If I go to the midnight release and get my game will steam allow me to play it when I get home? I was just curious since steam says their copy won't unlock until 1pm on Tuesday. It would be a real shame if everyone who got it at midnight went home to find out they can play because bethesda wanted to use steam...

If that is what steam told you, than I'd go by that.

Not good enough. I would like an official statement from Obsidian or Bethesda on this matter. If you buy the game, install a physical copy, do you have to wait until 1pm (7pm for 22nd Europe folks) to actually play it? Or does that only apply to downloads from Steam?

And also: was Obsidian/Bethesda aware of the fact when they signed up to Steam? And why haven't they made it clear? I preordered from a store, and NOWHERE on the game page did it say "this game will need to be unlocked via Steam, which you can't do until 1pm" etc. (so basically, if my preorder arrives at 7am on release day, I as a paying customer DEMAND the right to play it at 7am on release day.)

(edit to correct error)

I ask because there have been several other games I've picked up at a store at midnight and I've been able to play before the people who ordered their copy from steam. I'm not asking for speculation either, trying to see if anyone has a solid answer.

@Skitt, there have been half a dozen threads on this (and related) matters, and no-one has given an official answer (they keep getting locked unanswered)

I agree if I buy a game from a store at midnight I'm still buying on release day. And there is no reason why I should be held to the same restrictions that people who purchase directly from steam are.

The community manager, Gstaff, is currently working on finding out what the exact details regarding this matter are. He said he would have more info no later than monday, so keep your eyes peeled for any post by him.

Oh and the guys making FNV are called Obsidian, not Oblivion.

But I do share your feelings on this issue. I'm going to be pretty pissed off if I decide to go to midnight release, get home with my shiny CE box and find out I won't be able to play it until the afternoon on Tuesday. Gonna be depressing if that happens.... :cold:

Or you just don't go at midnight

*prepares for flame*

Well my college classes are coincidentally canceled on Tuesday and so the urge to go to the midnight release, then pull an all nighter with the game, exists.

I have a week off school to study for end of year exams when it's released (On thursday for me) but it's fair to say I won't be getting much study done :S there'll be many an all nighter i'd say

ah yeah. rule#1: don't post when you're flustered. Obsidian, obviously

thing is, like I said, nowhere on any of the (physical) preorder pages does it mention a time for activation. Just a release date. So if there is an activation time, then all these stores are, at least, breaking Trades Description laws. But it's not their fault, if Obsidian didn't inform them of the fact.

As for "don't go to a midnight party"... I'm not! But, like I said, the post arrives at 7am, if by some slim chance by game arrives at 7am I want to (at least) install and activate it at 7am. Or if I go to a store at 10am, get home at 10:15am, I still have to wait until 7PM to play it?

I really really really hope the activation time only applies to Steam downloads. Difference with those is, the activation time is displayed on the screen where you buy the game - you pays your money and takes your chance. Physical copy buyers have been given no-such warning.

Ahhh it's things like this that make me glad I get it later than others

I'm hoping that the news is good - I can't believe they would send thousands upon thousands of us midnight releases only to get home and find we're stranded for 12 hours. I don't know about you, but I would complain loud and strong for a long time as I'm sure alot of peeps would. An error this large that sends us out of way for a special release time better deliver on that promise when I try to load the game at 1am on the 19th or there is going to be an angry mob about. It would call into question the entire concept of doing midnight releases, and I'm pretty sure that the corporate folks at GameStop will be quite mad actually as much of the ire would be re-directed back at the GameStops (because complaints here won't give the satisfaction of standing there yelling at someone about it, they get locked and warned). I'm sure alot of those people would sware-off ever going to the GameStop again, and I further GECKulate that some very angry calls would take place between GameStop corporate folks and Bethesda or Obsidian corporate folks that morning if the game isn't un-locked - GameStop _would_ loose business over something like that.

In summary this would be a HUGE embarrassment for Bethesda, Obsidian, Steam and GameStop if the game fails to unlock after doing a midnight release, and the storm of complaints that will follow would be not be pretty. It comes down to logistics and planning - did the Bethesda/Obsidian producers think ahead and realize that midnight releasers from GameStops and other stores would need immediate unlock anytime on the 19th they try to connect? This is the question, and I hope Gstaff and the producers gets through to Steam folks on Monday to confirm that we're good to go. The really Good news is that they have Monday (business day) to make sure that this doesn't happen, which is plenty of time.

