LebGeeks

OdeToDeath

Member

Store proposing Steam Backups

Hey Everyone ,

Most people have issues downloading games bought through Steam with almost all DSL plans we have here ( Limited plans & Unlimited with FUP ; only exception is Ogero ) , and alot do not even have access to DSL plans ( Cable guy FUP ) which makes downloading games a long and annoying chore .

No store around Lebanon proposes Steam Backups and the closest we have to that are rare networks that accept to share & sell their backups to customers + Those that propose downloading your data at exhorbitant rates ( Lowest i found is 1.7 $/GB ) .

So here's the thing : I'm considering , with the help of some friends , opening a place selling Steam Backups at a fair price to help those facing download issues . It will be based in a network around  Verdun/Hamra in Beirut . Of course , we"ll start with a small amount of games ( mostly popular ones , like DOTA , CS:GO , Rainbow Six Siege , GTA 5 , ect .. ) and will gradually get more and more new releases , and games based on popular requests . Maybe even provide Backups on request if we grow big enough .

Customers can come pick their games with an external HDD or on DVDs (that we"ll burn the games on beforehand ) . Our Main Goal is to propose fair pricing ( Example : Popular games like CS:GO & DOTA from 6000 LL to 8000 LL , less requested games like GTA , Rainbow Six Siege and ARK will be from 7 000 LL to 20 000 LL  , Maximum we"ll ever ask for on 50+ GB available games is hopefully 20 000 LL )  . Price will be updated on a Facebook page / blog / or website hopefully

Do you guys think this kind of store would be successful and find its customers ? Any idea that could improve the hopefully soon-to-be store ?

Thanks in advance

Edit : Spelling

Last edited by OdeToDeath (September 4 2016)

mmk92

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

it's a niche market and many people would purchase that backups from you and then share them among themselves (nobody can stop them really, and they're technically doing nothing wrong).

It would be a great idea if it's being done in a store that has another primary product such as a hardware store, gaming cafe..etc

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

This operation will be ran in a network ( AKA gaming cafe ) hopefully . The owner will take a cut of the profit . Of course i can't stop people sharing games between them , but alot of people asking for/having those backups live far from each other or outside Beirut + lot of people delete their local files when they're done with a game , if someone asked for Metal Gear Solid 5 now for example , he"d have trouble finding the files

Last edited by OdeToDeath (September 4 2016)

Marduk

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

Pretty good idea, i would actually buy a couple of games from you if this works(i have a big internet problem). But i dont know if it would be succesful for many reasons.....

nosense

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I can also tell you how to download ps4 games and install them, you will find big market with ps4 since a lot of people buy the games but need the update files, and for me if I can get the game files, I can buy the game digitally and save much more money which is what I do.

Last edited by nosense (September 5 2016)

Zackfarran

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

but cant people just simply buy the the dvd's(cracked ones) and install them on their hard disk, then enter the CD key they bought?

ironman

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I think that you can give it a try, since you are not paying for rental ... (No risk) so you can give it a chance. Good Luck :)

nosense

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

but cant people just simply buy the the dvd's(cracked ones) and install them on their hard disk, then enter the CD key they bought?

doesn't always work plus many games now are not getting cracked even years after it's released so you can't find the game files.

Zackfarran

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

but cant people just simply buy the the dvd's(cracked ones) and install them on their hard disk, then enter the CD key they bought?

doesn't always work plus many games now are not getting cracked even years after it's released so you can't find the game files.

True. i guess it is worth giving it a chance.

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

Thanks for your answers guys .

@aliessayli2 , providing PS4 updates and games files would be a good idea , since the number of PS4 users in Lebanon is larger that the number of PC users . Only issue is that i do not own a PS4 , and so , must get the files from another source and through a third-party .

@Zackfarran , I'm using that method for most of my games as well . Issue is that cracked games are never up to date ( with a few exceptions ) and you always have to download patches and extra content which is almost 4GB+ on the base game + Alot of games haven't been cracked yet (Denuvo comes to mind ), and are only available "original"

user

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I was thinking of something simpler lately, just meetups between us and sharing our games.

