The "age check" is a bit like the Amazon check of residence. You can try to fool some youth protection agency with this, but you wouldn't try that in case of a possible criminal offence.

And the law comes in effect once you "make the content available". I don't know if an internet service has ever been actually charged with this. But Valve (or their lawyers) think that redeeming a key does mean "making available", but not downloading it.

Once you deal in those areas, it is "better safe than sorry". The potential risk is not worth trying it, even if just redeeming might be ok.
I don't want such a check. Way to much real data is shared by something like this. The system as it is now can easily be fooled and worked with. Way better than sharing the required information for an age check.

Got a quick reply from Humble Bundle
So I'm convinced. Now, to all those avaid Steam supporters: explain to me why it works here while it did't work with the THQ Bundle. Are you seriously telling me this is because the publisher changed (rest in peace THQ)

Is there some German Age check system they could tie in to Steam somehow they could use?

Yes, that seriously would seem to be the most logical deduction. Why would you think it isn't?

I miss THQ :(

Does this mean Deep Silver is tanking it too? :D

Me too, their games were the few cases where the prices were actually in our favor rather than the US.

I'm no Steam supporter - far from it - but it does indeed seem to be the case that the change to Deep Silver has resulted in a change of policy that no longer involved regional locks. My guess is that Deep Silver - a German company - has a much better idea of how the situation is on the ground, rather than the contradictory information that THQ seemed to be basing its policies on.

Steam is far from blameless in this regard - allowing the imposition of region locks on PC games of all things is nothing short of wrong.

That is actually very simple. Whenever you can redeem a game from a German IP but not buy it on Steam, the publisher simply won't sell it here. Whenever you can't even redeem a key from a German IP, the game is considered to "risky" by Steam.

And remember, games which got confiscated are actually not available for adults to "get". You are allowed to own them, but making them available will burn you. (I think Dead Rising 2 is one of them)
You mean like GOG with The Witcher 2?


Edit: Wait, what region locks do you mean?

Man, I wish I had a computer that could run Dead Island! I've actually been wanting to play that for quite some time.

Considering paying $1 (or whatever the bare minimum is) to get Steam keys for Risen 2 and Sacred 2 Gold (after all, then I'd have to buy the missing DLC for Risen 2 separately anyway (cost around 23€ on top of this base version); and having DRM always makes the bundle worth less, naturally). But maybe I wait until I see what unlocked extras there will be.

What I'd really prefer though would be Sacred 2 Gold, and the Gold editions of both Risen 1 and 2, in GOG. That would be worth much more to me, and the pubs would also get more money from me than with this bundle.

Not sure if I'd like Dead Island, which at least is a full GOTY version. First I was mixing it up in my mind with "Left 4 Dead" which I didn't like.

There's the Deutsche Post PostIdent system, where you can go to any Post Office and they'll check your ID and send confirmation to whoever's asking that you really are who you say you are and that you're as old as you claim to be.

We have a popular website for selling indexed and unrated films and games - XJuggler - and they use this approach. Works very well I think.

Also, the new ID cards being used in Germany allow you to connect a device via USB and prove your age via some service or another. I still have my old one so I don't know how it works, but the technical foundations are in place.

I'm only interested in the soundtracks since I already have the games. I guess I'll wait and see what the unlocks are.

You're missing out on a pretty dull game. If you're not just fucking around with your buddies, there's not much to it.

THQ bundle had single keys. Those keys for Saint's Row where the RoW Retail ones, which cannot be activated in Germany.
This bundle has a pack key that activates the RoW Steam version. Said pack has no lock.
If you somehow got your hands on a THQ Collection key, you would be able to redeem the uncut THQ catalogue from Germany as well, though I'm not sure where one could get said key.

I liked what I saw of theRadBrad's gameplay, and the setting looked interesting (as well as the "level up" system). But it doesn't matter right now, anyway. :P