• Steam is killing the PC gaming market
    317 replies, posted
[QUOTE=NessTea;25991622]We can't lose game boxes and CD keys with Steam. I prefer Steam.[/QUOTE] To some extent it does further dilutes your rights to a copy of the game. At least with a CD \/DVD you can install it wherever whenever, but you can only have acess to your steam games with steam. Notice you can't even play common-folder games without steam running. I like steam, but the fact that everything is so hardlined onto the steam client is a bit worrying.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;26002129]To some extent it does further dilutes your rights to a copy of the game. At least with a CD \/DVD you can install it wherever whenever, but you can only have acess to your steam games with steam. Notice you can't even play common-folder games without steam running. I like steam, but the fact that everything is so hardlined onto the steam client is a bit worrying.[/QUOTE] As a copy protection/digital rights management software, Steam is pretty light-weight compared to some alternatives. I'd take Valve's approach over Ubisoft's any day of the week. EDIT: Note that you can create "game disks" using Steam's backup feature. It works excellently for moving games across computers. It basically archives the game files and a restore executable to the storage device of your choice
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;26002129]To some extent it does further dilutes your rights to a copy of the game. At least with a CD \/DVD you can install it wherever whenever, but you can only have acess to your steam games with steam. Notice you can't even play common-folder games without steam running. I like steam, but the fact that everything is so hardlined onto the steam client is a bit worrying.[/QUOTE] There are ways around steam. I know for FO3 if you have Fallout Mod Manager, you can run the game without steam running.
There are always steam emulators. I used one at grandma's house which has no internet.
You can run games without Steam, either with Offline mode or get a cracked Exe and use it instead... I use the crack method for as many Single Player games that I can on Steam since my ISP gives me such hassle every day of the week (0.38Megs down since 1 PM today) and I choose not to store passwords and info on my machine, ever Hence why my Steam still works since the first week of its release in September, 2003, I'm not a fucking idiot and it doesn't take a genius to keep your account in good standing, and I only wish VAC bans were more harsh. I'd love to see HARDWARE bans on little prick script kiddies who come in and completely empty out a server because people don't want to deal with their Bullshit
I only buy hard copy PC games if they are collectors editions of games i want. other than that fuck off steam is the best
Steam will last like it is, until someone else takes over and stuffs around with its customers.
steam pretty much rules
Well Valve fucked up the prices on Steam so it's actually cheaper to buy a physical copy and then use the key in Steam. See [url]http://www.steamprices.com/[/url] for more info.
Steam actually made it possible for me to buy games, there are absolutely no retailers selling PC games here, so they pretty much brought it upon themselves. Actually, there are shops selling PC games, but it's 5 or so games, stuff like Half Life 2 and The Sims. Hard copies are pretty much dead for PC, digital distribution is where it is. [editline]12th November 2010[/editline] And i agree about the Second-hand market, valve should make a way to allow us to sell some games using the steam currency. (The steam wallet thing) They really wouldn't lose much with that.
[QUOTE=|FlapJack|;26001586]Friend of mine was exploiting in GMod, meatspinning people and rebinding their keys. He got disabled.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdsL4kvp_I[/media]
The computer gaming industry is dying a long slow death. Always has been, ever since the seventh generation came out.
[QUOTE=Xystus234;26008427]The computer gaming industry is dying a long slow death. Always has been, ever since the seventh generation came out.[/QUOTE] Everyone keeps saying that and it will never happen. Its simply because the sales are larger for consoles so no one notices that sales for PC games have gone up. And while I don't agree you should lose access to your games, you shouldn't be scamming/exploiting/hacking in the first place in MULTIPLAYER games...I doubt they give a fuck about singleplayer.
I wish [i]everything[/i] were purchasable via direct download service. Steam is the best thing to happen to PC gaming since the invention of the CD. Hard-copy media is a dying format; digital is the future.
Gonna buy retail and when it goes poof all the collectors will want my boxes.