The issue with internet in Lebanon is mostly cost per GB not speed. I was downloading a 43 GB game(shadow of mordor) my problem was not exceeding my quota each month, so it took me 3 month(but I made it) If someone offered me 1$ per GB I wouldn't take it, because I could simply leave my own connection on overnight downloading and while I am at work, and end up paying the same amount. Also, since you can sell the same download to multiple users, you can aim to sell lower than what DSL sells. And perhaps you may offer clients trade where they give you games that you don't have in exchange for a discount or another game...

Your pricing seems good. But I doubt it would be profitable as a stand alone business.
What if instead of a store where you need to pay rent and electricity, you make it a home business and use the rent price to hire a delivery person to deliver around your area, in Hamra and beirut in general, that is a high density area with a good potential.

Last edited by user (September 5 2016)

haidcar

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

your business is a low-risk one.

You are going to download popular steam games and back them up, most likely you own all or most of these games to begin. minimum to zero cost here.

The location is free, and you only pay the network owner % of the profit.

I don't see why you wouldn't start such a business.

I think you should go for it IMO.

Last edited by haidcar (September 5 2016)

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I was thinking of something simpler lately, just meetups between us and sharing our games.

The issue with internet in Lebanon is mostly cost per GB not speed. I was downloading a 43 GB game(shadow of mordor) my problem was not exceeding my quota each month, so it took me 3 month(but I made it) If someone offered me 1$ per GB I wouldn't take it, because I could simply leave my own connection on overnight downloading and while I am at work, and end up paying the same amount. Also, since you can sell the same download to multiple users, you can aim to sell lower than what DSL sells. And perhaps you may offer clients trade where they give you games that you don't have in exchange for a discount or another game...

Your pricing seems good. But I doubt it would be profitable as a stand alone business.
What if instead of a store where you need to pay rent and electricity, you make it a home business and use the rent price to hire a delivery person to deliver around your area, in Hamra and beirut in general, that is a high density area with a good potential.

As haidcar mentionned after you , this is not a stand alone buisness . We will be based in an already open net cafe , whose owner we have a deal with . Of course i'm going to sell those backup pretty cheap ( GTA 5 Steam Backup , which is around 60 GB , will be sold at around 20 000 LL , which makes the price 333 LL/GB ) . We could make delivery for orders more than 15 000 LL around Beirut ( cannot move outside Beirut sadly ) , in which case we"ll send someone with an HDD containing the games which he will install on people's pcs .

Edit : Forgot to mention it , but if we deliver & install directly , the HDD will be wiped before every delivery and contain only the requested games . This is of course to prevent someone from spreading viruses on their machines to our HDDs , which we"ll use on other people's pcs

Last edited by OdeToDeath (September 5 2016)

Tech Guru

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I was thinking of something simpler lately, just meetups between us and sharing our games.

The issue with internet in Lebanon is mostly cost per GB not speed. I was downloading a 43 GB game(shadow of mordor) my problem was not exceeding my quota each month, so it took me 3 month(but I made it) If someone offered me 1$ per GB I wouldn't take it, because I could simply leave my own connection on overnight downloading and while I am at work, and end up paying the same amount. Also, since you can sell the same download to multiple users, you can aim to sell lower than what DSL sells. And perhaps you may offer clients trade where they give you games that you don't have in exchange for a discount or another game...

Your pricing seems good. But I doubt it would be profitable as a stand alone business.
What if instead of a store where you need to pay rent and electricity, you make it a home business and use the rent price to hire a delivery person to deliver around your area, in Hamra and beirut in general, that is a high density area with a good potential.

As haidcar mentionned after you , this is not a stand alone buisness . We will be based in an already open net cafe , whose owner we have a deal with . Of course i'm going to sell those backup pretty cheap ( GTA 5 Steam Backup , which is around 60 GB , will be sold at around 20 000 LL , which makes the price 333 LL/GB ) . We could make delivery for orders more than 15 000 LL around Beirut ( cannot move outside Beirut sadly ) , in which case we"ll send someone with an HDD containing the games which he will install on people's pcs .

