Hey guys.
I am from Japan, I was going to join a giveaway of the game Dead Space 2.
But, Steam says that this game isn't avaiable here.
So, If I won the giveaway and try to activate the key, it will work ?

Sorry for any english mistake ^^

1 decade ago*

Comment has been collapsed.

No, it wont.
Steamgifts isn't associated with Steam, and does not handle the transaction of games themselves. Everything, except for the raffle, is done via Steam.
In other words, don't enter giveaways for games that cant be activated in your region.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I've never had a problem activating imported games here in Germany for those titles that are censored/insanely overpriced compared to the UK version.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

If it's Steam Gift you can, because all gifts in steam don't have region rectrisions.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Well, somebody answered Yes and the other guy said No..

:l

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Trust Gombas, it will work.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Activating CD-keys have a slight chance of not working, and in the future they might explode. Or have a different language like Ukrainian.

Getting gifted an actual copy of the game through the steam network is guaranteed to work. Gifting has no regional restriction.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

"Gifting has no regional restriction."

This is what the general consensus has always been and we've never had a problem gifting to people around the world.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

One exception are GFWL titles, which can have additional regional restrictions. But Dead Space 2 shouldn't be a problem.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Considering laws, I can only speak for Germany. But this general handling of gifts regarding unavailable titles does represant the legal situation here. The sale of these titles in Germany is forbidden, but the import of these titles for personal, noncommercial use is allowed, represented by gifts from an outside region. This also works for importing uncut titles.

Edit: This is how Valve handles the situation, it may not be the same for other Digital Distributors.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Hmm thank you very much

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I've got a similar problem. I couldn't buy fear collection since it wasn't available in my region so i asked a friend to buy it for me. This appeared in my profile history "You now own F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn, F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point, F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate." But f.e.a.r 2 reborn isn't in my library.. Why?

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

It's DLC. If you right click on Fear 2 and select 'view Downloadable Content', you should see it there. There should be some way in Fear 2 itself to access it.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Yeah found it. Thanks :)

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

hey Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas isnt available in my region but if i buy them will it

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I am from germany and a giant load of titles are unavailable here, and some are available but censored/cut. However, if I get any of those games as a gift from a different region, they work fine and are uncensored/uncut. Exceptions are: the Dead Rising 2 DLC and Call of Duty Black Ops; these have special rules. Unless your region has any special rules, I assume you will not have any problems redeeming any gifts.
Some of the games that are unavailable here but I own anyway: FEAR 1 and 2, GTA 1-3, all Quake, Doom and Hexen games. All of them work without problem.
You can disregard LockeslyLCrit's answer.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Is there an official statement from Valve regarding this or is it just empirical info?

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I found some word from above in these threads:

"Thank you for contacting Steam Support. With your purchase via Steam you will always receive the version which is sold in the specific country you purchased from. If you buy the German low violence version it will also be censored when you use it in a different country. If you buy a non censored game depending on the title you will be able to use that title as non censored in any other country as non censored. Technical support for all titles which are not Valve related is handled by a third party support department - please contact the support if you have any questions regarding a in game language issue. Please let us know if you experience further difficulties, or if you have additional questions or concerns."

"Steam attempts to abide by local laws and give you the version your country allows when you purchase or activate a game on it. Many users get around this by having a friend in another region gift them the game, which results in the recipient having an uncensored version. Others get around the limitation by ordering an uncensored game from another country.
Apparently there is some variation per title as to whether or not activating a version purchased in another region gets you. For example, Steam lets you activate and install the Austrian version of Black ops in Germany, but not the UK or US versions. Source. The safest thing to do if you live in Germany but want to import an uncut version of a game is to use a friend or a proxy* to gift the game to you in Steam."

By "proxy", another person is meant, not a proxy server or VPN to give you a different IP.
And as I explained on several threads, I have used a friend/proxy to get normally cut or unavailable games several times without any problems. In a way, my library is further proof that it works, considering how many of my games are normally unavailable in Germany.

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I have actually heard of people who live in Japan not being able to redeem games that have been gifted to them because they're not available in Japan yet.

Japan and other Eastern Asian countries seem to have some weird exceptions to the way regions normally work with Steam games.

I believe it varies from game to game though.

Would there be anything wrong with entering, and if you happen to win and can't redeem it, then you say so and the giveaway happens again?

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Some games may have special rules attached to them for specific regions (like Black Ops and DR2: Off The Record for Germany). But usually, those are pretty clear.
In any case, I do not see anything wrong with trying as long as there are no clear restrictions. If you cannot redeem it, you can always ask to have it re-raffled. However, I think you should not try to enter for Off The Record when you're living in Germany

1 decade ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Closed 1 decade ago by NekoOuraChan.