sweet... i'll get psn games when amazon has sales. my credit card bugs out when using it on my ps3 directly. i get like 4 alerts every time something is purchased
@SuicidalEarthworm: You need an American billing address to pay Amazon to get the code. The code should work fine (as long as you make a US PSN account), but the bigger hassle is setting up a credit card with a US billing address.
PSN always worked great for me, but if this means I can get triple points on an Amazon credit card and also apply ECA discounts, trade-ins, etc., then it'll be my new primary method. For some reason the web browser interface also seems faster than any of the 3 consoles' stores.
So will the pricing be determined by Amazon? Will there be savings on Amazon that is not on the PSN? Because I don't understand why I would buy games from Amazon vs PSN, IF I want to buy a game at all.
@SuicidalEarthworm: The primary benefit is tax savings for the consumer. No state sales taxes are charged on purchases through Amazon. Every PSN purchase that you make directly in the US has state sales taxes added to the total.
@meatee: I'm not so lucky, in New York Amazon hasn't stopped charging tax even though they're trying to fix the ambiguous law they passed that made them do it in the first place, while Newegg has. So no benefits for me.
I wonder if this is going to remedy the fact that Gran Turismo is cheaper to get from Amazon on UMD than it is to get the game as a download from the PSN? It is not on Amazon's PSN marketplace yet, so the world may never know.
@BritBloke916: Apparently this is a disadvantage in that PSN can't give away "cash" for prizes like Xbox Live can, but I've heard they can't do sales either.
Why can't they make a sale exactly? Make a DLC pack cost $3 instead of $5 for one weekend. It's really not that different from Steam
@RockyRan: They do sales quite regularly. These items were put on sale in the recent October 1st PSN update:
Special Offers
Blast Factor (£3.99/€4.99)
Ape Quest (PSP) (£3.99/€4.99)
The Little Mermaid II (PS One) (£2.39/€2.99)
Disney’s Action Game feat. Hercules (PS One) (£3.19/€3.99)
I copied and pasted those straight off the PSN Euro blog, so they're not exactly a secret.
The biggest benefit of the 360 and Wii sites in my eyes is that you can buy a particular title without being forced to buy a rigid amount of points that's probably more than you need. Want Splosion Man? It's $10, and Amazon doesn't make you buy an extra 200 Microsoft points.
Other than that, though, it's the same thing with a different skin. Amazon's had a handful of sales on 360 games, but it's been a long time since one of those has happened.
@ThursdayNext: That reminds me, though, I've still got my old PS1 copy of Metal Gear Solid. I should give it a whirl in my PS3 (I haven't tried any PS1 games in it yet).
@ThursdayNext: Once it was actually installed onto your PS3 you probably wouldn't need to log into your US PSN account in order to play it. You would just need to access the US account initially in order to enter the download code.
Hooray! After having to jump through hoops to get my credit card info off Xbox Live and after being forced to lose the license to all my WiiWare purchases when I wanted to remove my credit card information from it, I'm not willing to put ANY CC information on my consoles any time soon.
Going a retail store all the time to buy prepaid cards that make you spend more money on cards that will make you have left over cash is anything but convenient. Glad to know that I can log into Amazon, buy EXACTLY what I want and not have to associate my CC number with a console. I don't know how Sony handles its CC information, but both Nintendo and Microsoft only used it to force me to do what THEY wanted. Not doing that again.
@RockyRan: I hate having to buy cards too. I have 100 MS points i can't use on anything right now. The prices are pretty extortionate on most items and the XBL cards are deliberately awkward amounts to make you spend more. Ironically I tend to avoid them as a result (nice job guys!)
I guess they require Credit Cards details because these are international console makers and therefore Credit transactions are probably easier to process. Still, if they could open it to debit cards I'd spend a lot more money on DLC.
It is a bit creepy that iTunes holds my Debit card details on record. I feel a little unsafe with that.