When I think through all the consequences of this, I have to believe that they thought of this and that the game will unlock - but in this case I'm very glad we're threading about it as at least Gstaff saw it and is working the problem. If we did identify something they didn't think of, we'll never know it, but at least our games will unlock anytime on the 19th!

So here's hoping for Good logistics in this release, literally thousands of peeps are counting on it.

Miax

P.S. Imagine this scene: The entire Obsidian team is hanging out at GameStop in Irvine CA the night of the release. Peep goes, gets game, gets game signed, goes home. Peep can't unlock game, goes back to GameStop and confronts Obsidian team right on the spot... Ummm ouch? I bet you lunch it will happen if they don't get this right!

God yeah, can you imagine release day online? Instead of blogs, Twitter, Facebook etc being filled with "omg awesome game!" they would be filled with "wtf? why can't I play this piece of ****". It would be a PR disaster...

I would hope boxed copies would allow for playing the game before the 1PM EST unlock time on Steam. At worst the Achievements feature may not work before the unlock time.

If it doesn't unlock at midnight I would:

#1 discontinue doing business in any way shape and form with steam.
#2 never go to a midnight release again.
#3 be extremely unhappy with bathesda for not making sure they had everything figured out.
#5 #4 got lost, not buy any dlc for FNV since that's where they make their money.

I love Bethesda to death (Best game company in the industry) but I wonder who the moron was that came up with the idea to use Steam to unlock a game. I'm sorry but I really don't think it far that the PC gamers have to unlock their game through steam instead of just installing it to their hard drive. I understand if they don't want the game pirated but that can be easily dealt with.

It's already been said time after time, but the short version is: They save money by using Steam, since Steamworks with all capabilities is free, and keep the "offline" stores happy by including the restrictions to certain release dates, so digital stores do not have the upper hand in that regard. An offline store should not sell before release date.
As for the time on release itself, no matter when activating a game on Steam were possible, it would lead to severe sudden strain on the Steam servers. Better if there are actually multiple people around - which at midnight would be slightly inconvenient - when that happens, is it not? ^_^

I understand it could save money but that would be like a 360 player going on Live to activate a game in order to play it.

Well I guess we'll just have to wait for a response. Hopefully they will not be so short sighted that they don't activate the game until 1pm launch day.

Given my understanding of Steam, games are either activated, or they aren't. So whenever the unlock time turns out to be, nobody who bought the game for PC (physical copy or digital download) will be playing until then.

I hope they would activate it at 12:01 AM Oct 19th thats when they should activate it.

That would be absolutely horrible for all those getting the game at midnight. I can't believe that GameStop wouldn't be furious about it, given the amount of complaints they will get - plus it doesn't make any sense Not to unlock the game for those going to brick and mortar stores specifically to get the game at midnight on release day. That makes the stores happy and still offers a beneficial reason to buy games from brick and mortar stores. If we can't play the game until the Steam version is activated, why Ever goto a midnight release?! Better to get sleep in that case and be fresh for the game day!

I have to believe that when I get home at 1am on the 19th, the game will activate for me on the spot... If not, I'm sleeping in - and then writing a letter of complaint to GameStop in the morning, then going to get the game.

But see some games you buy boxed copies of you can activate on steam and still play before the steam version actually unlocks. That's what we're trying to figure out. It would royally piss me off if the people who payed extra to get a boxed CE end up getting punished because they used steam (easily the worst digital distribution service when it comes to releasing games in a timely manner).

Agree 100% - I'm pretty concerned about this at the moment, but I'm not the ones who will be Really angry.

These midnight releases are Not free for GameStop and other brick and mortar game stores. They have X number (probably hundreds nation wide) stores doing the midnight release, meaning Y employees are on staff for 2-3 hours that night which Directly costs the GameStop Z dollar in salary, power and logistics to have all the stores open at 10pm for the midnight release. It can't be a small amount of money when you add all that up, its at Least in the hundreds of thousands if not a million or more. They do it for they hype because it greatly promotes the local store and gets people coming in to pre-order their next games - so its a good gig for GameStop and the gaming companies alike. We pre-order more, local stores get more business.

Not unlocking the game will Directly wreck this business dynamic, would cause a massive backlash against GameStop from folks like me who pre-ordered from them and are counting on a midnight release. So instead of promoting their business it would harm it, would make many thousands of angry customers and in the end represent a loss for GameStop in much more than monetary terms. One has to believe that GameStop would be Greatly opposed to this idea, and that there would be corporate-level ramifications if the games we get at the midnight releases don't unlock until almost 13 hours later when everyone else gets it on-line.

I will be Very surprised if we can't unlock the game at 12:01AM on the 19th.