I expected bad things, given my experience with Valve on sales rush
days, but it was worse.

19h... went in expecting the site going down to a crawl like last time,
was able to add the dock to my shopping cart without a fuzz, thinking oh
boy the really got it right this time.

19:00:30 went to the next page... an error has occurred try one minute later

19:10... after 10 attempts a refresh on the page solved it second page,
you could chose the payment option, went for paypal... transaction
error... try in one minute

19:12 Valve apologized over Twitter about the problems

19:15.... i was thrown out of steam hat to relogin with all security

19:15:10 ... thank god my shopping cart still had the deck

19:20:10 ... again hanging with a transaction error on the second
page... Starting to think, why Valve always has a problem with the number 3

19:25... Finally i got through Paypal... after Paypal confirmed my
data.. the submit transaction page from steam said... my model is now
out of stock... Wanted to give up and call it a day... but then I
remembered the troubles I had last time
Checked the page... out of stock..
1 Minute late the model again was in stock

19:30... was hanging on page 2 again... Valve and 3.... a classic
combination

19:35 someone posted on discord that if you use a CC payment instead of
paypal you have a chance

19:45 after being locked by paypal for too many transaction attempts for
5 minutes, again thrown out and having to relogin and again my model
being out of stock for 1-2 minutes, and several attempts to reach page
2, I finally could enter my credit card data and pass throgh the
confirm, by 19:50 I had secured the Deck....

I just had to check my paypal account that no transaction happened, and
I am now good to go!

Summary of it all,

Valve never gehts its act together for such sales

Valve still has a problem with the Number 3

Scalpers are now in deep sh*** because the limited edition which was a
honeypot for them never ran out of devices so some of them now have
lowered their price from 1700 to msrp on E-Bay and probably try to
recoup their losses, does anyone have artificial tears, I need them

Be patient when it comes to Valve sales, neve give up, but I learned
that lesson last time!

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:57:11 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Werner P. wrote:

>Valve still has a problem with the Number 3
>
1, 2.... FIVE!

Get the reference?

>Scalpers are now in deep sh*** because the limited edition which was a
>honeypot for them never ran out of devices so some of them now have
>lowered their price from 1700 to msrp on E-Bay and probably try to
>recoup their losses, does anyone have artificial tears, I need them

Scalpers, along with EPIC, can die in a fire.

My daughter is a doll collector. She has a trigger finger on launch day
like no other. Scalpers in her forums have actually had the balls to
claim that they are "providing a service to the community by improving
availability." I think you can guess the replies.

But, honestly, what this really means is MSRP is not high enough. Valve
itself could be making a premium on launch -- with a limited run
collector's edition perhaps -- and then drop the price to something
reasonable after the 0-day purchasers are done.

Since dolls are already on a limited run, it wouldn't work for that, but
I can see it working for commodity hardware.

BTW, do you want to buy the worlds tiniest violin for $1,000? I'll throw
in the artificial tears for free!

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

Am 17.11.23 um 13:08 schrieb Zaghadka:
> But, honestly, what this really means is MSRP is not high enough. Valve
> itself could be making a premium on launch -- with a limited run
> collector's edition perhaps -- and then drop the price to something
> reasonable after the 0-day purchasers are done
Not the business model they are in, they want to get as many consoles
out as possible to give people an incentive to buy from their store and
there they rake the money in!
Thats also the reason why they can be cheaper than their competition
they do not have to earn too much on every single device!
My personal guess is, that the limited edition really also served
besides being a testing ground also as a honeypot for scalpers, given
that this edition would be gobbled up most likely hence movin order
traffic away from the others.

Telling people this is really limited and then having it in good
quantities really shafted the scalpers big time, who already had gold in
their eyes. And yes I agree scalpers can go to hell, they always have
been there, but in war times they were shot, went to prison or were
simply ending up on a rope on a pole or tree!

