Second hand games

[ThunderPants73]

What's the deal with second hand games? Are they not tied to one owner with codes etc? How does it work if you buy a second hand game from say, Amazon, then have to DL the actual game from somewhere like Steam? Sorry if these are dumb questions, I don't play games very often.

[adzii_nufc]

Alright, will try keep it as simple as I can

All games as you first expected are tied to the owner but more specifically the account. I.E My steam account contains all my games, I can not sell a single game. I can however sell the entire account if I chose so.

There's no such thing as second hand codes for any DRM Platform such as Steam, Origin or Uplay. There are second hand codes for games without a DRM platform that can be just installed and played without needing such a DRM platform to store the game. GOG sell exactly these types of games, naturally they're old games because Steam is such a massive gaming entity. For Example, I could purchase a second hand version of Microsoft Flight Sim X and the code works regardless of use. Whereas my Elite Dangerous key is now forever tied to my steam account.

So: If the game you install is via these options - Steam, Origin, Uplay or makes you sign up to a 'service' whilst entering your CD key, it's locked to that account forever.

Legit places to get codes for games:

CJS-CDkeys
GOG.com
Humble Bundle (Charity donations for AAA titles)
Amazon

Legit places to just buy the game outright (Automatically assigned and redeemed your CD key)

Uplay
Origin
Steam

As above though, the old methods of being able to sell on your PC games are very rare now.

[ThunderPants73]

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

Alright, will try keep it as simple as I can

All games as you first expected are tied to the owner but more specifically the account. I.E My steam account contains all my games, I can not sell a single game. I can however sell the entire account if I chose so.

There's no such thing as second hand codes.

Legit places to get codes for games:

CJS-CDkeys
GOG.com
Humble Bundle (Charity donations for AAA titles)
Amazon

Legit places to just buy the game outright (Automatically assigned and redeemed your CD key)

Uplay
Origin
Steam

So just buying a 2nd hand game from Amazon isn't as straight forward as it would seem?

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by ThunderPants73

So just buying a 2nd hand game from Amazon isn't as straight forward as it would seem?

Edited the post too, please re-read that second paragraph - 'They do exist in a form but not for anything released nowadays'

There's no real answer to it. It all actually depends on what title it is. If it's an old classic or wasn't DRM'd through Steam, Origin or Uplay, it may just have a non DRM system, meaning the code could be redeemable multiple times.

As above, I know the Flight Sim X one because I sold a copy of the game to someone else. So what's the difference between Flight Sim X and Elite Dangerous? Well the date for a start one being a donkeys old game and one being a recent AAA title. FSX is disc based or downloaded from sources. Elite Dangerous is DRM'd via steam.

So really yeah, it's never going to be straight forward as you'll always have to establish whether the game has DRM or can only be downloaded via Steam or another platform. The seller might note that it's DRM free or can be redeemed multiple times.

There is a reason they implemented DRM like this, pirates and key generators or Keygen for short, would generate keys that were legitimate and had already been used but could be used multiple times.

[ThunderPants73]

Thanks adzii x

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by ThunderPants73

Thanks adzii x

No problem, if there's an issue like this, just post the title and I'll figure out if it'll work and be DRM free or direct you to somewhere that will have that answer.

Obviously GOG.com has an entire catalogue of these types of games but they won't have everything so may not be useful as a reference sometimes.

[ThunderPants73]

Originally Posted by adzii_nufc

No problem, if there's an issue like this, just post the title and I'll figure out if it'll work and be DRM free or direct you to somewhere that will have that answer.

Obviously GOG.com has an entire catalogue of these types of games but they won't have everything so may not be useful as a reference sometimes.

That would be awesome, I shall do just that. Thanks again.

[adzii_nufc]

Should elaborate on CD key sales for anyone that comes across the thread.

I didn't suggest G2A.com because whilst being incredibly cheap, it's well documented that these keys come from stolen credit cards.

CJS are cheap because they get them from a legal supplier in bulk and because they sell the key to be redeemed on Steam/Origin/Uplay they don't pay shipping costs and can pass a decent saving onto the customer. You can order boxed versions from them but will find they are close to retail price.