Steam is pretty underwhelming

[SunnyD]

Steam has lots of demos for pc games, so I'am not sure what your taking about??

It would be nice if blizzard created their own version of steam, where you could buy and download games, have a friends list, instant messenger program and social networking site all-in-one.

Steam has lots of demos, but not of AAA titles (because most developers don't bother making demos of their titles anymore).

And why would anyone want yet another game content delivery platform? Steam is perfectly adequate - Blizzard should just put their shit up there. It's bad enough we already have Steam, Impulse, GFWL, etc.

 

[Texashiker]

And why would anyone want yet another game content delivery platform? Steam is perfectly adequate - Blizzard should just put their shit up there. It's bad enough we already have Steam, Impulse, GFWL, etc.

Do you think Steam could handle an extra 12 million world of warcraft players + who knows how many diablo III players? Steam already gets overloaded when a new game is released.

Plus, I dont think a company like blizzard wants to give Valve a cut of the profits. Blizzard already has the network and servers in place, all they have to do is develop the software.

I was looking for ID software to develop their own program like steam, but they went the steam route instead. Expect for Quake 4, its not on steam.

 

[CraigRT]

I love Steam.
Killer sales, good selection, easy as pie and don't have to go to the store for games.
What more could you want?

 

[Throckmorton]

I finally got around to installing it and logged in expecting to be blown away, wasn't at all. The demo selection was beyond mediocre, I guess I am just used to XBL/PSN but this seemed pathetic. I looked at the first few pages of the cheap games and it was pretty bad as well. So what exactly is so good about it that I am not seeing?

Steam is heads and shoulders above the other services because:
1) You can download a game as many times as you want.
2) You can install Steam and have all your games on as many computers as you want.
3) No discs to get scratched.
4) Cheap games on sale.
5) Games don't have to be installed. Just download and play.
6) You don't have to re-download all your games when you reinstall Windows, just copy over the Steam folder.
7) You never have to worry about calling tech support to get a key reset (Digital River limits your installs and you have to constantly get new keys).

 

[JSt0rm]

My internet has been dead at my house since Thursday and I gotta say offline mode is not working. I tried disabling all my network stuff but steam wont start until it updates itself. Fucking stupid.

 

[Morphine06]

My internet has been dead at my house since Thursday and I gotta say offline mode is not working. I tried disabling all my network stuff but steam wont start until it updates itself. Fucking stupid.

I derp.

 

[JSt0rm]

I derp.

Yeah steam wont update and it asks me if I want to go offline mode and then it tries to update again and turns off.

 

[zCypher]

I've noticed some bugginess in steam, but I've not encountered many perfect programs.
What steam offers far outweighs any of its pitfalls IMO. I'm pretty happy with it overall.

 

[Morphine06]

If you have it set to not save credentials (say for a public computer) it disables offline mode. If you have that setting checked maybe you can make it there and change it.

Settings > Account Tab > Don't save account credentials (uncheck)

 

[JSt0rm]

If you have it set to not save credentials (say for a public computer) it disables offline mode. If you have that setting checked maybe you can make it there and change it.

Settings > Account Tab > Don't save account credentials (uncheck)

Im pretty sure it saves credentials. I never changed it so whatever the default is its on. Steam wont even start.

Tech is coming out tomorrow to check the line or replace modem. Still 5 days without kinda makes me want to make sure I have cracks for all my games on hand.

 

[Zargon]

Steam is our only beacon of hope for the PC Gaming Industry. Most games released to the PC are hacked and cracked in a matter of hours and does cut into the profit margins of some developers. If I were a corp, I would make multiplatform or skip PC all together.

Sure you can hack an XBOX but it requires a great deal of risk and work. Whereas PC gaming piracy just requires a download.


Edit: Also Steam is a wonderful opportunity for INDY developers to really get a great start.

lots of big titles have proved this wrong

MW2 was all over XBL and got tons of people banned before it was even in stores, by 2+ weeks

PC was leaked weekend of launch but wasnt cracked, wasnt cracked till after you could legally buy it and play it.

 

[Qbah]

Why I like Steam?

1. I have all my games in one place - nothing to forget or lose.
2. No DVDs needed, ever
3. Install once on a secondary drive = you can move it between OS installs without much problem (just remember to backup saves from My Documents or similar places).
4. Price for new releases is pretty much the same as in online shops or retail (Denmark)
5. Plenty of promos on stuff - best way to catch up on the older things.

See a game I like? Add to cart -> Purchase for myself -> Accept -> Owned. Takes an hour or two to download a game (4-8GB) and I don't need to do much. Go make a snack, watch a show on TV and presto - game is ready

 

[lord_emperor]

i bought 30 games under 40 bucks...i think it was a steal

Just of interest... how many of those games have you downloaded and/or played?

