OP this is the very reason I hate steam, about a year ago when Civ 5 came out I went to the store and bought a copy because construction had cut the phone lines for the area for the next week. I go to get the game and I can't, because it's a steam exclusive title. So all that is on the disk in the box is steam so I can install it from them, now say what you will praising steam but I hate downloading my games from the net, it's why I still buy them from the store. Personally, any game that requires me to use steam to download it if I buy the box goes right onto my never buy this game ever list.
Any retail box game that needs Steam will have the steam label on it, usually on the back where the requirements are, check the box requirements first before you buy and ask the store staff as well if you’re in doubt.
I don't understand the hate against steam they provide a good service with great value and you can pick up AAA titles cheaply and they provide a market for lots of indie developers so they can get their products visible and available to more customers.
I don't think its a coincidence that as Steam has expanded and began aggressively marketing and pricing products digital downloads of games has risen massively and overtaken retail box sales in the PC/Mac market even though overall sales of games have dropped.
Steam is great for me. I've never had a problem with it, and I've been using it since it went live.
What's really nice about it is that I don't have to pay any sales tax on steam purchases, which is otherwise 13% where I live. Not only that, but I'm in Canada, and with the strong Canadian dollar right now I'm actually paying less because I'm charged in US currency. Put the occasional great steam deals on top of those savings, and I'm savign a nice chunk of change when it comes to game purchases.
I can understand why some people might get frustrated with steam, but you don't need to have a constant Internet connection to play, just to activate for the first time and then you can set the game to offline mode. Considering the alternative DRM that could be in place instead of steam, I'd much rather have to use steam.
In this day and age you practically cant escape being on the internet anyways.
Whats the problem?
I understand why you wouldnt like it but i mean come on, you got net cafe's and cell phones that run the internet.
I travel extensively with my laptop every now and then for varying periods of time.
Sometimes a few weeks, maybe a month, and sometimes 6-7 months. There are locations where your fancy cellphones don't work and the internet just isn't accessible. Some places where I go to I *can* access the net but it is so rigidly controlled / monitored / etc. that certain programs aren't allowed to be installed, much less function and send info back and forth.
The internet is an iffy prospect sometimes in my line of work, yet I still have access to computers.
Also, Steam does have merits but I do have big concerns about it.
* Steam forcing updates on my games even when I specifically set the game NOT to auto-update. Oh, there are instructions out there to set it to not update on its own, but Steam still likes to tell me to f*ck off with my own game, program, and computer. If you've been a PC gamer long enough, you know full well that dev teams occasionally put out Patches that totally screw the gameplay up. With Steam, it demands these patches be installed without so much as asking if you want it to go in the first place. No chance for me to check patch notes, look at the concensus of fellow fans / gamers on how the patch is looking. The changes are going in whether I f*cking like it or not. WITH Steam, even if I uninstall the game, I cannot reinstall the game patched to an earlier state that was good to me. It removes that choice completely and forever. Once those official changes are up, you simply have NO choice in the matter at all, anymore, forever; none whatsoever.
* Due to the above I have found Steam having serious, serious issues with a number of games and mods. A huge detriment for a PC game, since mods are a major draw for me with a number of games. I have bought a bunch of games because of some badass mods I discovered. And Steam will render those mods useless or make the program unstable because it constantly "rights" the program to vanilla status.
* Another assanine little thing with Steam is that some games requiring it for activation also require it for installation. Like some that are store bought or mail ordered, but when you try to install them, they require the 'net connection not only to activate but to download the damn game for installation. I'm not talking about "Day One Patches," I'm talking about having to download the damn game despite having the physical "install" CD in hand. Again, if you have internet issues like none at all or terribly slow connections (some slower than the good 'ol 56k phone modem speeds of the 90s) this is a major problem. Especially if it's a single-player game to begin with.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Offline mode isn't the problem. It's Steam doing whatever the f*ck it damn well pleases. And as in my earlier post, irrevocable changes that as a purchaser of the game, I no longer will have any control of whatsoever.
Originally posted by Aconsar
You can't beat the steam sales. I've picked up so many games for under $20 I've lost track.
I laugh at all these morons who hate on steam for absolutely no reason. Have fun in the conspiracy corner.
No reason, eh? Have fun with blindly throwing control of your game and computer to someone else and having little say on what's going on with it.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Offline mode isn't the problem. It's Steam doing whatever the f*ck it damn well pleases. And as in my earlier post, irrevocable changes that as a purchaser of the game, I no longer will have any control of whatsoever.
Originally posted by Aconsar
You can't beat the steam sales. I've picked up so many games for under $20 I've lost track.
I laugh at all these morons who hate on steam for absolutely no reason. Have fun in the conspiracy corner.
No reason, eh? Have fun with blindly throwing control of your game and computer to someone else and having little say on what's going on with it.
So Steam under certain specific circumstances can be an inconvenience but then again so is just about any DRM or anti cheat software and the benefits Steam brings more than outweigh a few problems running mods.
The revenue digital downloads brings into the industry are helping to stimulate a slowly stagnating market and now digital sales are greater than retail boxes and the lower purchase costs help us, the gamers as consumers as we can buy more games for less money and more conveniently.
You may not like it but overall Steam and the other good quality digital download services are good for the industry.
Currently playing:
EVE online (Ruining low sec one hotdrop at a time)
Gravity Rush, Dishonoured: The Knife of Dunwall.
(Waiting for) Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes II.
My big concern with a company like steam is that they go out of business..
or change their policies somewhere down the line to something you don't like... and there would be nothing you could do because all of your games are on their system.
Steam is a nice backup plan.. but I really like the physical copy so I don't feel like I'm trapped with them.
Comments
Any retail box game that needs Steam will have the steam label on it, usually on the back where the requirements are, check the box requirements first before you buy and ask the store staff as well if you’re in doubt.