[QUOTE=Yahnich;26002833]No matter what someone did, they do not deserve to lose access to ALL THEIR GAMES. People's accounts have been banned (AKA losing all their games) for possible scamming in TF2. While I do not support scamming, that's like giving a death sentence to a con artist.[/QUOTE] Having your access restricted to your bits and bytes is hardly comparable to the death sentence. I'm not so sure about account disabling either, but in the "Internet realm" we need maximum-harsh punishments because otherwise people simply won't care. Penalties should be so extreme that no one will ever think "Is violating the rules worth it this time?".
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
[QUOTE=Devodiere;25991612]Eh, there's not many PC games in stores around here anyway. It's all console stuff.[/QUOTE] Yea and i dont play console :/ All the game stores near me dont sell pc gaMES AT ALL [editline]12th November 2010[/editline] [quote=big dumb american;26008718]i wish [i]everything[/i] were purchasable via direct download service. Steam is the best thing to happen to pc gaming since the invention of the cd. Hard-copy media is a dying format; digital is the future.[/quote] agreeed [editline]12th November 2010[/editline] [quote=clavus;26002089]if steam was managed by anyone but valve i'd be worried about my games library. I just believe that valve wouldn't screw us over even if things would go bad for them.[/quote] agreed
[QUOTE=Xystus234;26008427]The computer gaming industry is dying a long slow death. Always has been, ever since the seventh generation came out.[/QUOTE] Heard that 20 years ago, every 4 years.
[QUOTE=melonmonkey;25991672]I wonder if the US government will break up steam like they did to microsoft, should steam become the only real retailer of pc games.[/QUOTE] What? Microsoft isn't a store and the Government doesn't control Microsoft, this make no fucking sense.
[QUOTE=Xystus234;26008427]The computer gaming industry is dying a long slow death. Always has been, ever since the seventh generation came out.[/QUOTE] is that why the gaming industry rivals the movie industry? gaming aint going any were for a while [editline]12th November 2010[/editline] also you know how the guy that seems the nicest is always the most evil at the end of the movie? I hope that isnt valve trying to slowly gain are trust
[QUOTE=Im Crimson;26008779]Having your access restricted to your bits and bytes is hardly comparable to the death sentence. I'm not so sure about account disabling either, but in the "Internet realm" we need maximum-harsh punishments because otherwise people simply won't care. Penalties should be so extreme that no one will ever think "Is violating the rules worth it this time?".[/QUOTE] Except Steam doesn't care if it was the account owner that violated the rules
[QUOTE=kapin_krunch;25991631]I do think that there need to be steam free versions of games. People like me don't always have a reliable internet connection to be able to sign into steam to play games. There needs to be steam free versions or make offline mode work properly.[/QUOTE] "Start in offline mode"
Would help if stores around me didn't sell the games for £30-£40 while steam sells them for £20.
[QUOTE='Altimor];26009985']Except Steam doesn't care if it was the account owner that violated the rules[/QUOTE] You can't really expect it to, Steam accounts are personal and the security is your own responsibility. Steam can't keep track over who is using the account unless we had monitors that acted like cameras. If someone else uses your computer to spam FP while you're out you can be damn sure you'll never be unbanned either.
[QUOTE=matthall765;26010043]"Start in offline mode"[/QUOTE] Good luck trying to do that when you've lost your internet connection for a week, without any notice.
[QUOTE=|FlapJack|;26001586]They can and they have. Friend of mine was exploiting in GMod, meatspinning people and rebinding their keys. He got disabled.[/QUOTE] So you are complaining that someone got banned for hacking? I see your logic. [QUOTE=a-k-t-w;26012682]Good luck trying to do that when you've lost your internet connection for a week, without any notice.[/QUOTE] It works fine for me whilst not having the internet extended periods of time.
Not being able to play STEAM games offline? Go do something else. You should have a wide variety of games that could be played offline with or without steam
[QUOTE=Zezibesh;25992233]Neither do game stores if you know where to go. People flock to major retailers, leaving the small ones unnoticed.[/QUOTE] Which is what is happening here. People are flocking to major retailer Steam and leaving the whiney retailers in the dust.
Actually, they brought this upon themselves. They keep pushing console games in their stores and the PC games racks keep getting smaller and smaller, so that they can put in more and more console games... and they have the NERVE to blame Steam for it? [B]Fucking hypocrites.[/B] I have spoken.
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