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  • haihuynh - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Next to the pick-your-game model and the use of tiers, the final change in the program is that AMD is now going to allow buyers to “bank” their redemption credit, in anticipation of future titles. As previously mentioned AMD will be using a revolving list of games, so games will be periodically added or dropped as AMD signs up new games, loses old games, or exhausts their key allocations. Buyers in turn may choose to use their redemption coupon now or in the future, with those choosing to bank their coupon betting on being able to redeem those coupons for newer/better games in the future.

    However there will be a trio of catches to banking redemption credit that need to be pointed out. First and foremost, AMD will not be announcing new games ahead of time. So whatever games they add in the future – and they have made it clear they will be adding games – are anyone’s guess, as will what tiers get those games (only gold tier is a given). The second catch is that silver and gold tier coupons, good for 2 and 3 games respectively, must have all of their games redeemed all at once; the credits can’t be split. So for example on a gold tier coupon it’s not possible to get Tomb Raider now, and then save just 2 of the credits for future use. It’s all or nothing, as it were. AMD didn’t go into great detail on why they’re handling the program in this manner, but judging from their current game lists it’s a reasonable assumption that they don’t want coupon holders “sniping” the most valuable (read: expensive to AMD) games. Finally, redemption coupons/credits are only valid until the end of 2013, so while buyers can bank their credits they can't bank them for too long, as they'll need to spend them by the end of the year.
  • RussianSensation - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    At least there are now game option choices and 4.5 months to redeem your coupon for future games. It's a win-win for the consumer. Not sure how you managed to spin it into a negative. Before you had to take it or leave it. Now you have a choice of what you want to do with the coupon.
  • Theremings759 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link

    upto I looked at the draft that said $5197, I didnt believe ...that...my mom in-law was like they say actually earning money parttime from there labtop.. there friends cousin started doing this for only about 7 months and a short time ago repayed the morgage on their condo and got a gorgeous BMW. view publisher site http://jobs63.com
  • mr_tawan - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    I think it's not available here in Thailand (just like NSR). Too bad AMD choose not to do as aggressive promotion here.
  • blackoctagon - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    It's only available in the US for now. Worldwide availability is 'coming soon' - http://sites.amd.com/us/promo/never-settle/Pages/n...
  • mr_tawan - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Worldwide would be just for selected countries. Here we got a different, inferior, promotion with shorter duration.

    I've been fooled by the word before I realized that it's for selected countries, after I bought a new 7790.

    AMD is not to be blame though, promotions here usually inferior comparing to US and some other countries.
  • Mondozai - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    You don't buy an AMD card right now unless you're totally not into gaming.
    BF4 will come to the Never Settle bundle this october, with the new product launch, the 9000-series.

    I'd also wager Total War: Rome, GTA V and others will be added to the list.

    This is a lull.
  • RussianSensation - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Depends. Right now you can snag cards like Sapphire 1Ghz 7970 with 3 free games for $290. Even if HD9970 is 35% faster, it's still far worse value at $550. You say new games will be added to the list, but you can just save all 3 redeemable choices for them by end of December 31, 2013. Getting a 1Ghz 7970 now for sub-$300 and then waiting for 20nm GPUs is actually more preferable because 20nm flagship GPUs will squash 780/9970 like a bug in 12 months from now. Also, this idea that unless you buy the best (780/9970/Titan), you are not into gaming makes no sense. Many people buy mid-range cards and upgrade them very often allowing them to keep up with graphical advancements of future games without having to drop $550+ every GPU upgrade.
  • Sabresiberian - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Except AMD is likely to be announcing their new graphics cards very soon, and the prices of the cards you mentioned could well drop further after that. And, new graphics solutions can easily have cards that give more bang for the proverbial buck, so saving money on a last-gen model has to be considered carefully.

    And, there's this whole "Performance/dollar" thing. The whole "this card has a better performance/dollar" concept grates on me. I mean, you either have a need for more performance in your build or you don't, and if buying a card with a better performance/dollar statistic won't meet your standards then it is a waste of your money and so the actual perf/$ is "fails to meet needs". The same goes the other way - if you are happy with 15fps in games and have a 1600x900 monitor you are likely wasting money by buying a 7970, so its effective perf/$ goes way up in that regard as well, because you are paying for capabilities that you'll never need.

    Perf/$ just isn't the simple statistic that review sites tend to lead people to believe. As in everything, your usage should guide your purchasing decisions so that you don't waste your money either way.
  • Flunk - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Historically the prices of out cards fall before the new generation is available and retailers attempt to sell off stock before the new cards arrive. If you want a deal on current (soon to be last) gen cards now is when you have to buy.

    Performance/dollar makes sense because they're always releasing new software with higher requirements so it doesn't matter you "don't need" the performance today because there is always something right around the corner.
  • blackoctagon - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Just because you like those kinds of games doesn't mean they're for everyone, mate...
  • Mondozai - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    "Just because you like those kinds of games doesn't mean they're for everyone, mate..."

