Adaptive Game Bundles: Sapphire Select
by Derek Wilson on June 8, 2005 5:33 AM EST- Posted in
- Software
The Process In A Nutshell (Installation)
Ours is a prerelease copy that was shown at E3, and it doesn't include all the games that Sapphire will have on their shipping product. There are also a few other features and bumps in the road that are not final and will change by the time the product ships. The first interesting thing we noticed is that Sapphire uses a web interface. The problem here is that the very first thing we are greeted with is an active content warning. Depending on the end user's security settings, this could pose a problem.
Moving on, we come to the main screen where we will be able to look at each game included on the disk. From here, we have quick access to playing trials, buying games, or just clicking on the title to read about it.
Clicking on the image of the game brings up a short description of the title. If we want to play the trial, all we need to do is click a button. But note the warning that indicates the button should only be pressed once as the process can take up to 2 minutes.
In our experience, the wait between when we clicked the button and when something happened was between 3 and 5 minutes on a mid-range P4 system. Currently, there is no status bar, but Sapphire has indicated that there will be some UI tweaks, which should include some sort of status indication during the long wait times. These long waits are our major complaint about the package. It takes quite some time to unpack and install these games. Of course, the fact that no disk switching is required for any single game is nice. Again, as it is a web interface, we are greeted with this:
After dealing with this, the game's install process proceeds as usual.
And now, after everything is loaded, we can either play the game or unlock/purchase it.
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stmok - Monday, June 13, 2005 - link
I tend to agree that this seems more like a pointless exercise in being different.Everytime I purchase a video card, I delibrately pick a brand that does NOT have a software game bundle. (Brands like PixelView)
All I need is the video card and the accessories/cables (TV-OUT, etc)...I don't use the included drivers on CD anyway.
Better yet, just sell me the card and accessories. Companies save money, and we don't need to pay for crap that we don't want in the first place.
bigboxes - Thursday, June 9, 2005 - link
#17Bullseye! Who needs to purchase a video card based on what software is bundled with it? Just give me the cheapest price and let me choose the games on my own. You will pay something extra for that "free" game.
stnicralisk - Thursday, June 9, 2005 - link
This is a nice technology. I hope they use it for more than games. I want to choose what kind of other video related software I recieve too. I dont need ANOTHER copy of WinDVD give me something else instead.Avalon - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
It would be great if you could opt to activate none of your free games to receive a small rebate towards the price you paid for your video card. That way those of us that don't care for any bundled games can get what they want, cheaper.aka1nas - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
The biggest issue that I have with this system is that you can't use standard updates or mods. You have to hope that the developers will continue to support this version of their game seperately.gbohn - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
#11 said "#9 You can simply backup your game, is that so hard?"Well,
A) Not everyone creates backups, and
B) It's not clear what needs to be backed up. Some 'activation' systems hide the thing that needs to be backed up on a 'secret' part of the drive that a normal backup won't get to.
Some 'activation' systems (say Windows) marry the software to your hardware. So, for all we know, a restore to a new system might not even work...
Such are the possible joys of 'Digital Rights Management'.
(Imagine if all your software was like that. Imagine the fun of having every piece of software you have needing to be re-activated (possibly needing to speak to someone in person for each) when you upgrade your system.)
yacoub - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
As long as there's an option to have NO bundle and get the hardware cheaper, I don't care what they do. I rarely want any software with a video card purchase. I'm generally buying a videocard because I already HAVE something that isn't running well on my current videocard.flatblastard - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
I'm gonna have to agree with #8 on this one: "Worthless", is exactly how I would describe this. What I mean is that vid cards don't need to come bundled with "free" games and let's face it, their not "free", but rather the price is included in the purchase of the card. These companies would be doing us a greater service by including only what we need and nothing more. Of course, too much competition is what brings about these bundles and k00l product packaging."Hey, look at our product. It's better than the competiton, just look at all the free games we give you!"
pzkfwg - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
First thing I thought when reading the article was as #9 and #10: what about intalling, uninstalling, reinstalling, etc.#11: If you have a new system, backup/image is not a solution, you need to reinstall.
Xenoterranos - Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - link
I's say this is a step in the right direction. Imagine a subscription based system that let you play any of the games you wanted, provided it was on a one game per month basis or something. I'd say this is as close to renting PC video games as we're ever going to get. - Hey my first post - long time listener, first time caller!