June 28, 2006

[Misc] Can Not Answer

I can't answer all of these E-mails in a language I don't understand...

Thank you to those of you who are at least trying to write in English, but I really can't answer any more questions.

The total content changes involved in the USK release are under 25Mb total. That's it. You aren't shooting robots. Blood didn't turn green. Elexis isn't suddenly wearing more clothing. Jessica's nose is still pierced. Your guns don't shoot rainbows and sunshine. Poison time still fucks you up. You get Arena Mode out of the box. Heck, even the ad for "Ed's Gun Emporium" is still proudly displayed.

I can't ask Valve to unlock the non-USK version for people who purchase the USK version. The rules are very clear regarding what we can do in Germany in regards to the non-USK version. A rough translation: It is forbidden to advertise it, make it available for kids and teenagers, sell it openly in shops, sell it via direct mail selling or to make it available for download on the Internet. The game may only be sold under-the-table, and only to adults who ask specifically about it and can identify themselves with a passport. Whoever doesn't follow these rules, risk indication and jail up to 1 year.

I'm not in PR. This blog is not a PR vessel. This is me sharing my experiences with the world in an entirely unofficial manner. Would a PR entity mix posts about their products with posts regarding why they have two more toenails than they do toes? (Post going up in about a week.)

I can't fight your political battles for you. In the United States, some of us are trying to make sure we don't end up with an Index of our own due to the inept attempts at legislating morality that are being attempted in our fair country.

All I can do is do my best to make sure that when you get your game, it is stable and works as it is supposed to.

3 comments:

Michael Russell said...

Heat, I can handle. Requests to break the law in a foreign country, I can't.

Andrew Timson said...

So... with something like Steam, how would a customer use the non-USK version in Germany? Obviously, the detection-by-IP won't work so well. Will the USK version just have a different CD key format/hash?

[I understand if you can't answer this, either. I'm just incessantly curious about stuff like this. :)]

Andrew Timson said...

Never mind. I see that you answered my questions on the Steam forums. :)