    Sure, but it's still stupid to buy an AMD card right now when they launch their 9000-series next month. Any reasonably smart buyer should withhold their purchase and see what's around the corner, if you then decide to buy, say, a 7970 or whatever then that's fine. But buying one blindly now would be stupid, whether you're into gaming or not.
  • Da W - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    You buy a AMD card if you game on eyefinity. Waiing for Rome 2 with my 3 screen setup, i'd call that be into gaming.
    I've been shooting things since DOOM and Wolfeinstein, what else can BF4 give me?
  • Flunk - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Long and boring cut scenes and a drawn out but still just as meaningless plot.

    And shiny graphics.
  • Mondozai - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    lol if you think people play BF4 for plot or cut scenes.
  • yannigr - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    I like seeing AMD continuing being serious in the gaming market.
  • Sabresiberian - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    I can't help thinking in the same terms I've always thought with game bundles (or pretty much any product bundle) - why don't they just drop the price instead of offering me something I may or may not want? Isn't the ultimate "bundle" here to spend less on the video card and buy the game you want with the money you saved?

    For me, it puts the whole "retail" model in question for it to make more economic sense to offer bundles instead of reduced prices. If it can be given away for no cost to the end user, what is its real value? If the money AMD pays publishers for the games they offer is less than retail (and we of course know it is far less than retail), then why is the publisher dropping the price so much, and what does that mean about the prices I pay for games? Is the "advertising" cost for selling a game at a greatly reduced price to a video card manufacturer really worth it?

    Of course it isn't a simple question, and certainly doesn't have a simple answer; I just wanted to say mostly is that it gets my mental wheels turning, and what I most think about bundles is that they are a waste of my money in some way. Either I don't want the game and AMD is charging me a premium to offer it to other people, or I just paid full price for a retail copy and am wondering why the publisher is letting AMD give it away for "free". I'm not sure who all is picking my pocket here, but I don't like the feeling and wish everyone would stop and just sell me stuff straight up.

    A bundle has never caused me to buy something I otherwise would not have bought.
  • Ryan Smith - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    "If the money AMD pays publishers for the games they offer is less than retail (and we of course know it is far less than retail), then why is the publisher dropping the price so much, and what does that mean about the prices I pay for games?"

    AMD buys copies of these games in bulk; we're talking 6-7 digits worth of copies in one go. They're getting a discount over retail MSRP because there's no middleman (i.e. retailer) to take a cut, and a further discount for buying in such a large quantity.
  • Wreckage - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Their recent financial report showed the graphics division posting a loss. They may not be paying a lot for these games, but it does not appear to be helping their bottom line either.
  • Bob Todd - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    The answer actually is quite simple, and Ryan has articulated it nicely above. While it would be nicer/easier for the consumer to just get an equivalent price drop, it would have a negative financial impact and that isn't something I really expect or desire either AMD or Nvidia to endure. And the "value" of the bundle is completely dependent on the titles chosen and where they happen to be in the game's release schedule. Never Settle Reloaded was pretty phenomenal (basically unheard of) because it included some combination of 3 available AAA _prerelease_ titles. If you didn't like the games, the codes were easy to sell. I ended up with an extra $100 (after fees) in my pocket for a pair of 7870s. That certainly held value for me.
  • chizow - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Yep it's like a rebate or a prepaid gift card, it adds value without dealing long-term damage to MSRP for that product and surrounding SKUs, ie. the promotion can be taken away or added to and the MSRP remains stable.

    As Ryan stated, publishers/devs can sell these licenses in bulk and it's virtually all profit because there's no middle man, no retail fees which have been estimated to be as high as 30% (Steam) or more (retail B&M). They also get an up front guaranteed insurgence of capital, imagine 100,000 keys at $10 is $1,000,000 guaranteed. That goes a long way toward break-even, or keeping a studio funded.

    The opportunity cost of course, especially for pre-release AAA titles, is how much this erodes retail full price sales, but again, if the net amount you receive isn't that far off what you get after retail/publishers get their cut, it is worth it especially after you factor in cross-marketing promotions (as a Never Settle or TWIMTBP game).
  • chizow - Wednesday, August 14, 2013 - link

    Never Settle is a nice promotion, I just wonder how long AMD can sustain it. It probably costs them $5-$10 per license depending on game and how long it's been released. You're probably looking at $20 for the 3 game bundles, up to $50 for some of the all-inclusive ones. That's a lot of marketing overhead for products that are seeing lower and lower ASPs.
  • andy o - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link

    Wait a minute... am I missing something? I've been eyeing the 7790 for a while. So, now I would only get one game, as opposed to 3 of the same or better caliber with the previous bundle?

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