Edit : Forgot to mention it , but if we deliver & install directly , the HDD will be wiped before every delivery and contain only the requested games . This is of course to prevent someone from spreading viruses on their machines to our HDDs , which we"ll use on other people's pcs

I will be your 1st customer: Reason I have an Ogero Plan 6-8 Limited Storage of 60 GB. Need that service asap. Tell me when are lunching this service & all contact info. Usually need steam / origin backups and I activate by purchasing the keys.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 , Mafia 3 , Watch Dogs 2 , Mass Effect: Andromeda , Escape From Tarkov , Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands are all on my list. Each AAA title is at least 35 GB with soon releases :)

Prince

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

We have this already done in a big internet cafe where we did a caching for steam / riot and some others i can't remember there names
this are for the following games :
Leauge of Legends
Dota
CS GO
World Of Warcarft

and here some look of what is going on
23 GB downloaded from internet
46.20 GB cached  to the network

Last edited by Prince (September 5 2016)

Marduk

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

We have this already done in a big internet cafe where we did a caching for steam / riot and some others i can't remember there names
this are for the following games :
Leauge of Legends
Dota
CS GO
World Of Warcarft

and here some look of what is going on
23 GB downloaded from internet
46.20 GB cached  to the network

Well 1 cafe might not be enough, and u only listed 4 games(very small number for such a business), there should be many more games, and buyers can ask for non available games so that the seller can get them.

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

We got a facebook page up and running with our list of games . Going to ask for the mod's permission first before posting it ( It's self-advertisement after all ) . I can send the link to anyone that wants it PM meanwhile

Last edited by OdeToDeath (September 7 2016)

Prince

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

We have this already done in a big internet cafe where we did a caching for steam / riot and some others i can't remember there names
this are for the following games :
Leauge of Legends
Dota
CS GO
World Of Warcarft

and here some look of what is going on
23 GB downloaded from internet
46.20 GB cached  to the network

Well 1 cafe might not be enough, and u only listed 4 games(very small number for such a business), there should be many more games, and buyers can ask for non available games so that the seller can get them.

the game which i listed are which are now available
we just need to purchases the game and its will be cached if its steam or sony games we are able to cache ps3 and ps4 games

user

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

You might need to wait for the next steam sale then, because buying games in bulk now will be very expensive. Unless you can form a network of people that you can trust and are willing to donate steam backups.

BTW, I have a question regarding backups. If person A buys a game with full DLC and packages and he exports that game, can a person B with the game and no DLC use that backup?

Georges00

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

You might need to wait for the next steam sale then, because buying games in bulk now will be very expensive. Unless you can form a network of people that you can trust and are willing to donate steam backups.

BTW, I have a question regarding backups. If person A buys a game with full DLC and packages and he exports that game, can a person B with the game and no DLC use that backup?

Some DLC, well almost all, are DRM Protected and the game checks if you bought them.
Now, some exceptions such as the first Borderlands let you download the DLCs from somewhere else and just use them since they don't check anything.
Another example is Rainbow Six Siege. You can download the season pass which is a simple.dll file and use it.

user

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

You might need to wait for the next steam sale then, because buying games in bulk now will be very expensive. Unless you can form a network of people that you can trust and are willing to donate steam backups.

BTW, I have a question regarding backups. If person A buys a game with full DLC and packages and he exports that game, can a person B with the game and no DLC use that backup?

Some DLC, well almost all, are DRM Protected and the game checks if you bought them.
Now, some exceptions such as the first Borderlands let you download the DLCs from somewhere else and just use them since they don't check anything.
Another example is Rainbow Six Siege. You can download the season pass which is a simple.dll file and use it.

But for those that check, would it import the normal game data and disable the dlc or would it refuse to import at all?

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

You might need to wait for the next steam sale then, because buying games in bulk now will be very expensive. Unless you can form a network of people that you can trust and are willing to donate steam backups.

