Happy birthday from Steam (Region locking issues)

W

Wyzak

New member
So, it was my birthday some time ago and my friend decided to buy XCOM2 for me. Unfortunately I'm not able to add the game to my account thanks to Steam's Region locking.

Even though we are from the same country I am not able to add the game to my account as I am currently overseas.

The really sad part is that if I buy a game on my account while overseas it is region locked to the very same region that I'm unable to add games from.

This has happened in the past and I had to go through Steam support to get it resolved, but not without trouble.

This is such unnecessary crap on a legitimate transaction and if this continues I will have no choice but to reconsider whether Steam is still my preferred platform.

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

Though your account is currently to REDACTED, you are accessing your account from another country.

While you are located in REDACTED, you will not be able to redeem this game on your Steam account. You will need to physically reside in REDACTED to redeem and play this gift.
Click to expand...

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

We apologize for the delay.

Your store region is set based on the location of your first Steam purchase. While traveling, the Steam store will show your region's prices and you'll be able to make purchases as you would from home. It is not possible to temporarily change your store region to make purchases while traveling.

If you have moved to a new region, or are living abroad for an extended period of time, you can update your Steam region to match your current location. You must be logged in from the Steam client in order to make this change. Steam only accepts payment methods from the country that matches your Steam country setting.
Click to expand...

0FsOl3h.png
 
Eish...that might cause problems for me as well. Luckily hasn't thus far.

This is such unnecessary crap on a legitimate transaction
Click to expand...
Problem is they can't distinguish between legitimate transactions and someone trying to make a quick buck off differences in region pricing.
 
HavocXphere said:
Eish...that might cause problems for me as well. Luckily hasn't thus far.


Problem is they can't distinguish between legitimate transactions and someone trying to make a quick buck off differences in region pricing.
Click to expand...

I'm quite certain they can if they just put a little bit of thought into it.

My account was registered in SA. Out of my non-gifted games 99.9% of my 200+ games were bought in SA. How hard can it be? It's not like I'm hopping around from region to region.

Why are games that I buy region locked to SA, but I can't add SA games to my account? That basically means that I'm in my own region.

The world got rid of the death penalty because of the chance that an innocent person can be killed, even though the vast majority of people who get killed will deserve it... I frankly feel the same principal should apply towards piracy and methods such as this. If even one legitimate transaction is affected then hell should be paid.
 
Why are games that I buy region locked to SA, but I can't add SA games to my account? That basically means that I'm in my own region.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you're no longer on SA region. I'm certainly not.
 
HavocXphere said:
Don't think the wallet is a good indication of anything. Esp if there is money in it. My store currency switched & wallet didn't until I brought the balance down to zero.

You can see your actual region here:
https://store.steampowered.com/account/
Click to expand...

account region.png

We understand your frustration. However, Steam Support cannot change the region restrictions for this title.

The game has been returned to the purchaser's inventory. They can request a refund or gift this title to another Steam user.

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
Click to expand...
 
HavocXphere said:
I guess that means SA has joined the ranks of the region locked games. Can't find a complete list, but here is one:
http://kotaku.com/you-cant-gift-steam-games-wherever-you-want-anymore-1672525767

So I'm guessing gifting in the opposite direction should still work. i.e. UK can probably gift to ZA
Click to expand...

Yep. SA is definitely on the list of region locked countries. Like I said the 4-pack that I bought on the 6th of May 2016 is region locked to South Africa, but I can't accept games from South Africa... There's also no option for my friend to buy an "international" version of the game as Steam only offers the "region locked" version.
 
Wyzak said:
Yep. SA is definitely on the list of region locked countries. Like I said the 4-pack that I bought on the 6th of May 2016 is region locked to South Africa, but I can't accept games from South Africa... There's also no option for my friend to buy an "international" version of the game as Steam only offers the "region locked" version.
Click to expand...
Presumably you could but the intl version though & share it with them. Though it is a bit weird that you're in ZA region yet not really.

If you run into trouble I can help facilitate purchases - pretty sure I'm not region locked.
 
This has been the case since we got the Steam store in Rands. I don't understand the anger because it's pretty standard for digital storefronts and the reasons for it is completely reasonable. It's simply to stop people abusing the system to buy games from cheaper regions, like they used to in the past. Steam uses your IP address to determine where you are and that's why you get locked out of region-locked games. If you're really having trouble, just use a ZA VPN. Steam isn't going to ban you for it unless you abuse it to buy cheaper games.

Our games got region locked because they tailored the prices to our region instead of just ripping us off using the exchange rate. We pay the equivalent of R10/R11 per Dollar for our games, which is well below the exchange rate. The alternative is Steam removes our region lock and we go back to being at the mercy of the exchange rate, where we'll be charged at R15+ per Dollar.
 
Graal said:
Our games got region locked because they tailored the prices to our region instead of just ripping us off using the exchange rate. We pay the equivalent of R10/R11 per Dollar for our games, which is well below the exchange rate. The alternative is Steam removes our region lock and we go back to being at the mercy of the exchange rate, where we'll be charged at R15+ per Dollar.
Click to expand...
That low? wow.
 
HavocXphere said:
Presumably you could but the intl version though & share it with them. Though it is a bit weird that you're in ZA region yet not really.

If you run into trouble I can help facilitate purchases - pretty sure I'm not region locked.
Click to expand...

I'd have to buy it in a store though, as games that I buy are region locked to SA and I can't send it to anybody who's not on that region.

What really sucks is that I'm limited to the ZA store, but can't receive things from the ZA store. So essentially I'm my own island.

The game was returned to the purchaser and it was refunded. Guess I'll just buy my own gift now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top