Doom 3 Vanilla Edition Temporarily Listed at $100

[Fanghawk]

Doom 3 Vanilla Edition Temporarily Listed at $100

According to a hastily removed Steam listing, Doom 3 was briefly worth more than its own BFG Edition.

Doom 3: BFG Edition may have had <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120172-Bethesda-Dont-Install-Doom-3-BFG-Edition-on-Xbox-360>a couple of hiccups at launch, but by and large the game is a great way to introduce new players to the franchise. Collecting and remastering Doom 1 to 3 with additional bonus content, id Software and Bethesda clearly intended the BFG Edition to be a definitive set for veterans and newcomers alike. But what if you just wanted a discounted, pre-BFG version of Doom 3? After BFG's launch, a quick stop at Steam's Doom 3 page informed gamers that the title was still available, but for the very surprising price of $99.99.

It turns out that after removing the option to purchase Doom 3 from Steam's catalog, the original game was left undisturbed in the $100 Super id Software Pack. This had the side effect of bumping Doom 3's listed price to a figure $70 higher than the BFG Edition, <a href=http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2974876>much to the ire of Steam users. The Pack did include the rest of id's back catalog, but anyone wanting to purchase Doom 3 by itself were simply out of luck.

The Super id Software Pack has been removed from Steam and the Doom 3 price listing taken down, likely so Bethesda can hash out a solution. "We do realize that there are fans that would like to purchase the original version of the game," a Bethesda rep stated, "and we're looking into options for them."

The BFG Edition might very well be superior to the original, but many gamers would still be frustrated if it were to disappear. Doom 3 once supported several fan-favorite mods that cannot be transferred to the BFG Edition, including <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119451-Doom-3-BFG-Edition-Cuts-PC-Multiplayer-From-Original-Games>a co-op mode that Bethesda is no longer pursuing. The original version will likely continue to draw support until the BFG Edition can implement such features, although I doubt many people would happily pay $100 for the privilege.

Source: <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-23-if-you-want-the-original-doom-3-from-steam-you-have-to-pay-76>Eurogamer

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[Kopikatsu]

Reminds me of when DOTA 2 was listed as $99.99 for a little while.

Don't remember any backlash over that though.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I'm not usually the guy who's willing to pick apart articles, but I don't agree with the assertion that the BFG edition is superior for those with a PC. There's a reason BFG's release made a backlash of people who decided they'd play the original one and save money in the process, and why Zenimax was so quick to pull vanilla asap.

BFG is a console port, vanilla is not. Vanilla allows mods that "duct tape" the flashlight to the gun, way better graphics than BFG, and the co-op you mentioned, but BFG allows no mods and forces the duct tape situation as default. BFG has the FOV so low that it looks incredibly zoomed in in comparison, and is even disorienting for some users.

If it was really so superior and the definitive version, they would be comfortable sticking to those laurels and letting people pay less for the "inferior" product. If you have a 360/PS3 though, by all means get it, it's the best Doom 3 you're going to play anywhere.

 

[rapidoud]

When they screw over anyone not from the USA they don't care, but GOD FORBID WE PRICE GOUGE THE YANKS! (Of which Bethesda is a big offender, Dishonored is about $30 more for us on steam and $40 more than GMG).

 

[antidark777]

Very happy with the console version of the BFG Edition of Doom 3. Dont know what the PC version was/is like, but im going to assume its the same experience.

 

[BloodRed Pixel]

Pulling the original D3 is an absolute jerk move!!!!

I hope the modding community will mail Bethesd to hell!

What will they do next? sent out cease and desist letter to the modders?

 

[getoffmycloud]

I'm not usually the guy who's willing to pick apart articles, but I don't agree with the assertion that the BFG edition is superior for those with a PC. There's a reason BFG's release made a backlash of people who decided they'd play the original one and save money in the process, and why Zenimax was so quick to pull vanilla asap.

BFG is a console port, vanilla is not. Vanilla allows mods that "duct tape" the flashlight to the gun, way better graphics than BFG, and the co-op you mentioned, but BFG allows no mods and forces the duct tape situation as default. BFG has the FOV so low that it looks incredibly zoomed in in comparison, and is even disorienting for some users.

If it was really so superior and the definitive version, they would be comfortable sticking to those laurels and letting people pay less for the "inferior" product. If you have a 360/PS3 though, by all means get it, it's the best Doom 3 you're going to play anywhere.

But your comparing the BFG vanilla version with a modded version of the original so that modded version will be better but comparing the two vanilla versions then the BFG version is probably better.

 

[SJXarg]

Who really gives a fuck about this? I mean all the real gamers played this game back when it was current anyways....

At a guess, the Hexen: Edge of Chaos and The Dark Mod mod teams would probably "give a fuck" about this. Until they go standalone anyway, before then being unable to get a cheap copy of the original game will have a somewhat limiting effect on their potential to expand their playerbase legitimately.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I really have to wonder why they wanted to take down the original in the first place. This is digital distribution, so it's not like shelf space is being wasted on copies of the old game. There's not even any significant bandwidth being used by it, unless it's being bought by a lot of people -- in which case Bethesda is still being stupid, because that would mean a lot of people were buying it. As in, paying them money.

Then again, I'm not sure why you can only get the original versions of the Serious Sam games in a bundle that includes the re-makes, or why Serious Sam 2 is completely MIA in the DD world. And those aren't the only games I've got that are only available in bundles, they're just the only ones big enough for it to really make a difference (the other one is some minor strategy game from the same publisher that made the Patrician series and DarkStar One.) Even with that obscure one, I have no idea why they're not selling it separately. It just seems like free money left on the table to me.

 

[SJXarg]

Serious Sam 2 has been on Steam for a few months now, just fyi... actually that reminds me, add that game to wishlist for Christmas sale!

 

[evilneko]

You know what might be worth 100 bucks?

Classic Doom 3 with ALL the levels of the previous games.

Vanilla Doom 3 sucks.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

It's not a superior version of the game, which is the goddamned problem. Did you even COMPARE the two?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Serious Sam 2 has been on Steam for a few months now, just fyi... actually that reminds me, add that game to wishlist for Christmas sale!

Seriously? Awesome, thanks for letting me know

 

[Doom972]

I feel sorry for those who rushed to buy the PC version as it came out. It doesn't looks as good as the vanilla version, the gameplay was made too easy (faster movement and much more ammo) and there's no mod support for Doom 3 or custom wad support for Doom 1 & 2.
Extremely disappointing that people who want to experience it in the future will have to get this watered down edition. Maybe the Oculus VR will make this game worth playing in the future. though I'm willing to bet that Doom 3 BFG will be bundled with it on launch, making any purchase of it now pointless.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Who really gives a fuck about this? I mean all the real gamers played this game back when it was current anyways....

Um... Doom 3 is nearly a decade old. There are plenty of "real gamers" (I won't even go into what's wrong with that phrase) who could easily have had no way of getting the game (or even hearing about it) when it was current unless one or both of their parents happened to be "real gamers". Next you'll be saying that all the "real movie buffs" watched Citizen Kane when it was current. e_e

 

[NiPah]

When they screw over anyone not from the USA they don't care, but GOD FORBID WE PRICE GOUGE THE YANKS! (Of which Bethesda is a big offender, Dishonored is about $30 more for us on steam and $40 more than GMG).

Well they wouldn't want to actually lose money, price gouging the Euro zone pretty much means lots of complaints but overall more income.