AbsolutSurgen Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: A comment in the link I posted above suggested that EA games are among those most likely to be revoked. Buying direct isn't the only way to source keys on those storefronts. Origin is an EA owned store front, and the games sold by CDKEYS are primarily ones published by EA. EA is the only source of those keys. If CDKeys were regularly sourcing their EA keys through scams (using stolen credit card numbers, etc.) like someone like G2A or Kinguin, they wouldn't have the reputation they have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 8 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said: Origin is an EA owned store front, and the games sold by CDKEYS are primarily ones published by EA. EA is the only source of those keys. If CDKeys were regularly sourcing their EA keys through scams (using stolen credit card numbers, etc.) like someone like G2A or Kinguin, they wouldn't have the reputation they have. See my previous edit. EA, according to them, does not sell to CDKeys. If there are scams and revoked keys, its happening because of fraud at the sale from retailers the keys are being sold from. May not be a regular occurrence, but its not as air tight and direct as the authorized resellers are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysDyingX Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 19 hours ago, TheLeon said: The general answer to “where do I buy a game for the Deck?” is Steam. Keep it simple. HARD DISAGREE unless you're some weirdo Steam Stan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysDyingX Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 11 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: @TheLeon is on the right track here. Yes you can save a couple of bucks here and there but if you go to these external sites you really got to read the fine print. Best could wind up getting an EGS code or something and then he'd be back here saying, "I bought game from X and the code won't work on my deck" and we will jump through all this trouble solving to find out he bought a code for the Mac or something. Steam is cheap enough and very simple for what he has. Stop it. What fine print? If he buys an EGS code its easy enough to install on steam deck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysDyingX Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 5 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: See my previous edit. EA, according to them, does not sell to CDKeys. If there are scams and revoked keys, its happening because of fraud at the sale from retailers the keys are being sold from. May not be a regular occurrence, but its not as air tight and direct as the authorized retailers are. I,ve been using CD keys since I started PC gaming 8 years ago. Never a single issue including EA games. Stop making them out to be some boogie man. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 39 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: My understanding is that they source their keys in the cheapest way possible, basically sourcing keys from cheaper regions. Perhaps bundles as well? Like you say, its grey market, not black. They buy their keys in bulk from various retailers/sources. Legally. 39 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: It's rare, but you can find examples of their keys being revoked. If you google long enough you'll find GMG purchases being revoked too: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 8 minutes ago, BasemntDweller2 said: I,ve been using CD keys since I started PC gaming 8 years ago. Never a single issue including EA games. Stop making them out to be some boogie man. There's nothing wrong with painting an honest picture. Revokes from them are extremely rare, but as I linked, can happen. GMG is currently a legitimate reseller that has been caught selling improperly sourced keys in the past. They've since added a "Source" to game descriptions to specify exactly where they aquired their keys from. That was enough to put them back in the good graces of places like r/gamedeals that keeps tabs on this sort of thing. CDKeys is basically like them before that, only AFAIK, the publishers don't sell to them directly. It's not enough to say they must have those relationships because they sell keys from fringe storefronts. Gotta present evidence to support such a claim. 3 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: If you google long enough you'll find GMG purchases being revoked too: Funny that you posted this after I wrote out my response. They've had their share of troubles too, but should be completely kosher now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysDyingX Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: There's nothing wrong with painting an honest picture. Revokes from them are extremely rare, but as I linked, can happen. GMG is a legitimate reseller that has been caught selling improperly sourced keys in the past. They've since added a "Source" to game descriptions to specify exactly where they aquired their keys from. CDKeys is basically like them before that, only AFAIK, the publishers don't sell to them directly. It's not enough to say they must have those relationships because they sell keys from fringe storefronts. Gotta present more evidence to support such a claim. You posted a reddit thread from 2 years ago from one person as your "painted honest picture" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, BasemntDweller2 said: You posted a reddit thread from 2 years ago from one person as your "painted honest picture" Not an isolated occurrence. Again, as I've said before, this is apparently rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 6 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: but should be completely kosher now. Your CDKeys example was almost as old as the GMG one and the one in your post above is 7 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeon Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 9 minutes ago, BasemntDweller2 said: HARD DISAGREE unless you're some weirdo Steam Stan. I tried to clarify this in later posts. He was looking to buy a game for his Deck without even knowing if it was available on Steam. He’s new to all this. Although this thread is making me realize that I almost never buy PC games unless they’re on sale anyway, and I haven’t been super active in the PC space in several years (and when I was Steam sales were a little more competitive) so I might have a skewed perspective. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 6 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: There's nothing wrong with painting an honest picture. I guess the problem many ITT are having is that your "honest picture" seems to be from a personal bias? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 5 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Your CDKeys example was almost as old as the GMG one. If CDKeys explained where they sourced their keys for each game, I'd be more inclined to put them on the same pedestal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, Spork3245 said: I guess the problem many ITT are having is that your "honest picture" seems to be from a personal bias? I have a bias that grey markets are grey, yes. All this is to illustrate that they're not white. As was suggested with Microsoft/EA/etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: All this is to illustrate that they're not white. As was suggested with Microsoft/EA/etc. No one claimed they were. The claim was that they are typically as safe (as anywhere else) to buy from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, Spork3245 said: No one claimed they were. 50 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said: They resell keys from MS, Rockstar and EA -- so we know they are buying in bulk from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: Which was after your initial posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, Spork3245 said: Which was after your initial posts. And that literally makes no difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, crispy4000 said: And that literally makes no difference. It does. Your initial "don't buy from CDKeys!" post prompted @AbsolutSurgenpossibly incorrect statement. You claimed that your posts here were only to "illustrate that [CDKeys is] not white [market]", however, that claim came afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 19 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: It does. Your initial "don't buy from CDKeys!" post prompted @AbsolutSurgenpossibly incorrect statement. You claimed that your posts here were only to "illustrate that [CDKeys is] not white [market]", however, that claim came afterwards. You’re absolutely the worst here about twisting words: 3 hours ago, crispy4000 said: CD Keys isn't an authorized reseller, meaning they have no relationship with publishers. You're probably fine to use it, but it's technically grey market. “don’t buy from CDKeys!” my ass. I may have a slightly different take than you, but that’s no excuse to lump me into a hardline position I never took. Read me correctly there, and the rest of my responses should make more sense. I’m even willing to entertain that CDKeys could source some keys from publishers. I just want to see the proof if that is in fact true. It doesn’t seem to be a consensus anywhere I’ve looked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 2 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: You’re absolutely the worst here about twisting words: “don’t buy from CDKeys!” my ass. I may have a slightly different take than you, but that’s no excuse to lump me into a hardline position I never took. Read me correctly there, and the rest of my responses should make more sense. I’m even willing to entertain that CDKeys could source some keys from publishers. I just want to see the proof if that is in fact true. It just doesn’t seem to be a consensus anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 I think it’s best to point someone new to the PC ecosystem to Steam first, and the authorized resellers. You can climb down the ladder of directness from there as desired. We’d all advocate for staying away from peer-to-peer and sketch sellers like G2A. Truth be told, I hardly ever use GMG because I almost never buy new PC games. They don’t bundle games as often, so I tend to ignore them. If I did buy new PC games more, I might be inclined to use CDKeys, but maybe not if the discount wasn’t much more than GMG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 8 minutes ago, crispy4000 said: I think it’s fair to point someone new to the PC ecosystem to Steam and the authorized resellers first. You can climb down the ladder of directness from there as desired. I disagree, I believe the biggest plus of PC gaming is the "cheapness" of which you can obtain (legal) keys. With older games you're correct in where the discounts wind up being similar across all third party platforms. However, sellers like CDKeys should absolutely be shown to those newer to PC gaming, as well as how to navigate which platform you're buying on (tbh, CDKeys listing of which platform the key is for is more straight forward than GMGs IMO as GMG puts it in the corner as "DRM type"). It's fine to note that one is a direct/authorized reseller whereas the other buys keys in bulk from various sources, but putting fear into it with posts about keys getting revoked, even when noting it's rare, does nothing but confuse people new to this gaming platform, especially when both GMG and Humble have seemingly had the same issues in the same time frames (all of it being rare, though certainly not isolated). As you noted, though, the biggest plus of CDKeys is typically for newer games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 59 minutes ago, BasemntDweller2 said: Stop it. What fine print? If he buys an EGS code its easy enough to install on steam deck Look man. I don't want to insult best but just go read the OLED thread and that's all I have to say. Easy for you maybe, but keeping it simple for best right now is the best (no pun intended) course of action. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, Keyser_Soze said: Look man. I don't want to insult best but just go read the OLED thread and that's all I have to say. Easy for you maybe, but keeping it simple for best right now is the best (no pun intended) course of action. Yea, @best3444 should 100% only be buying keys for Steam Also... BS, that pun was definitely intended! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 4 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Also... BS, that pun was definitely intended! Only after I wrote it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 4 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Yea, @best3444 should 100% only be buying keys for Steam TBH, the few times I tried to play EGS games on my Steam Deck, I didn't particularly like the experience. I had more performance issues, and I decided it really wasn't worth the hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, AbsolutSurgen said: TBH, the few times I tried to play EGS games on my Steam Deck, I didn't particularly like the experience. I had more performance issues, and I decided it really wasn't worth the hassle. I'm concerned about him even trying to cross-load Windows tbh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 9 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: I disagree, I believe the biggest plus of PC gaming is the "cheapness" of which you can obtain (legal) keys. With older games you're correct in where the discounts wind up being similar across all third party platforms. However, sellers like CDKeys should absolutely be shown to those newer to PC gaming, as well as how to navigate which platform you're buying on (tbh, CDKeys listing of which platform the key is for is more straight forward than GMGs IMO as GMG puts it in the corner as "DRM type"). It's fine to note that one is a direct/authorized reseller whereas the other buys keys in bulk from various sources, but putting fear into it with posts about keys getting revoked, even when noting it's rare, does nothing but confuse people new to this gaming platform, especially when both GMG and Humble have seemingly had the same issues in the same time frames (all of it being rare, though certainly not isolated). As you noted, though, the biggest plus of CDKeys is typically for newer games. The savings on new games is significant, and is hard to ignore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, Spork3245 said: I'm concerned about him even trying to cross-load Windows tbh I was using the Heroic Games Launcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 24 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: It's fine to note that one is a direct/authorized reseller whereas the other buys keys in bulk from various sources, but putting fear into it with posts about keys getting revoked, even when noting it's rare, does nothing but confuse people new to this gaming platform, especially when both GMG and Humble have seemingly had the same issues in the same time frames (all of it being rare, though certainly not isolated). I’m always going to be more skeptical of CDKeys on that front given the region-buying methods that are likely at the center of their business model. It’s equally fair to say their customer service has a solid reputation, as much as GMG and Humble. The worst tends to happen when region locked keys aren’t disclosed, but they’ve all gotten better at that thankfully. For ease of use, the Enhanced Steam app is my highest recommendation. It won’t give price history of CDkeys, but as a general overview of bundles and authorized storefront pricing, it’s a must. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 My opinion: I wouldn’t mess with most other ways of buying games besides the Steam store with the exception of cdkeys until they are more familiar with pc gaming. But I think cdkeys is fine. All you ever have to do is click on the game in cdkeys and look at this picture: If it matches those two highlighted sections, I can’t think of any situation you wouldn’t be good to go with purchasing that and adding it to deck. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 10 minutes ago, stepee said: My opinion: I wouldn’t mess with most other ways of buying games besides the Steam store with the exception of cdkeys until they are more familiar with pc gaming. But I think cdkeys is fine. All you ever have to do is click on the game in cdkeys and look at this picture: If it matches those two highlighted sections, I can’t think of any situation you wouldn’t be good to go with purchasing that and adding it to deck. GMG and Fanatical are just as easy -- although the savings aren't usually as significant on new releases as CDKeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 I basically buy from whoever is cheapest. I don't care who gets my money... as long as they get the least amount possible 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 6 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said: GMG and Fanatical are just as easy -- although the savings aren't usually as significant on new releases as CDKeys. I figured since they aren’t often as cheap, might as well keep it simple for now with just two options - and just because it’s what I’m familiar with to make a picture of real quick :P I haven’t used GMG in forever, not that there is anything wrong with it, I’m just lazy and usually just do one or the other myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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