@RockyRan: I never had a problem with my CC and PSN. I buy what I want directly, and it charges my CC accordingly, didn't have to fill my "wallet" or buy points. Just a direct transaction, then I went into account histroy and erased my CC info.
I went VC crazy when I first bought my Wii, still have 100 points floating around on my Wii wanting me to buy more points so I can purchase something, but it's not going to happen. I'm done with you VC, DONE.
@OO9Lives: I'm glad to know that. I'm getting a PS3 soon and I was afraid Sony would pull a Nintendo and force me to permanently delete all my PSN purchases if I want to get rid of my CC info. I can't tell you how annoyed I was when I learned of that little "detail".
@Marker: Good to know. I might be able to put my CC info on PSN if it's that convenient. I'm especially liking the whole "only charge for the item YOU want" deal. I'm really not fond of the whole "point" system of WiiShop and Xbox Live. It seems as if the only reason they're doing that is to get you to spend more on points that you don't want for no real reason other than to get them more money.
Um... Ok. Yay this! I'll never be using it, of course. I'll be getting the cards if I do this as a gift for someone, but on the off chance someone prefers this way... Um... Good for Amazon?
The cards are for ALL sold content, at least until they make some items Amazon exclusive. Plus, Amazon is still pretty well region locked, so it's not like you could use it to get content from the US if you were in Europe, for instance.
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Here's hoping we'll get something equivalent in Europe, too.
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Why can't they make a sale exactly? Make a DLC pack cost $3 instead of $5 for one weekend. It's really not that different from Steam
10/07/09
The current exchange rate is low, but once they become common in Europe, Space Marbles will have the world grabbing its ankles.
10/07/09
Special Offers
Blast Factor (£3.99/€4.99)
Ape Quest (PSP) (£3.99/€4.99)
The Little Mermaid II (PS One) (£2.39/€2.99)
Disney’s Action Game feat. Hercules (PS One) (£3.19/€3.99)
I copied and pasted those straight off the PSN Euro blog, so they're not exactly a secret.
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The biggest benefit of the 360 and Wii sites in my eyes is that you can buy a particular title without being forced to buy a rigid amount of points that's probably more than you need. Want Splosion Man? It's $10, and Amazon doesn't make you buy an extra 200 Microsoft points.
Other than that, though, it's the same thing with a different skin. Amazon's had a handful of sales on 360 games, but it's been a long time since one of those has happened.
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Cheers for the tips. :)
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Admittedly, this is all speculation on my part!
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Going a retail store all the time to buy prepaid cards that make you spend more money on cards that will make you have left over cash is anything but convenient. Glad to know that I can log into Amazon, buy EXACTLY what I want and not have to associate my CC number with a console. I don't know how Sony handles its CC information, but both Nintendo and Microsoft only used it to force me to do what THEY wanted. Not doing that again.
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I guess they require Credit Cards details because these are international console makers and therefore Credit transactions are probably easier to process. Still, if they could open it to debit cards I'd spend a lot more money on DLC.
It is a bit creepy that iTunes holds my Debit card details on record. I feel a little unsafe with that.
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I went VC crazy when I first bought my Wii, still have 100 points floating around on my Wii wanting me to buy more points so I can purchase something, but it's not going to happen. I'm done with you VC, DONE.
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@Marker: Good to know. I might be able to put my CC info on PSN if it's that convenient. I'm especially liking the whole "only charge for the item YOU want" deal. I'm really not fond of the whole "point" system of WiiShop and Xbox Live. It seems as if the only reason they're doing that is to get you to spend more on points that you don't want for no real reason other than to get them more money.
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"Online Game Code: Currently, this item is available only to customers located in the United States and who have a U.S. billing address."
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The cards are for ALL sold content, at least until they make some items Amazon exclusive. Plus, Amazon is still pretty well region locked, so it's not like you could use it to get content from the US if you were in Europe, for instance.
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