfenstein have the weird semi-nazi uniforms etc.

Anyway, back to the topic: I am aware that steam games are cheaper in Russia, but Steam (and other digital goods comapanies) don't want we 'rich' westerners to buy them there. I guess a $60USD game is like a month's wages there or something, so they charge less to avoid piracy.. and lock it up with DRM/geoblock. It's the vodka price: a game should cost 2 litres of vodka no matter where you live...so $60 in the west but dirt cheap in mother Russia! hehe

Pretty much, they wish to somehow recup for the amount of lost sales due to piracy.

Sadly many people decided to make a new business of buying cheap RU games aka exploiting the currency difference and selling it for more, thus Valve stopped this loophole.

[Starwhite]

Originally posted by cinedine:

You sure that wallet codes count? The FAQ states "you must complete your next purchase with a payment method tied to an address within the United States". Steam wallet is not tied to any country, which makes me doubt it.

"If you are unable to make purchases in your current region, look for Steam-compatible CD Keys and/or Steam Wallet Codes available for purchase at your local gaming retail stores."

I guess I misinterpreted that part. Prepaid debit cards are also a thing. Dunno how Russian banks treat foreigners who want an account and debit card. :)

[wuddih]

Originally posted by Tycho:

That's exactly what happens.
If you move, for example to Germany, you wouldn't be able to access the games that are forbidden there. (Taking Germany as an example because they don't allow a lot of games there)
Or if you lived in Russia and bought a lot of cheap games and moved to somewhere else, you wouldn't be able to play them. You'd have to re-buy them.
Sucky but that's how it works.

that is incorrect, completely, not a single correct thing in that comment

i explained the Steam subscription model in my previous post with example. if you purchase torchlight 2 not in russia, you wont get the russian subscription. if you activate a gift that was not purchased in russia, you will not get the russian subscription. if you move to russia the subscription will not change to the russian one. you will have problems with the purchased games there if you move out of russia, but that is just like 500 subscriptions, so maybe about 100-200 games. as said, there is no general regions, everything is down the exact country.

what Steam, or better the publisher and devs, also can NOT do is:
- release a game on Steam, only one subscription for everyone. (world-wide version)
- add specific subscriptions for specific countries afterwards (DE / RU / whatever)
- change the subscriptions of existing purchases to those new subscriptions

this is simply not possible as it would be illegal.

in the end, you buy what you buy at the time and place where you buy it. nothing gets changed just because you moved countries.

"a lot of games in germany are forbidden" = a handful. if a game in germany is "forbidden", what this actually means, it gets put on a list and the only thing that list does prevent is public advertising and promoting of the title, it can still legally be sold "under the table" to adults, since that is not possible to be technically realized on Steam, they simply exclude purchase availablility in Germany, people are still alowed to acquire the game via other methods and activate it on Steam.