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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

How Much Did You Pay For Your Copy ?


Diemex

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I still remember when xcom 3 was first released. I drove all the way to the city from my small town...a 45 minute drive to the emerald plaza (which no longer has a software store in it). And bought it there. I paid a hefty $80 Canadian. It was gouging in the extreme.... but I knew I wanted it bad... just based on the first two (well ok the first...)

 

Today games (new release) seem to go for about $50 Cdn. Man I shelled out big for XCom3. But no complaints... its still running today.

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  • 6 months later...
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I got mine for $20-$40 at some point in the murky and relatively distant past of college.

 

I'm confused about BW's comment. Does he actually think 'abandonware' is in some way legal, is he being sarcastic, or what?

 

Check out the site, I thought it was legitimate? My understanding was that abandonware is similar to freeware in that it is no longer obtainable through the company and thus free to use. Yes, I did download it from that site, am I in the wrong?

 

~~BW, who is suddenly feeling more like that pirate...

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I got mine for $20-$40 at some point in the murky and relatively distant past of college.

 

I'm confused about BW's comment. Does he actually think 'abandonware' is in some way legal, is he being sarcastic, or what?

 

Check out the site, I thought it was legitimate? My understanding was that abandonware is similar to freeware in that it is no longer obtainable through the company and thus free to use. Yes, I did download it from that site, am I in the wrong?

 

~~BW, who is suddenly feeling more like that pirate...

 

I bought two full copies with boxes and manuals from a guy on eBay for $20US. Ebay is the place - just wait for the deal you feel is a good one - don't let some of those guys rip you off. I bought it on eBay last year because my CD-ROM died and destroyed my original XCOM3 CD! :-(

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Heh.

My original X-Com3 CD is safe in a CD case :) . I'm playing from a disk image.

 

As for the buying the used games that can't be bought from a store anymore - it's pretty pointless unless it's a good version that contains a box and a full manual.

Edited by Sorrow
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LOL when I got my bargain bin the Manual was in there too ^^'

 

So far Ive beaten you all out legally, although Ill admit to downloading the game about 4 times. ^.^'

What? It wouldnt install from the Cd rom :P! The Cd rom was running so fast it went backwards!

my uber drive went down to like 2 kb's according to the game, I was like.. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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They are all considered abandonware by most. Technically TFTD is the only one that has fallen into public domain at this point. All other X-com games are owned by microsoft.

 

 

TFTD is still being sold. Steam sells it online, it's not abandonware/public domain at all.

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Dudes, none of the X-COM games are abandonware. And while Take Two (current owner) doesn't have plans for selling Apocalypse or Interceptor, both TFTD and UFO are being sold, the former on Steam, the latter on Gametap.

 

I think inbredhill is thinking of Microprose, wouldn't be the first one. :P

Microprose hasn't owned X-COM for a long time, though. As I said, Take Two owns the X-COM IP right now.

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I still remember when xcom 3 was first released. I drove all the way to the city from my small town...a 45 minute drive to the emerald plaza (which no longer has a software store in it). And bought it there. I paid a hefty $80 Canadian. It was gouging in the extreme.... but I knew I wanted it bad... just based on the first two (well ok the first...)

 

Today games (new release) seem to go for about $50 Cdn. Man I shelled out big for XCom3. But no complaints... its still running today.

$80 as well. It was well worth it. Great game.

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I'm a first time player of any of the X-com series. I purchased Apocalypse from "Steam" for 4.99. It Download and installed on a Vista portable and have been playing without a problem.

Hmmm.. thats definatly something I should look into, as I am completely unable to play either of my versions of apocalypse I own. (Collectors and DOS)

 

I wonder if the old manual would be worth the 5 dollars to someone out there.. Cant say I use it anymore, but it would be nice to someone who wanted the X-Com Souveniers

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I have the collector's edition, with all three real x-coms inside, plus interceptor and email x-com. I am playing apocalypse again at the moment. I finally got both interceptor and apocalypse working as smooth as can be with no fuss at all, using virtual pc with windows 98 on it :D

I have no clue how much I paid for that collector's edition. It was kinda old already, so I'm guessing it must've been slightly cheaper than the average new game. 2000 belgian francs or so (+/- 40$)

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I suppose I would've paid 25euro for it when I bought it, if the euro had existed then. I paid 350DKR, Danish currency.

I just rebought all the x-com games on steam as well, for 15euro or 19$ USD.

....This forum needs an euro symbol.

