# Why would I pay $50 to download HL2? Whats the benefit? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786 "2004-11-20T02:33:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/1 "2004-11-20T02:33:52Z")
I was thinking about trying out HL2 tonight. I get to the Valve site and loe and behold its $50 for the basic HL2!! WTF? Why am I not getting a lower price than I would at BBuy? They aren’t providing a CD, box or instruction manuals so why would I pay full retail price? If I went to BBuy I could buy the thing and have it on a disc that I could easily reload should my computer crash. If you are going to try to persuade me to download the game from your site at least cut me a break on the price since Im not getting the same thing I would at a retailer. That’s dumb. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/2 "2004-11-20T02:59:03Z")
Ha! If you think that the only problem you’ll have with HL2 is whether to download it or buy the CD, may i suggest you check out [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=287147). ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/3 "2004-11-20T05:25:37Z")
First of all, I doubt you can get HL2 for 50$ at Ebgamesor BestBuy: it was at least 60$ most places I saw it, and that doesn’t include tax (which I don’t believe Steam has in most areas). For 60$ you can get the version withe DOD:S and Valve’s entire back catalog on Steam. As for a CD of all the content for backup or travel, you can create one yourself once you have downloaded the game. There’s even an option in Steam to create backup copies the correct size to be burned onto a CD or DVD. The manual in the box is just a palm card: not much to write home about, and its available in pdf form from Steam anyway. About the only thing you miss out on with the Steam version is the box (you’d need to buy the gold steam collectors edition to get mailed a collector’s box along with all the other stuff). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/4 "2004-11-20T19:48:07Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > Why would I pay $50 to download HL2? Whats the benefit? Isn’t it obvious? So you can be fucked over by a _developer_ instead of being fucked over by a _publisher_. Oh, and some stupid shit will tell you that it’s somehow better to line the coffers of a megarich developer than a megarich publisher. I’m yet to be convinced. ---
**Author:** ![Mikahw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mikahw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikahw)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/5 "2004-11-20T23:34:29Z")
It seems that if you buy the retail version you have to have the disc in to play, but if you DL it from steam, you don’t. That makes me just slightly upset. The day I no longer have to switch CDs to play another game will be the greatest day ever. Well, at least a fairly good day. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/6 "2004-11-21T02:21:34Z")
Well, those of us who pre-ordered Half Life 2 via Steam have been playing Counterstrike:Source for a couple weeks now. Also, I had it preload on my machine; I was playing HL2 a couple minutes after midnight on Nov 16 - if I bought the disc version, I would have had to go to the store in the middle of the night to find a copy. Of course, now that the game is out on CD, these reasons don’t help you much. Still, buying it on Steam, and letting it download overnight can be more convient than running to the store. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/7 "2004-11-21T17:17:36Z")
Right. But where is the added benifit to me? It seems that it benifits Valve more than the consumer. They don’t have to pay to manufacture, package and ship the software, but they charge the same price as a local retailer so they make more money. More convieniant for Valve=more money for Valve. ---
**Author:** ![Vic\_Ferrari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/dbc845/32.png) [@Vic\_Ferrari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vic_Ferrari)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-i-pay-50-to-download-hl2-whats-the-benefit/275786/8 "2004-11-21T17:49:18Z")
Advantages of Steam for me: 1. I know they have it in stock. 2. I don’t have to drive to my local game store and deal with the folks that run the place. 3. Why get a box and manual when I’m just going to throw them away? To be honest, the advantages aren’t that great, but when I do get the game I’ll probably buy it through Steam for the novelty. Also, I’m sure that if Valve could get a large enough percentage of their customer to buy the game through Steam they would drop the price significantly. Since the vast majority of their games are sold through retail outlets, however, they can’t afford to piss off their publisher and retailers by undercutting them.