Am 17.11.23 um 13:15 schrieb Werner P.:
> Not the business model they are in, they want to get as many consoles
> out as possible to give people an incentive to buy from their store and
> there they rake the money in!

Speaking of Valve, I really can applaud them for their soft approach.
Basically they drop you a pc, you can install windows also deliver all
drivers needed, but on the other hand you get steam os preinstalled make
things as convenient as possible to get games from steam itself while
still keeping the path open for other third party stores going on linux,
and wham 99.9% of the people never bother to install anything besides
steam os on this device and they rake in the sales while nobody can
blame them to build up a monopoly or force people into steam.
The classical gaben approach of xxx just being a matter of convenience
not a hardware or drm issue!
Make it simple enough and people will stick to it!

Am 17.11.23 um 13:08 schrieb Zaghadka:
> My daughter is a doll collector. She has a trigger finger on launch day
> like no other. Scalpers in her forums have actually had the balls to
> claim that they are "providing a service to the community by improving
> availability." I think you can guess the replies.
Yes about a service like that bitcoin miners actually are good for the
environment. Have heard that numerous times, they basically know what
the do is evil but they try to calm themselves by mental whitewashing
gymnastics so that their bad conscience stays calm!

On 11/17/23 06:18, Werner P. wrote:
> Am 17.11.23 um 13:15 schrieb Werner P.:
>> Not the business model they are in, they want to get as many consoles
>> out as possible to give people an incentive to buy from their store
>> and there they rake the money in!
>
> Speaking of Valve, I really can applaud them for their soft approach.
> Basically they drop you a pc, you can install windows also deliver all
> drivers needed, but on the other hand you get steam os preinstalled make
> things as convenient as possible to get games from steam itself while
> still keeping the path open for other third party stores going on linux,
> and wham 99.9% of the people never bother to install anything besides
> steam os on this device and they rake in the sales while nobody can
> blame them to build up a monopoly or force people into steam.
> The classical gaben approach of xxx just being a matter of convenience
> not a hardware or drm issue!
> Make it simple enough and people will stick to it!
>

"Piracy is not about the price, but about convenience" -Gaben
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Am 17.11.23 um 16:23 schrieb candycanearter07:
>
> "Piracy is not about the price, but about convenience" -Gaben
Yes and the SD reeks of that mentality left and right, never lock anyone
fully in, but simply make it the most convenient option!

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:21:51 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Werner P. wrote:

>Am 17.11.23 um 16:23 schrieb candycanearter07:
>>
>> "Piracy is not about the price, but about convenience" -Gaben
>Yes and the SD reeks of that mentality left and right, never lock anyone
>fully in, but simply make it the most convenient option!

Anybody who chants that particular mantra already has my money. I'd
insert a GIF of Fry asking someone to "Shut up and take my money!" but
this is Usenet.

Give consumers what they want and they'll pay for it. I play my favorite
emulated console games on my Switch, because they bothered to use the IP
instead of sitting on it, the emulator is finally good (scanlines, NTSC,
etc), and Nintendo released freaking custom controllers with the original
tuning (they feel the way the original did*). Genius! I'll gladly pay for
their extended Nintendo Online membership, and I bought all the
controllers, even though I never had an N64.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

* Unlike AtGames horrible joysticks in their Atari Flashback offering.
It's unplayable with the massive play in those sticks, 4" at least side
to side. Their arcade standups also have terrible joysticks and buttons.
Audible clicks when you press the buttons.++ Well-tuned controls are the
most important part of these devices, but they never seem to get it.

++ Which is why, for the money, you'll still have more fun building a
MAME cabinet. It'll be full size, have proper controls, and a processor
that is beyond dead minimum specs. And if you don't count your own labor,
it only costs a little more.