Edited by Epsilon
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Updating my 2 year old thread ! ;)

 

 

I have repurchased ALL the main xcom titles. $15 from STEAM. The nice part is they package it with dosbox already configured. You just install download the game and click the shortcut.... in no time you're playing the game without issues. Take Two did a sweet job on the re-release. Would like to see more games get done up like this. Might and Magic 5-8 come to mind...... (and no...not the Hero's ones..)

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  • 3 months later...

This might sound like i'm lying, but an old friend of me gave me the game.

I was just getting into PC games, after years of SEGA fanboyism. He gave me this little red colored cd at school one day and I remember the first time I loaded up the cityscape. I had no internet back then and no manual. For the first week I was like "What the heck am I supposed to be doing?". Eventually it started to click with me and I was blown away by the attention to detail.

He didn't ask for it back.

 

So I kept it :innocent:

Edited by B1G_D
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I bought some collectors edition pack that included X-Com 1, 2, 3, interceptor and email. Can't remember how much it was.. it was either a cheap discount price or the price of a new game.. so something between 15 and 50 euros. I'm quite happy that I found it, because I don't like having pirate copies of games I like... though I use pirate "abandonware" DOS versions of the first two games.. just so I can play them with DOSBox. I think who ever made that collectors editon pack, should have included the DOS versions of the first two. I'm pretty sure DOSBox existed back then.
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  • 7 months later...

I think I got my first copy in 1997/8.

 

Got it as part of a three for two deal, my father had taken my sister and me to a big toy store and we'd just gotten a new PC so he said he'd buy us each two games. I got Master of Orion 2 and Dark Earth (I think those were the two I chose) then he pointed out it was three for two, went back and saw the back of the box and was suddenly very excited by the prospect of X-COM.

 

Dark Earth was boring and was the first to be forgotten. I still play both X-COM and MOO2, I imagine it would of been around ten pounds (British moneh for the win!).

 

Sadly my disc was lost in a small fire and I couldn't find it anywhere so I just resorted to piracy.

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  • 9 months later...
All the X-com games are sold on Steam and perhaps other places. While I won't ostracize people for seeking abandonware, the vast majority of it is in fact illegal to download (someone simply not selling it doesn't give you the right to break the copyright besides the fact that chances are the software in question is sold somewhere). People shouldn't fool themselves into thinking they're legally legit, and no abandonware sites giving psuedolegal excuses for why they're legit doesn't make them so.
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Everyone who has bought a digital copy of X-Com, has supported 2K Marin and their "XCOM" FPS. They supported this:

 

Last year 2K announced cult turn-based strategy series Xcom was to return – but this time as a first-person shooter. Fans recoiled at the apparent bastardisation of their beloved series, but Hartmann says there’s good reason for the change of direction.

 

He explains: “The ‘90s generation of gamers all love Xcom and we own the IP, so we thought OK, what do we do with it? Every studio we had wanted to do it and each one had its own spin on it. But the problem was that turn-based strategy games were no longer the hottest thing on planet Earth. But this is not just a commercial thing – strategy games are just not contemporary.

 

“I use the example of music artists. Look at someone old school like Ray Charles, if he would make music today it would still be Ray Charles but he would probably do it more in the style of Kanye West. Bringing Ray Charles back is all fine and good, but it just needs to move on, although the core essence will still be the same.

 

“That’s what we are trying to do. To renew Xcom but in line with what this generation of gamers want. The team behind it is asking themselves every day: ‘Is it true to the values of the franchise?’ It’s not a case of cashing in on the name. We just need to renew it because times are changing.â€

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/interview-c...-2kgames/082216

 

Buying it does nothing but showing them value of an "i.p." which according to them isn't a game, but just a name. You're not supporting the original creators of X-Com. You're supporting just another company that seeks to erase our culture because according to them it's "outdated".

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Actually, if you look around, you would see many games like that that had insane fanbases just disappear from market.

 

This is because market for computer games has changed. Or should i say, it appeared?

 

Before, it was enthusiasts for enthusiasts. There were no set WAY to EARN MONEY by making computer games. You just created what you liked to create, and then maybe it would pay back. You could become rich, or maybe not. Like painters in the past, some of which that died being poor and having nothing to eat, and later their paintings would sell as million dollar masterpieces.

 

It was art, and people were creating. It was great. And even though we can surpass the level of reality that was in those old games with new technology, nothing changes the fact is WAS art then and it ISNT art now. Photos didnt replace paintings and Films didnt replace Theatres and Books.

