Brink DLC available in UK via Steam??

(zenstar) #1

I did a quick search on this topic and couldn’t find any form of real answer. If this is a dupe thread please link me to the other thread.

Now to the meat of the issue:
Brink is still unavailable in Steam for those of us living in the UK. This is mostly fine since I pre-ordered and got the game, and new buyers can pick it up instore (or get hard copies via Amazon or wherever).

The problem is the new DLC. Available free for 2 weeks when it’s released. But how will I “purchase” it if everything to do with Brink leads to the “unavailable in your region” page?
And when I say everything I mean everything: The Brink store page doesn’t show up in a search, only the Brink trailers and a dev interview which all lead to the fail page.

And no store is going to give away free hard copies. I don’t see that happening at all when they charge extra for preorder bonuses.

So how will UK PC customers get their free DLC? If anyone in the know could give us a post?

EDIT: (1 July 2010)
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/01/brink-now-on-steam-in-the-uk/
Brink page is available on steam again!!! Happy happy days.
Next time just let us know what’s up please. I don’t mind waiting for something as long as I know it’s being sorted out.
I suspect that since it went live on the first of the month that a certain exclusivity deal just ran out shifty eyes @ Bethesda. Just say so next time! (also makes me wonder if they were waiting for this to release the DLC?)

(Nexolate) #2

Mentioned this in another thread. Same boat as OP, would like to know ASAP.

Regards,
Nexo

(Nexusdog) #3

Can’t say either tbh, but EA were in the news recently with Crysis 2 being removed from Steam by Valve due to updated agreement problems. From what I could understand, the game was available on other direct download sites which violated the agreement so Valve pulled it. I’m guessing that’s pretty much the same case with Brink. Why it’s only relevant to the UK though isn’t clear, but if it’s not the direct dl issue, I can’t help think it’s down to the arsy high street retailers throwing a wobbler about steamworks & boycotting stocking games which incorporate it.

(zenstar) #4

That was my thoughts on the subject too. They complain about Steam killing their customer base yet every time I go into their stores looking for PC games it’s a tiny, dingy corner where I have to get on my knees to paw through dirty copies of old games.
And the console sections are always uber-magnificent. Sorry Mr brick-and-mortar-store but you killed your own PC customer base, but that’s fine because you make plenty of cash with the consoles. Don’t go screwing with my online purchases now otherwise I’ll start getting my console stuff from Amzon and you’ll be getting zero monies!

Whatever the reason can we at least get a hint at what it is and how we’ll get our DLC? I will be a little miffed if I have to buy it from a store.

(IncubusDragon) #5

:mad:

bump

This requires priority attention, especially as the DLC release is imminent.

I flagged it up right at the start (because I’d been recommending Brink to my Steam friends prior to release) and got a reply saying “we need to look into this”, but after that, nothing.

Of course, for all we know, this might be the very issue that’s caused the DLC release to be delayed.

(kilL_888) #6

We asked about why it’s not on Steam in the UK, incidentally, and got a “no comment”. It seems to still be missing, so that remains an oddity.

i feel really sorry for you guys there over the canal. this is a mess. i hope it turns out positive for you.

(its al bout security) #7

and the dlc hits the 5 or the 12 so hopefully you get an answer by then :confused: really sad part is the staff is from the uk too :frowning:

(Nexusdog) #8

Hmm… no comment really is breathtakingly rude by any stretch of the imagination. The only possible reason may well be pending legal action behind the scenes. I guess as consumers, we’re used to be treated poorly, but when you do it to the gaming press, well that makes it news. And then it spreads and subsequently reputations are tarnished, possibly irredeemably so.

Can’t help but feel the midden’s hit the windmill no matter what these days.

(its al bout security) #9

[QUOTE=Nexusdog;346565]Hmm… no comment really is breathtakingly rude by any stretch of the imagination. The only possible reason may well be pending legal action behind the scenes. I guess as consumers, we’re used to be treated poorly, but when you do it to the gaming press, well that makes it news. And then it spreads and subsequently reputations are tarnished, possibly irredeemably so.