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:24:57 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Werner P. wrote:

>Am 17.11.23 um 13:08 schrieb Zaghadka:
>> My daughter is a doll collector. She has a trigger finger on launch day
>> like no other. Scalpers in her forums have actually had the balls to
>> claim that they are "providing a service to the community by improving
>> availability." I think you can guess the replies.
>Yes about a service like that bitcoin miners actually are good for the
>environment. Have heard that numerous times, they basically know what
>the do is evil but they try to calm themselves by mental whitewashing
>gymnastics so that their bad conscience stays calm!

Cognitive dissonance is a bitch. Coping mechanisms are never ideal, and
people will regularly call a git like that on their bullshit.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On 11/18/23 08:44, Zaghadka wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 18:21:51 +0100, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Werner P. wrote:
>
>> Am 17.11.23 um 16:23 schrieb candycanearter07:
>>>
>>> "Piracy is not about the price, but about convenience" -Gaben
>> Yes and the SD reeks of that mentality left and right, never lock anyone
>> fully in, but simply make it the most convenient option!
>
> Anybody who chants that particular mantra already has my money. I'd
> insert a GIF of Fry asking someone to "Shut up and take my money!" but
> this is Usenet.

You could add a Tenor link.

> Give consumers what they want and they'll pay for it. I play my favorite
> emulated console games on my Switch, because they bothered to use the IP
> instead of sitting on it, the emulator is finally good (scanlines, NTSC,
> etc), and Nintendo released freaking custom controllers with the original
> tuning (they feel the way the original did*). Genius! I'll gladly pay for
> their extended Nintendo Online membership, and I bought all the
> controllers, even though I never had an N64.

Honestly, I don't USUALLY go for remakes for games I've already played,
unless it's free/included with something else. I guess the exceptions
would be M&L Superstar Saga + BM and Sonic 2 (3DS), and possibly the
Mario RPG remake in the future?

oh and DEFINITELY the ttyd remake I don't care that I already beat it
its just too good
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Werner P. <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:
>Be patient when it comes to Valve sales, neve give up, but I learned
>that lesson last time!

I think you learned the wrong lesson in patience. If you just waited a
day or two you could've gotten one without all of the hassle. I don't
see why you were so impatient to get a new OLED Steam Deck when you
already had the old one. Even if they had run out the first day, would
waiting for them to restock been so bad?

--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
db //

Am 19.11.23 um 08:34 schrieb Ross Ridge:
> Werner P. <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:
>> Be patient when it comes to Valve sales, neve give up, but I learned
>> that lesson last time!
>
> I think you learned the wrong lesson in patience. If you just waited a
> day or two you could've gotten one without all of the hassle. I don't
> see why you were so impatient to get a new OLED Steam Deck when you
> already had the old one. Even if they had run out the first day, would
> waiting for them to restock been so bad?
>
Thing simply is no one knew whether how much stock there was left, the
last time, if you waited the entire day, you added half a year to get
the device (which made it almost a full years wait).
Also never underestimate the scalpers, just look at the GPU situation
and how it was the last few years!

This time it was different, second lesson learned, Valve learns from its
mistakes unless it is a version 3 of a game or device!
I guess some of the problems simply stemmed from the fact that Valve was
shaking scalpers and their bots off from the order pipeline!

Am 19.11.23 um 09:38 schrieb Werner P.:
>>
> Thing simply is no one knew whether how much stock there was left, the
> last time, if you waited the entire day, you added half a year to get
> the device (which made it almost a full years wait).
> Also never underestimate the scalpers, just look at the GPU situation
> and how it was the last few years!
>
> This time it was different, second lesson learned, Valve learns from its
> mistakes unless it is a version 3 of a game or device!
> I guess some of the problems simply stemmed from the fact that Valve was
> shaking scalpers and their bots off from the order pipeline!
Btw, console launches are generally a little bit tricky, I can remember
that I was able to gobble up a Wii at launch day by simply walking into
the store and being fast enough a friend of mine missed this window and
had to wait a full year until they were in stock again.
Normally people expect that the initial numbers are sold quickly, this
was more or less an exception, but in the US they have run out of stock
for certain models as it seems now!