 

How did the companies that made games like Warcraft, Might and Magic, Doom, X-Com came together? They just bunched up and thought "lets make some fun game". They either loved tabletop games and wanted to make rpg's based on that, or loved some computer games and wanted to make their own "upgrade" of it. And so, masterpieces were created that are played up to this day and will always be remembered. Games titles like Jagged Alliance, X-Com, Might and Magic, Master of Orion, etc. Games that live forever, get remade by gamer communities, modded, ressurrected and so on.

 

Nowadays, its business. Its a way to earn money. There are set paradigms, set ways to earn money, set guidelines. Its "business model" and business model doesnt like art because art is UNSTABLE. And you always want to nullify your risks and maximise your guaranteed stable income.

 

How does a gaming company come about now? A person who knows how to do business takes a credit, hires employees, he knows a business model he'll follow, he found a niche or a geanre where he can reliably earn money. There are indie developers but the further it goes, the more you have to do in order to make a game, more development, more art, more everything - it took one person to make tetris, it took ~ 50 people to make Diablo, it takes thousands to make Diablo 3.

 

Most important - it isnt worth it. It isnt worth to make games like Jagged Alliance 2, X-Com 1-3 or Might and Magic 1-9 or Heroes of Might and Magic 1-3 or w/e. It isnt! Sure people would play your game forever but you would not MONETISE on that. And all they care in market is PROFIT. Money. Those game makers that made those games went BANKRUPT - they didnt get rich for their awesome job.

 

"Owners" - publishers and other crap - got the money. An are still getting the money by re-selling their product.

 

Its not a problem of games but of the whole capitalist and market system. However, it works perfectly fine for those who HAVE the money and power in the system, so it would never change until people realise what is going on. Realise we are trapped in a kind of "Matrix" we saw on TV - doing meaningless work, having meaningles enternaintment, participating in meaningless money flow, meaningless market. And owning meaningless "capital" which is imaginary, which goes poof when a little cog goes wrong (see economical crisises that happen one after another).

Edited by Istrebitel
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Yes, the main problem is the big business. And buying old games from the genres that they are trying to make extinct just funds and attracts that problem.

Another thing is that they are making active anti-advertising to turn-based games. They are trying to convince people that turn-based games are bad and existed only because of the low technology level, that they are unfashionable, etc.

Because of that, their very existence is a thread to further existence and development of our culture.

I think that such unethical and destructive "black marketing" should be forbidden by law or at least attract boycotts by fans of older games.

 

There's no valid reason to buy the old X-Com games any more besides wanting a full boxed set.

 

Most important - it isnt worth it. It isnt worth to make games like Jagged Alliance 2, X-Com 1-3 or Might and Magic 1-9 or Heroes of Might and Magic 1-3 or w/e. It isnt! Sure people would play your game forever but you would not MONETISE on that. And all they care in market is PROFIT. Money. Those game makers that made those games went BANKRUPT - they didnt get rich for their awesome job.

Sir-Tech went bankrupt because of a temporary market disturbance - the period when big stores took over and refused to carry games that wouldn't sell instantly in huge amounts and Internet wasn't popular enough to allow selling products online.

 

Microprose went bankrupt long after they parted with Gollop. They made two X-Com spinoffs that flopped completely.

Besides that, I think that they have badly mismanaged the production of X-Com 3. The initial scope of the game was downright insane and a lot of it had to be cut out because it was impossible to QA.

They should have started with what is in X-Com3 but much more polished as initial design and sticked to it, not getting some completely unrealistic megalomaniac ideas about multiple alien dimensions.

 

On the other hand, there are still big wargaming publishers around like Matrix Games, HPS Sims, Battlefront, etc. Matrix Games actually published an X-Com "clone".

 

The real problem is that nowadays, there are no people who are able to make a good X-Com re-make.

There are people who think that graphics in X-Com didn't matter because they were low-res, people who ignore the significance of sound, music and special effects in X-Com, people who don't want soldiers to get killed randomly, people who don't want soldiers to die at all, people who don't want to be shot at when exiting Skyranger, people who start working on the game on engine that doesn't support one of the main features that is destructible terrain, etc.

 

Making a new xcomlike would require analysing the original design and underlying themes which no one who makes a new X-Com game does.

Edited by Sorrow
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  • 10 months later...

Hi all

 

Looking XCOM manual, in its pages I found the ticket, I have some pictures and would like to share. Can you post pictures?

 

The Price for was: 2995 pesetas = 18€

 

 

**********************

I uploaded a photo

 

XCOM3-Imagen.jpg

**********************

 

greetings to all

post-22944-0-62493200-1345541552_thumb.jpg

Edited by daruperez
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