Pretty much the craziest sale Steam has ever had

[otaku]

i bought heavy weapon I remember how fun it was on xbla and I never bought it and at 99 cents....

[PharmaceuticalCowboy]

If you haven't played Bioshock... it's only $5 and very worth it.

[marurun]

Seriously? BioShock, $5? Too bad none of my PCs likely can run it.

[corn619]

I'll take a disc based game over a download anyday. Steam seems to lease games to customers but never lets them really own them. I guess its good for people who don't like to collect or own games. Its not for me though. I have to admit the games look pretty cheap.

[Niode]

I'll take a disc based game over a download anyday. Steam seems to lease games to customers but never lets them really own them. I guess its good for people who don't like to collect or own games. Its not for me though. I have to admit the games look pretty cheap.

Hmm, please expand on that comment.

I don't see how Steam is any different to buying a game in a store. You buy the game, it's unlocked on your steam account and you can use that account anywhere. On as many computers as you want. The only thing you can't do is log in with the same account on two computers at once. Where exactly is the problem?

[corn619]

I'll take a disc based game over a download anyday. Steam seems to lease games to customers but never lets them really own them. I guess its good for people who don't like to collect or own games. Its not for me though. I have to admit the games look pretty cheap.

Hmm, please expand on that comment.

I don't see how Steam is any different to buying a game in a store. You buy the game, it's unlocked on your steam account and you can use that account anywhere. On as many computers as you want. The only thing you can't do is log in with the same account on two computers at once. Where exactly is the problem?

I never used Steam but you made my point when you said "unlocked on your Steam account". Meaning you can't play the game unless you login to Steams system. I can play all my disc based games without logging into shit. Because I own them and don't have to verify that I own them everytime I play. Let me ask this, can you play Steam games without being connected to the internet? I could be wrong, but I'm going to guess no. Its just my opinion that if you have to prove that you own something everytime you want to play it, you don't really own it. I just like disc based games better because I had bad experiences with downloadable content in the past.

[Mozgus]

I'll take a disc based game over a download anyday. Steam seems to lease games to customers but never lets them really own them. I guess its good for people who don't like to collect or own games. Its not for me though. I have to admit the games look pretty cheap.

Hmm, please expand on that comment.

I don't see how Steam is any different to buying a game in a store. You buy the game, it's unlocked on your steam account and you can use that account anywhere. On as many computers as you want. The only thing you can't do is log in with the same account on two computers at once. Where exactly is the problem?

I never used Steam but you made my point when you said "unlocked on your Steam account". Meaning you can't play the game unless you login to Steams system. I can play all my disc based games without logging into shit. Because I own them and don't have to verify that I own them everytime I play. Let me ask this, can you play Steam games without being connected to the internet? I could be wrong, but I'm going to guess no. Its just my opinion that if you have to prove that you own something everytime you want to play it, you don't really own it. I just like disc based games better because I had bad experiences with downloadable content in the past.

Yes you can. Steam has an offline mode. Try Steam before you bash it. Thanks. I just used it 30 minutes ago because my net went out for 2 hours.

Related: Portal Prelude can suck my nuts.

[elvis]

I don't see how Steam is any different to buying a game in a store. You buy the game, it's unlocked on your steam account and you can use that account anywhere. On as many computers as you want. The only thing you can't do is log in with the same account on two computers at once. Where exactly is the problem?

Consider what happens in 10-20 years from now.

Given that this is a forum full of retro gamers, many of us own consoles from 10-20 years ago, and still actively play the games on them. What happens to the games of today in 10-20 years time if the Steam servers no longer support them? There's no guarantee that Steam will be around forever, or that they'll be owned by their currently sensible owners.

I can pull my 25 year old Sega SC-3000H out of the cupboard, load up a tape, and play games. Will Steam games be the same?

Disc based games give more of a guarantee, particularly for gamers who like to replay games time and time again. And again, this *is* a forum full of people playing old games over and over.

I buy games from download services. Currently WiiWare and Wii VC, and most likely Steam when Street Fighter IV comes out. But it worries me that I'm potentially being controlled by a third party even after I pay for the game. If my Wii breaks in 20 years I can't buy another Wii off eBay and transfer my downloaded games. Similarly if someone bone-headed like EA were to buy Valve/Steam and then send the company broke in 5 years due to bad management, what happens to all the people who shelled out good money for games? Just look at what happened to all the people who bought music via MSN Music, and then had the DRM services turned off on them.

I like the idea behind Steam. I like it a lot. But there needs to be a failsafe guarantee for gamers who buy digital-only games that in 10+ years they won't need to connect back to Steam HQ any more to play their games.

Yes you can. Steam has an offline mode.

Genuine questions because I don't know:

How long does offline mode work? Say Steam goes dark, will it work indefinitely?

I'm also reading the Steam forums at the moment and seeing countless errors people are having with offline mode. Is that common?

[corn619]

Moz, all I'm saying is I don't trust downloadable content and prefer disc based games. I know almost nothing about Steam and was not trying to bash it. I had some issues with downloadable games from Apple were my iPod video games weren't playable on my new iPod Classic. My MSN music was DRM locked "Thank god for Tunebite software". I don't trust companies controlling my content. I've been ripped off once too many. I just like the simplicity of popping in a game on my Dreamcast or NES and playing without DRM restrictions.

[lordofduct]

Moz, all I'm saying is I don't trust downloadable content and prefer disc based games. I know almost nothing about Steam and was not trying to bash it. I had some issues with downloadable games from Apple were my iPod video games weren't playable on my new iPod Classic. My MSN music was DRM locked "Thank god for Tunebite software". I don't trust companies controlling my content. I've been ripped off once too many. I just like the simplicity of popping in a game on my Dreamcast or NES and playing without DRM restrictions.

DC and NES do have DRM similar restrictions. Region lock out and copyright protection on discs... especially the extremely proprietary format the Dreamcast uses. DRM just adds more features onto the old school forms of copyright protection.