BTW, I have a question regarding backups. If person A buys a game with full DLC and packages and he exports that game, can a person B with the game and no DLC use that backup?

Some DLC, well almost all, are DRM Protected and the game checks if you bought them.
Now, some exceptions such as the first Borderlands let you download the DLCs from somewhere else and just use them since they don't check anything.
Another example is Rainbow Six Siege. You can download the season pass which is a simple.dll file and use it.

But for those that check, would it import the normal game data and disable the dlc or would it refuse to import at all?

Hey user ,

It will probably only allow normal data to be imported , a single dlc wouldn't block the whole install .

Also , we're relying on trustable sources to provide our backups for now , and we think there's no issue buying big releases and downloading them if there is a considerable demand . We are currently considering a "trade system" in which customers give us backups in exchange of a discount on the item they get . But this would also cause issue in case the game gets an update because we wouldn't have access to it on steam , and so won't be able to update it

Last edited by OdeToDeath (September 8 2016)

Marduk

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

Some DLC, well almost all, are DRM Protected and the game checks if you bought them.
Now, some exceptions such as the first Borderlands let you download the DLCs from somewhere else and just use them since they don't check anything.
Another example is Rainbow Six Siege. You can download the season pass which is a simple.dll file and use it.

But for those that check, would it import the normal game data and disable the dlc or would it refuse to import at all?

Hey user ,

It will probably only allow normal data to be imported , a single dlc wouldn't block the whole install .

Also , we're relying on trustable sources to provide our backups for now , and we think there's no issue buying big releases and downloading them if there is a considerable demand . We are currently considering a "trade system" in which customers give us backups in exchange of a discount on the item they get . But this would also cause issue in case the game gets an update because we wouldn't have access to it on steam , and so won't be able to update it

Concerning the trade system, Why not add the game to steam if its free. Arent you gonna have all the games on a steam account so you can keep them up to date?

Last edited by Marduk (September 8 2016)

OdeToDeath

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

But for those that check, would it import the normal game data and disable the dlc or would it refuse to import at all?

Hey user ,

It will probably only allow normal data to be imported , a single dlc wouldn't block the whole install .

Also , we're relying on trustable sources to provide our backups for now , and we think there's no issue buying big releases and downloading them if there is a considerable demand . We are currently considering a "trade system" in which customers give us backups in exchange of a discount on the item they get . But this would also cause issue in case the game gets an update because we wouldn't have access to it on steam , and so won't be able to update it

Concerning the trade system, Why not add the game to steam if its free. Arent you gonna have all the games on a steam account so you can keep them up to date?

Getting all the new AAA releases on our steam account , even from 3rd parties cd-key resellers , will cost quite alot , so we won't consider buying a game unless there's a considerable demand for it . But if this store is a small success , we"ll be able to buy & download most games on release .

If we do not own a backup we got a traded and cannot keep it updated ,  we"ll make sure to put next to it's name on the list : ( LAST UPDATED ON XX-XX-XXXX ) so customers can check if there was any recent updates and their size . Even if the backup is not up-to-date , alot of users would prefer only downloading a 1 GB extra patch for an outdated backup , than download a whole 20 GB+ game . There will of course be discounts on those "outdated backups" based on the amount of data missing .

Most important thing for us is keeping it transparent , if a backup is outdated or need a small update , it's our duty to let the customers know .

user

Member

Re: Store proposing Steam Backups

I don't think updating should be a major issue. I mean I don't mind downloading 1 GB to update a game, it's the original 40 GB to get the game that break my back. Also, you should find ways to expand your "trusted network" as it could be very useful for everybody (you and your clients who will gain additional game options/ ability to get discounts if they provide useful additional content) Anyway, christmas sale is coming, I will be getting doom, warhammer total war, witcher 3 and project cars if they have good discounts.

That's another thing, you can take 'bookings' since most people buy games on sales, you can have a system where people tell you ahead of time what they will be getting and you can check on those sales whether or not it is practical for you to get it.

I hope it will work for you because downloading has always been a major headache for me.

Last edited by user (September 19 2016)