Can’t help but feel the midden’s hit the windmill no matter what these days.[/QUOTE]

hmm dont be so down, im sure they cant control steam buddy. they wont leave their country men hanging, dont worry about it too hard. :smiley:

(zenstar) #10

I’m betting SD is gag-ordered about this topic. I just wish we’d get a response something along the lines of “There are some issues around XYZ which we are trying to clean up. UK residents will be able to get the DLC for free via Steam when it is released without an issue” or even “Nope! You’re screwed! Try spoofing your IP to make it look like you’re coming from France.”
The silence is the annoying part.
But again: I see Bethesda’s hand in the silence here. Doesn’t anyone want to take out one of teh SD crew and get them drunk so he can leave his prototype apple iphone in the pub… I mean so that he can spill the beans on what’s really happening that we don’t know?

(Mustang) #11

UK gamers didn’t even get told until late in the game that we would be getting pre-order packs

(engiebenjy) #12

Yeah possibly, I am thinking it would be the publishers job to sort out what platforms and markets the game is available from. I cannot see an issue that would mean the game is available in other countries via steam and not the UK. Wierd - been like this for ages now too

(Nexolate) #13

Well it’s happened before on Steam. Most notably with EA games like Mirror’s Edge which was not sold for UK users until some months later, around the time Arkham Asylum was released I believe.

This seems to be a genuine mistake though as you could pre-order the game all the way up until release with no problems. It was only after release did the problems occur.

Regards,
Nexo

(Jimmy James) #14

[QUOTE=zenstar;346517]
I don’t see that happening at all when they charge extra for preorder bonuses.[/QUOTE]

What?!?! I guess that’s what happens when you live in a country that bans gun ownership. They would never try to charge extra for preordering a game in the US, there would be a lot of greasy, bullet-riddled, teenage retail employees.

Seriously, though that whole Steam thing sucks and just further illustrates the fundamental flaw of the very concept of a temporarily free DLC. Maybe SD will post a link on their web site that will allow people to manually download the DLC for the first two weeks? (Though I doubt that very much.)

Ironiced!

-JJ

(NotARelevantTarget) #15

I reckon it’s Ryan Giggs up to his old tricks.

(Jamieson) #16

Also from the UK and this is a problem.

(Ghostdog) #17

This is the only explanation I can think of for the wall of silence on this subject. But not sure how it would ‘break the gag’ simply to confirm that UK players who own the game will not have any problem getting the DLC for free when it arrives.

I assume that this ‘content not available in your area’ applies to all UK Brink owners, not just those who bought via Steam?

(IncubusDragon) #18

[QUOTE=Ghostdog;346921]I assume that this ‘content not available in your area’ applies to all UK Brink owners, not just those who bought via Steam?[/QUOTE]Yes mate, I pre-ordered via Game (because Steam pre-order price was only £3 cheaper than RRP) and have a hard copy on DVD…

…but as everything is channeled through Steam, we’re relying on Steam for updates and DLC.

Assuming the Steam conflict isn’t resolved by time of DLC, the only way to work around would be to apply DLC as an update patch for UK Steam users, or set up a manual download from a website.

That said, if the issue revolves around exclusivity, then Steam will have monopoly on DLC’s irrespective of the original game, so maybe the DLC will show in store even although the main game doesn’t (maybe wishful thinking - we can but hope!).

(Ghostdog) #19

Thanks for confirming that. Also a fair point that DLC shouldn’t be affected by any exclusivity agreements with bricks and mortar stores - still the ‘not available in your area’ (as opposed to ‘not available yet’) from the DLC option makes me wonder.

(Jamieson) #20

[QUOTE=Ghostdog;346921]This is the only explanation I can think of for the wall of silence on this subject. But not sure how it would ‘break the gag’ simply to confirm that UK players who own the game will not have any problem getting the DLC for free when it arrives.

I assume that this ‘content not available in your area’ applies to all UK Brink owners, not just those who bought via Steam?[/QUOTE]

Yep I pre-ordered the Special Edition From Game and have the same problem.