Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of virtual currencies. They certainly have their place, but usually they’re just an obstacle between you and the object you want. Why do I have to buy points if points are just your version of dollars? There are exceptions: here in Seattle there are a couple alternate currencies being traded for goods and services which work on a different level from dollars — and GamersGate, the direct-download games site, appears to have something of a good deal in their blue coins.
Unlike in Mario 64 and other games, you can’t get an extra life by collecting 10 blue coins. That would be impossible. No, these are used for buying games, just like regular money, but it appears that you can earn them just by participating in the site. Writing reviews for games, answering questions in the “Game Tutor” program, and doing other stuff nets you a load of coins. They’re not worth a lot individually, but once you buy or review a few games (may I recommend X-COM?) and lurk on the forums for a bit, you should have enough to make a bargain purchase or two.
If you keep an eye on the offers page, you can also find games that give you lots of bonus coins, too — so if it’s between buying it there or on Steam or whatever, you might as well get the extra buck or two off.
Anyway, if you’re going to lurk on a gaming community, you might as well get paid for it, right? I couldn’t find a complete guide to how to get coins so I’ve put what they sent me here:
Pre-order
GamersGate allows you to pre-order a game, and when you do you’ll be rewarded with Blue Coins. The standard is 250 BLC, but sometimes there are special offers that include more.
Price guarantee
If the pre-ordered game drops in price within 30 days after its release, for more than 5 days, you will get the difference back in Blue Coins.
Review
Your reviews posted on GamersGate are important as they will help other gamers with their game selections. Therefore we want to ensure that all reviews are as useful as possible to our gamers. Anyone who has purchased a game is welcome to write a review, which will be published on GamersGate. Please note that in order to get your review published you need to follow our review policy. In order to review a product, you must be logged in and own the game, and you can only review a product once. If you are first to review you will receive 300 BLC, with additional reviewers receiving 150 BLC.
Ratings – rate a game
GamersGate allows you to rate the game you have purchased, using a five-star rating scale. If you are first to rate the game, you will receive 100 BLC with subsequent ratings receiving 50 BLC.
Game Tutor
The Game Tutor program is designed to help members with any game issues and reward those who help.
For example, let’s say you can’t get your game to load or you are struggling on a specific level of a game. You simply go the page, post your question and the first member who responds with the solution is rewarded with Blue Coins which can later be used to purchase games. The person who provides the solution will be rewarded with 500 BLC.
Purchase Games
For every game you buy, you will receive 5% of the purchased value in BlueCoins. Let’s say you have bought 5 games for $39.99 – you’ll have enough coins to get a FREE game (valued at $10).
Walkthrough
GamersGate offers tons of challenging games, and players are bound to get stuck from time to time. Any player who writes a Game Walkthrough for the site will be rewarded with 1,000 Blue Coins.
GG Tag
Gamers will use their “GG Tag” widget to direct new users to GamersGate. The “GG Tag” displays your GamersGate profile with links to your profile page, the game you are currently playing and the games you own. Users will be able to post their “GG Tag” widget on websites, blogs, and any other place where you can imbed HTML code. You will have a kickback in BlueCoins on every purchase generated from your GG Tag.
White member will receive 2%, Green 2.5%, Yellow 3%, Red 5% and Black 10%.
Reward program;
Pre-order: 250 BLC (Watch out! Sometimes games give you more BLC.)
Review (1st): 300 BLC
Review: 150 BLC
Rate (1st): 100 BLC
Rate: 50 BLC
Game Tutor Solution: 500 BLC
Walkthrough: 1,000 BLC
Purchase Games: 5% of the total purchase value will be rewards in BLC
[Example: Buy Football Manager 2010 for $49.95 get 5% back in Blue Coins, or 2,498 BLC. Or buy 5 games for $39.99 each and get a game for $10 for FREE.]
GG Tag: Create you own GG Tag and show off your entire GG catalogue.
Publish the GG Tag on your blog; when friends buy games through the GG Tag widget, you’ll be rewarded with BLC.
Member status:
White Member: 0 – 1,249 BLC
Green Member: 1,250 – 4,999 BLC
Yellow Member: 5,000 – 12,499 BLC
Red Member: 12,500 – 999,999 BLC
Black Member: >1,000,000 BLC
And no, I’m not on the payroll there! Just seems like a good deal.