Been there myself, no one to blame but ones self.
Because it's 2011 and everybody haz the internetzorz. No reason to have internetzorz! Even my calculator haz the internetzorz!
@adamai,
I have no idea why you are getting all this crap mate. I have never had any problems with my games...
Mission in life: Vanquish all MMORPG.com trolls - especially TESO, WOW and GW2 trolls.
I don't understand the hate against steam they provide a good service with great value and you can pick up AAA titles cheaply and they provide a market for lots of indie developers so they can get their products visible and available to more customers.
I don't think its a coincidence that as Steam has expanded and began aggressively marketing and pricing products digital downloads of games has risen massively and overtaken retail box sales in the PC/Mac market even though overall sales of games have dropped.
(Source:- http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106291-Spending-on-Game-Titles-Dropped-2-Percent-in-2010)
Its pretty obvious that services like Steam may be the only thing holding back the slow decline of PC gaming sales.
Currently playing:
EVE online (Ruining low sec one hotdrop at a time)
Gravity Rush,
Dishonoured: The Knife of Dunwall.
(Waiting for) Metro: Last Light,
Company of Heroes II.
Steam is great for me. I've never had a problem with it, and I've been using it since it went live.
What's really nice about it is that I don't have to pay any sales tax on steam purchases, which is otherwise 13% where I live. Not only that, but I'm in Canada, and with the strong Canadian dollar right now I'm actually paying less because I'm charged in US currency. Put the occasional great steam deals on top of those savings, and I'm savign a nice chunk of change when it comes to game purchases.
I can understand why some people might get frustrated with steam, but you don't need to have a constant Internet connection to play, just to activate for the first time and then you can set the game to offline mode. Considering the alternative DRM that could be in place instead of steam, I'd much rather have to use steam.
I travel extensively with my laptop every now and then for varying periods of time.
Sometimes a few weeks, maybe a month, and sometimes 6-7 months. There are locations where your fancy cellphones don't work and the internet just isn't accessible. Some places where I go to I *can* access the net but it is so rigidly controlled / monitored / etc. that certain programs aren't allowed to be installed, much less function and send info back and forth.
The internet is an iffy prospect sometimes in my line of work, yet I still have access to computers.
Also, Steam does have merits but I do have big concerns about it.
* Steam forcing updates on my games even when I specifically set the game NOT to auto-update. Oh, there are instructions out there to set it to not update on its own, but Steam still likes to tell me to f*ck off with my own game, program, and computer. If you've been a PC gamer long enough, you know full well that dev teams occasionally put out Patches that totally screw the gameplay up. With Steam, it demands these patches be installed without so much as asking if you want it to go in the first place. No chance for me to check patch notes, look at the concensus of fellow fans / gamers on how the patch is looking. The changes are going in whether I f*cking like it or not. WITH Steam, even if I uninstall the game, I cannot reinstall the game patched to an earlier state that was good to me. It removes that choice completely and forever. Once those official changes are up, you simply have NO choice in the matter at all, anymore, forever; none whatsoever.
* Due to the above I have found Steam having serious, serious issues with a number of games and mods. A huge detriment for a PC game, since mods are a major draw for me with a number of games. I have bought a bunch of games because of some badass mods I discovered. And Steam will render those mods useless or make the program unstable because it constantly "rights" the program to vanilla status.
* Another assanine little thing with Steam is that some games requiring it for activation also require it for installation. Like some that are store bought or mail ordered, but when you try to install them, they require the 'net connection not only to activate but to download the damn game for installation. I'm not talking about "Day One Patches," I'm talking about having to download the damn game despite having the physical "install" CD in hand. Again, if you have internet issues like none at all or terribly slow connections (some slower than the good 'ol 56k phone modem speeds of the 90s) this is a major problem. Especially if it's a single-player game to begin with.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
So data mining isn't real?
http://www.myid.com/blog/list-of-companies-affected-by-epsilon-data-breach/
Almost every company data mines or buys customer information from data mining companies.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555
Here you go.
You can't beat the steam sales. I've picked up so many games for under $20 I've lost track.
I laugh at all these morons who hate on steam for absolutely no reason. Have fun in the conspiracy corner.
Call it nostalgia or w/e
I just like having the discs / manuals / books
Although I see the value in steam for if you ever lost your disc's or they got damaged to be able to get again.
I still have original doom / wolfenstein / warcraft CD's and they work just fine. Seem's kind of a waste to put a 30 MB game on a CD though >_>
It would be nice if you could archive games you own onto steam with CD keys or something along those lines
Offline mode isn't the problem. It's Steam doing whatever the f*ck it damn well pleases. And as in my earlier post, irrevocable changes that as a purchaser of the game, I no longer will have any control of whatsoever.
No reason, eh? Have fun with blindly throwing control of your game and computer to someone else and having little say on what's going on with it.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
So Steam under certain specific circumstances can be an inconvenience but then again so is just about any DRM or anti cheat software and the benefits Steam brings more than outweigh a few problems running mods.
The revenue digital downloads brings into the industry are helping to stimulate a slowly stagnating market and now digital sales are greater than retail boxes and the lower purchase costs help us, the gamers as consumers as we can buy more games for less money and more conveniently.
You may not like it but overall Steam and the other good quality digital download services are good for the industry.
Currently playing:
EVE online (Ruining low sec one hotdrop at a time)
Gravity Rush,
Dishonoured: The Knife of Dunwall.
(Waiting for) Metro: Last Light,
Company of Heroes II.
My big concern with a company like steam is that they go out of business..
or change their policies somewhere down the line to something you don't like... and there would be nothing you could do because all of your games are on their system.
Steam is a nice backup plan.. but I really like the physical copy so I don't feel like I'm trapped with them.