 

[zinfamous]

Woah no need for people to get all butthurt, I was just expecting something on the level of XBL since I have used. I am not knocking the pricing, just the lack of demos andd the cheap game selection I browsed through. brief, first impressions, nothing more.

As others have said, you really have to keep an eye on the sales. Summer and X-Mas is huge, but they have regular weekend sales as well.

It is crap a lot of the time, but plenty of great, and even new games can be had for super cheap.

also a great place to find tons of nice, cheap, independent games that wouldn't be distributed elsewhere.

 

[thedosbox]

Steam is heads and shoulders above the other services because:

All of your points are applicable to GOG.

1) The GOG installer can be downloaded as many times as you want
2) No need to install a GOG client, and the game installer does not call home. The lack of DRM also means you can put it onto any computer.
3) No discs get scratched
4) Cheap classic games on sale - that have been configured to work on modern systems. Steam does not promise to do this.
5) Steam games do need installation - it's just done by a service.
6) The GOG installer is just another file that can be copied anywhere you want.
7) No DRM, means no keys to track. Many steam games still require authentication via Securom or other third-party DRM.

In other words, steam is not the best, but it is pretty good.

 

[KeithTalent]

Did you expect it to make you a sammich?

I think it's pretty awesome, even without the sammich.

KT

 

[Throckmorton]

All of your points are applicable to GOG.

1) The GOG installer can be downloaded as many times as you want
2) No need to install a GOG client, and the game installer does not call home. The lack of DRM also means you can put it onto any computer.
3) No discs get scratched
4) Cheap classic games on sale - that have been configured to work on modern systems. Steam does not promise to do this.
5) Steam games do need installation - it's just done by a service.
6) The GOG installer is just another file that can be copied anywhere you want.
7) No DRM, means no keys to track. Many steam games still require authentication via Securom or other third-party DRM.

In other words, steam is not the best, but it is pretty good.

GOG is good but it's for old games. Steam is for new games. I think I've seen new games advertised on GOG... do they not have DRM?

I prefer a client vs downloading games independently and installing them. Try moving your GOG game installs from one computer to another.

 

[Texashiker]

All of your points are applicable to GOG.

If you play a Valve game, your still going to have to have steam installed - left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, portal, half-life 2, counter-strike:source, team fortress 2,,,,.

Even some non-Valve games still require Steam. I bought my son a Black Ops DVD for Christmas and it required steam to be installed.

 

[thedosbox]

GOG is good but it's for old games. Steam is for new games. I think I've seen new games advertised on GOG... do they not have DRM?

Everything on GOG is DRM free. This will include the upcoming Witcher 2.

I prefer a client vs downloading games independently and installing them. Try moving your GOG game installs from one computer to another.

It's as easy as copying the game installer over and rerunning it. Though in my opinion, you're doing something wrong if you're having to reinstall frequently.

If you play a Valve game, your still going to have to have steam installed - left 4 dead, left 4 dead 2, portal, half-life 2, counter-strike:source, team fortress 2,,,,.

Even some non-Valve games still require Steam. I bought my son a Black Ops DVD for Christmas and it required steam to be installed.

Perhaps you should read the post I quoted. Just because Steam does it one way doesn't mean it's the best way.

 

[Powermoloch]

Just of interest... how many of those games have you downloaded and/or played?

half of 'em i believe.

 

[Resonance]

i love steam sales

 

[ImpulsE69]

lots of big titles have proved this wrong

MW2 was all over XBL and got tons of people banned before it was even in stores, by 2+ weeks

PC was leaked weekend of launch but wasnt cracked, wasnt cracked till after you could legally buy it and play it.

In addition, did you not see the rediculous profits they made last year. Software companies are NOT hurting no matter how hard the RIAA tries to make you think they are. They are dumping more money into advertising than the games themselves. That is why the shit games are selling so well.

 

[techforums]

Hard to resist steam sales

 

[The-Noid]

Another vote for steam sales.

The real reason I love steam is not having to run to the store when something is coming out. The pre-loads are great.

 

[Sulaco]

I like STEAM well enough, although I'm not in love with it as some folks are.

I still prefer physical copies. I'm kind of a collector I guess (still have my DOS boxes of Falcon 3.0 and Master of Orion), and if a game has an actual printed manual thicker than a finger nail, then I'll take the physical copy with the manual any day.
Although, that's becoming more and more a rarity these days, there are still a number of publishers and games that have something approaching real documentation.

That said, the STEAM sales are indeed sweet, when they come around. Last October I snagged MLB2K10 right before the World Series for $1.99.
$2 for a brand new game. I'm not even too hardcore a baseball fan, but for $2, it's hard NOT to get your money's worth.