Newegg Launches Official & Unofficial AMD Radeon R9 Game Bundles
by Ryan Smith on May 14, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
- AMD
- Radeon
- Newegg
- Game Bundles
Kudos to the PC Perspective crew for tracking this one down. It looks like Newegg is running a very unusual set of video game bundles with AMD’s higher-end Radeon cards.
Having apparently launched in parts over the last couple of weeks, Newegg is now bundling multiple video games with many of the Radeon R9 cards the e-tailer carries. A “base” offer involves the recently launched DIRT Rally, Codemasters’ latest off-road rally driving game, which is being offered with most of the R9 cards. Meanwhile the also recently launched Grand Theft Auto V is also being offered as a bundled game in a more limited fashion, being included with many of the R9 290 and 290X cards.
What makes this bundle so unusual however is its simultaneous official and unofficial nature. Officially AMD is running a DIRT Rally bundle – though having never released an announcement about it – and according to the terms & conditions this bundle has been going on as recently as April 27th, DIRT Rally’s launch day. Meanwhile Grand Theft Auto just recently begun showing up at Newegg, and unlike the DIRT bundle, AMD is disavowing all knowledge of this, stating that they are not involved in the GTA bundle.
| Newegg Radeon R9 Game Bundles | |
| Video Card | Bundle |
| Radeon R9 295X2 | DIRT Rally |
| Radeon R9 290 Series | DIRT Rally + Grand Theft Auto V |
| Radeon R9 285 Radeon R9 280 Series Radeon R9 270 Series |
DIRT Rally |
As a result the cards covered by these various bundles are a bit more inconsistent than in official AMD bundles. 7 of the 9 R9 290 cards include DIRT, and only 5 of those 7 include GTA V. For the R9 290X, 15 of the 17 cards include DIRT, and 10 of those 17 cards include GTA V. Consequently while we typically always say to double-check cards for bundles before purchasing, this time we really mean it, as more cards than usual are being excluded.
Overall, although retailer-specific offers are not unprecedented, these days it’s very rare to have retailers run their own video game bundle promotions. Typically such promotions are backed by the manufacturer, if only to take advantage of the buying power of such a large order. So for Newegg to offer their own GTA V bundle is quite a surprise, and if it were not for the fact that Newegg is the only retailer doing this it would be hard to believe, especially given the high-profile nature of GTA V. Meanwhile the availability of the DIRT bundle is similarly odd; along with Newegg it’s available at NCIX, but surprisingly not Amazon or Best Buy. For the moment at least, it looks like it’s just Newegg that gets all the goods.
In any case, given the unofficial nature of these bundles, there isn’t a published end date for either bundle. The AMD DIRT Rally codes are valid until the end of 2015, however we would expect the promotion to end much sooner than that. Consequently very little of this makes any sense, but for prospective Radeon R9 buyers, enjoy it while it lasts.
Update - 5/15/2015: Well that didn't last for very long. As of this morning all of the GTA V bundles are gone, and now only a handful of cards quality for the DIRT bundle; 2 of the R9 290s and 5 of the R9 290Xs. The entire situation gets curiouser and curiouser, and for the time being it looks like the bundles have tapered off almost as quickly as they appeared.
Source: PC Perspective
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chizow - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
Also, you haven't considered for a second that while you may be reading the same comments and viewpoints over and over again, I may be replying to some new AMD fanboy that needs these fundamental concepts and points explained all over again?silverblue - Sunday, May 17, 2015 - link
Dear me. Company A gives Company B some codes. Company B sells more than they have. Company A is at fault. Nice logic.I'm done with this. Such a waste of time.
chizow - Monday, May 18, 2015 - link
Dear you. Company A says they will commit to 2000 codes to Company B, but only supplies 1500. Company C does the same and never seems to have a problem over-selling their allotment of codes for that company. Company A is probably at fault, but given their current financial predicament this is a surprise to anyone why?And of course, there's also the possibility the poster may have fallen outside of the promotion window and is blaming Company B wrongly.
Nagorak - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
Newegg customer service is actually quite bad. Years ago they used to be really good, but at some point they turned into a cutthroat corporation.I purchased a "SanDisk Extreme 32 GB" SD card from someone selling through their marketplace, and it turned out it was a fake. It actually was some slow, no-name card that was only 3 GB in size. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until months later (was just using it for photos and didn't fill it beyond the fake size).
I contacted Newegg about it and they just gave me the run around and refused to do anything about it. I'm not sure that CS even understood the problem as their responses did not even match what I was saying. Eventually I was just forced to eat the cost.
I had thought anyone selling through the Newegg marketplace would have been vetted, and that they would stand behind their sellers, but I was obviously completely wrong. Had this happened at Amazon, I have no doubt they would have sorted it out.
Anyway, I can totally believe that Newegg would pull that sort of shady business. I still shop with Newegg now, but I have no loyalty to them. I'll only buy if I am getting the lowest price, and otherwise I'll buy elsewhere.
Alexvrb - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
I refuse to buy anything from Newegg's marketplace sellers. When I buy from Newegg it must be sold by Newegg, otherwise I'll get it from Amazon instead. Amazon is better about dealing with problems presented by their sellers.Oh and while I still consider Newegg to be "good" overall, I would agree that they aren't quite as awesome as they used to be. They're still my #1 source for PC parts, however.
chizow - Thursday, May 14, 2015 - link
"I purchased a "SanDisk Extreme 32 GB" SD card from someone selling through their marketplace"That's all that needs to be said. Sure in a perfect world Newegg, Amazon, Ebay didn't have shady marketplace vendors, but in an imperfect world, people should know better than to buy from shady unknown sources. I guess I had the luxury of learning during the internet boom in the late 20th century and early 21st century to know better, but I guess not everyone had this luxury.,
silverblue - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
That's more than a tad presumptuous. It's not like they are going through eBay, is it?chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
No, it's not. If they go through the marketplace, it really is no different than going through Ebay. Sorry I see people getting similary scammed and duped on Amazon (who originated this whole marketplace concept) and I just don't have much sympathy because it clearly states its some random 3rd party vendor.Vayra - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
Man are you annoying. Get a life.chizow - Friday, May 15, 2015 - link
And I feel the same way about AMD and their fanboys. :)