E:FE is only being distributed digitally.  Same with its patches as well as E:WOMs.  I'd have to have gamestops Impulse to get them.   It seems we won't have opportunity to review gamestops terms of service and privacy policies before that happens.  And according to Impulses current terms we must request account closure in writing not email.  Time grows short to ensure that the account is closed before gamestop takes over.  I do not accept gamestops current privacy policy. And am aware that they are currently in litigation regarding the mishandling of customer information.  A long list of other law suits give me more reason to distrust gamestop.  

It is my choice to take a cautious stance regarding how my customer accounts are handled.  And it is my point of view that monetizing customer account information is wrong, but more so it is a security risk.  I've seen this all before.  I accepted SD's terms and privacy policies so I bought the game.  Now comes a time where I have the choice to either accept gamestops undeclared terms, or lose my Impulse account.  I won't blindly accept their terms.  And I don't accept their current terms.  So I lose the ability to download E:FE and future E:WOM patches.  

Brad still doesn't answer the people who have asked him if there will be alternative ways to get patches.  Some months ago, before the gamestop news, Brad said they were considering burning patches to CD and mailing them to customers who requested them.  He declined to answer if that is still a consideration.  And he declined to talk about any alternatives.  So I have to assume the choice is to lose the game or accept gamestops terms.  

as for the gamestop thing, I'll wait and see what happens... it's a wait and see situation right now with that... if you don't want to wait and see... then that's your decision... not ours.

Oh my goodness!  Listening to the interview as I type this, I just got to where Brad says there will be a 3rd game and it will be free for those who pre-ordered E:WoM, this just made my day!!!  I was wondering, I had heard about this, but I was not sure if it had changed.  I'll be honest, I have not played the game for forever (part of that is my crappy computer).  I was regretting that pre-order of the collectors edition, but I am excited I'll get two games for free.  Even if I can't play any of them on my current machine, I will be upgrading eventually.  Hopefully by then I'll have something fun to play too?

Anyway, this made me very happy to hear.  Wanted to share.    

While I don't feel the same way as WhiteElk, the part where Brad said he's never seen Valve as the competition made me raise an eyebrow.

Yes, good point.  I think that part at least was purely PR/spin.

Best regards,
Steven.

I wish Brad could appease the tinfoilers (Sorry, but that's how I see you guys), by offering retail FE as mail order (at a higher cost, even if it's just like the retail disc I got for Altarian Prophecy all those years ago)- BTW, I had to get retail due to not having internet access for six months- by the time I got internet again GCII was in beta.

But I wonder if hardcopy patches might mess with the GOO DRM scheme?  

 

I think I fit somewhere between these extremes.  I once was exceedingly naive. I blindly trusted that all would always be well.  One just had to toe their own line and everything would fall into place.  My ignorance was not blissful.  Life experiences have taught me caution.  I am rewarded for due diligence, and I am punished when I'm careless.

 I've been burned twice by electronically distributed media: to the tune of a couple hundred dollars.  And I've suffered the consequences of having my checking account compromised:  I was working through my first year of college and barely made enough money to pay for life expenses.  A fraudulent withdrawal was made on my account  which overdrew my overdraft protection.  The bank reversed the fraudulent transaction and my account balance was restored.  But that transaction, in combination with my automatic deposits, exceeded the limit of my overdraft account.  As a result the bank disallowed my use of overdraft protection and required immediate full payment.  I couldn't pay in full.  So I accrued increasingly high - late payment fees.  It took me a looong time to pay off that loan shark like interest and fees.  Additionally two of my auto-payments were declined, so I accrued payment cancellation and late fees on my gas card and college bookstore accounts. 

It was a tough recovery.  I couldn't afford buying gas so I cycled the 12 mile one way commute to school.  Was enjoyable but cut deeply into my already time limited schedule.  I can't accurately describe how great that impact was other than to say I literally budgeted time by the minute.  I dropped a class so I could gain time for extra work, and so I could sell those books back to the college bookstore to get them off my back.  I took on a second part time job but still had to go on a severe diet. ++.  I paid a stiff penalty for a circumstance beyond my control... or so I thought.  Had I better researched my banking options, I would have selected a more reasonable institution to manage my account.  There would have been nothing to recover from.

I've had many other opportunities to learn caution; such as my time as a drug store manager and catching an employee stealing credit card carbon copies to sell to another crook.  And my time on the investigation side of Pinkerton Security and Investigations looking into other credit card crime perpetrated by store employees.  ++.  As well I have taken careful notice of three decades worth of big business behavior.  I think it is quite reasonable for me to show caution when dealing with them.  Particularly when it involves online banking information; and most especially when it involves a company with a litigation history like gamestops.

What exactly has Gamestop done to make people hate them?

Well, they sell used games as new some times, they kind of treat their employees like shit, making them work crazy hours and shove preorders on customers.  I'm sure others have more info.  I don't hate them, I just don't trust them.  I buy from them at times.  I hangout at one where I like the geeks who work there. 

Maybe my memory is failing me here, but wasn't it Gamestop who caused Stardock problems with Demigod by allowing people to buy it before the servers were ready? If so, then I imagine, Brad required some convincing before he sold impulse to them.

I can understand WhiteElks caution.  The PC gaming market at the moment, is in my opinion, very consumer unfriendly. I am very wary about picking up games these days for the PC. Given the fact that there are no refunds on games once the box is open (at least where I live) unless the CD is damaged, and the DRM implemented by publishers, I really try to check out a game in everyway I can (without pirating) before I commit to buying it. 

Fact is that in some peoples eyes Gamestop has a long way to go to prove themselves. I guess the question that needs to be answered is should they be given that oppotunity. I  have a great deal of respect for Brad, so personally I'm willing to wait and see what happens with Gamestop.  If things don't work out then I'll simply stop using impulse which is a shame, because I love Stardock games.

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BTW:  I find irony here...

 Jumping the Shark: The usage of "jump the shark" has subsequently broadened beyond television, indicating the moment in its evolution, characterized by absurdity; when a brand, design, or creative effort moves beyond the essential qualities that initially defined its success, beyond relevance or recovery.

Brad from his postings, seems to be the sort that won't let grudges get in the way of profitability.  That's a good thing on his part.

As for Gamestop, I don't trust them nearly as much as I trust Stardock, but I trust them more then Valve.  The only thing this sale does is switch my 1st and 2nd preferences in DD.

well if all things go down hill SD can just pull the plug and cancel the deal and pull all it's games off Impulse. I'm pretty sure there's a bit of a contract going on between SD and Gamestop that Gamestop has to follow. Just pure speculation of course.

Interesting. According to wikipedia there are rumors of Gamestop taking over Game group here in Europe.

There's a Game store where I live. It has one shelf of PC games in the darkest corner of the shop, almost behind the counter... I don't see how it can get worse if it turns into a Gamestop.

GameStop owning Impulse could actually be an improvement for us europeans as many of the titles are not available to us now (due to lack of staff according to Brad in the podcast). But yeah, they will probably screw it up in some other way.