Nvidia is
putting a stop to the resale of bundled promotional game keys by tying them to a specific graphics card purchase, according to Ars Technica. Users will now have to redeem codes via the
GeForce Experience (GFE) app, which is directly linked to third-party services like Steam and Uplay. Users must also ensure that the requisite graphics card is "installed before redemption." GFE then performs "a hardware verification step to ensure the coupon code is redeemed on the system with the qualifying GPU." From the report:
Previously, retailers sent promotional game codes to customers that purchased a qualifying product. Those codes could then be redeemed on Nvidia's website, which spit out the relevant Steam, Uplay, Origin, or Microsoft Store key. Since the promotional game codes were not tied to a specific account, many users took to either gifting spare keys to friends or selling them on eBay in order to offset the cost of the graphics card purchase. [Ars Technica has updated their report with additional information:] Nvidia has confirmed that while GFE checks to ensure a user has installed a qualifying graphics card like a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, the game itself is not permanently linked to the hardware. GFE's hardware check is based only on the wider product range, and not on a specific serial number. The company has also confirmed that the redemption process permanently adds the game to the appropriate third-party service. For example, if users redeems a promotional game key through to Steam, that game will be useable on any other device, just like normal Steam games. Users can also opt to uninstall GFE, or install a different graphics card, once the promotional code has been redeemed and still retain full ownership of the game. A full set of instructions for redeeming codes is now available on Nvidia's website.
Windows only!
By Joe_Dragon
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2017-Feb-3 08:13
• Score: 3
• Thread
So Linux and mac gamer don't get the codes or is nvidia ok with them trading the steam codes.
Re:Why do they care?
By Lisandro
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2017-Feb-3 08:14
• Score: 4, Insightful
• Thread
They didn't actually "give" you anything. Welcome to the joys of the era of clouds and downloadable content, where convenience matters more than the first sale doctrine.
Re:Why do they care?
By supremebob
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2017-Feb-3 08:26
• Score: 5, Informative
• Thread
I'd think that it's pretty obvious why they care. Game publishers don't like it when someone gives a promotional game download code to a friend, so they can install the game for free. Their suits probably consider that to be a "lost sale", where the person might have otherwise paid 50 bucks get the game themselves if they weren't given a download code.
Of course, most of the games that are bundled with video cards often aren't worth anywhere near their retail prices to purchase. The suits probably wouldn't want to admit to that in public, though.
I'd also imagine that Nvidia also doesn't like the idea of someone using the game download codes that they paid for being used on other systems with AMD and Intel graphics, but this probably doesn't bother them as much as the game publishers. They still got paid for the hardware that got purchased, anyway.
Re:Windows only!
By r1348
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2017-Feb-3 09:03
• Score: 4, Insightful
• Thread
Pure BS, Nvidia releases day 1 support drivers for all their products even on Linux, and AMD will have day 1 support for Vega with their free driver (yes, they finally caught up).
So now I can't upgrade my graphics card
By HalAtWork
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2017-Feb-3 10:43
• Score: 3
• Thread
So if I want to keep playing my game I can't upgrade my GPU.