Game Stores View Valve's Steam as the Devil

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]dalta centauri[/nom]A work around is a solution though...It's like saying, "The path is blocked, but I have another route which is just as fast and easy without complaining."[/citation]

No it's like saying "The path is blocked, so I'll just stay home and drink some tea"

It does not amount to the same.

The ability to push my car to start it does not equate to fixing the starter motor.

 

[mastadisasta_31]

I only shop for PC games via - Steam, Direct2Drive,Impulse and GOG.com. And I wait until they are on sale for a low price. Just bought Day of Defeat for 2 bucks and Risen for 14.99. I have never seen a retailer sell a game for 5 bucks. I get em all the time for that price when I see a sale.

 

[dalta centauri]

No it's like saying "The path is blocked, so I'll just stay home and drink some tea"

It does not amount to the same.

The ability to push my car to start it does not equate to fixing the starter motor.

So you're saying it is impossible to close Steam down to run a game?
What you pointed out was as if a route is blocked to not even try at all, where-as I simply stated that you can close it down leading to a second option, and when you need to play a game through Steam you do so by loading it back up. Why you find this so difficult is beyond me, and why you need to share your opinion on how Steam should fix something as simple as you shutting down or going offline to play a game that's not directly launched from Steam in order to play multiplayer seems offly weird.

 

[rockinthepe]

games are getting fairly expensive, $60 retail for MW2, steam normally offers deals that drop games to what they should cost. I dont like not actually owning my games, but i dont want to pay ridiculous amounts of money for a video game. drop prices to where they're reasonable and i can almost guarantee more people would buy a hard copy instead of a digital one.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

You're a bit daft aren't you?

 

[dalta centauri]

You're a bit daft aren't you?

That's your answer? Not a very good one then.
You can't understand the simple idea of closing it down or telling it to go offline? Is it too much trouble for you to click more then once?

 

[neiroatopelcc]

That's your answer? Not a very good one then.
You can't understand the simple idea of closing it down or telling it to go offline? Is it too much trouble for you to click more then once?

Oh I understand it alright. I just can't agree that turning off the application equates to fixing it.

 

[Guest]

I think the two distribution channels should coexist.
I also think Steam is too expensive 1. on launch day 2. in Europe. The price disparity between US and Europe is insulting (50$ =/ 50EUR). I get my games on Steam whenever there's a sale going on. The games I buy at launch day, I get from a retailer for 20% less then what I would pay on Steam. I am not too lazy to drive 15 minutes (including return trip) in order to save 10-12 EUR (that's up to 15$!).

 

[ArgleBargle]

The only thing I don't like to buy from Steam are the Collector's Editions, because you get rooked on the tchochkes.

Beyond that, Steam is awesome. No disks to worry about getting scratched, updates when they are released, weekend deals, the ability to buy a game at all hours, no worries about a new release going out of stock...

Stores getting upset with steam are like cable companies getting upset because people cancel cable and watch high-def, commercial-free, on-demand shows over the Internet, anywhere in the world (taking away the producers'/networks' ability to control who gets to see what based on where they live in the world).

 

[Guest]

@neiroatopelcc

i guess you complain that you cant listen to the TV cause the stereo wont shut itself off when your favorite show is on..... steam, just like normal folks, is not psychic, it does not catalog every single possible game out there so as to know when to pause downloads, it only understands that which belongs to it domain, and i guess im just ignorant... but why the bloody hell would you have steam running if you intend to play a non steam game....... i sure as hell dont have skype running when i intend to play an online game, if im not arsed enough to shut down skype while playing a game then i deserve to get bad pings

 

[madhat]

Steam would be perfect if you could sell/transefer licenses. Once you buy a game on steam you own it forever. No selling old games back for ca$h... Other than that I love Steam.

 

[captjack5169]

[citation][nom]Andu7[/nom]I think the two distribution channels should coexist. I also think Steam is too expensive 1. on launch day 2. in Europe. The price disparity between US and Europe is insulting (50$ =/ 50EUR). I get my games on Steam whenever there's a sale going on. The games I buy at launch day, I get from a retailer for 20% less then what I would pay on Steam. I am not too lazy to drive 15 minutes (including return trip) in order to save 10-12 EUR (that's up to 15$!).[/citation]

HAHAHAHAHA you must be on a different Steam than the rest of us. New release are the same price or cheaper than the retailer. Everything else depends on where you are looking and what you are looking for. Steam is usually cheaper than other locations when it comes to older games, or maybe I'm on a different steam than you are.

 

[captjack5169]

[citation][nom]oldscotch[/nom]I'll add that the only thing I miss about Steam is getting a proper manual. Sure the PDFs are there and you can print them out, but that's no substitute for a proper manual (ie: Falcon 4.0).[/citation]

OMG the manual for Falcon was so big, I still have it, if anyone needs. I don't play it anymore.

 

[captjack5169]

Oh wait I forgot, I did get screwed recently by Steam. I bought the F.E.A.R. Trilogy from Steam when it was 9.95 and it came without the ability to play multiplayer, it gives a key in user error message when you try to enter a server. I contacted Steam and they took 6 weeks to get back to me with an answer on the issue, and there was no answer because F.E.A.R. has changed hands so many times that one has keys for it. However, on the bright for those of you like me that like squashing newbs in F.E.A.R. combat is still free and can be installed with the Steam F.E.A.R. installed, no problem. I wanted the games on my steam acct to ensure I can play the SP whenever I want. 10 bucks so worth it to keep some history.

 

[Darkv1]

I usually buy games retail because I like to have physical media but Steam integration in games rocks because it gets rid of the need to find or create a no-cd crack for a game. Also nobody beats Steam when it comes to dirt cheap sale prices...especially on slightly older games.

 

[razor512]

Steam has it's downsides but overall it is more reliable than purchasing games from a store. especially when you need to reinstall a game. it is also less of a hassle as you don't need the disk, just hope you have a reliable internet connection and that steam doesn't go out of business and you are good to go.

 

[nuc_Rx]

why should pc gaming take a step backward to please whiny retailers? steam is the best thing thats ever happened to us.

 

[cletus_slackjawd]

Personally, I have only purchased two games off of STEAM, but have purchased many STEAM integrated products from the game store. STEAM is a proven distro and marketing system, but I'm glad there is some healthy competition. The main problem with the game stores is they keep reducing their PC selection while expanding the console selection. There is something fun about having the physical box in your hands and opening the shrink wrap off it, browsing over the manual and artwork. Downloading just doesn't generate that build up to a great game sequal or whatever it is you realy want.

 

[jerreece]

Honestly, I hated Steam the first couple times I was "forced" to use it. I say forced, because the games required me upon install to install Steam and let it validate my CD-Key. That made me mad.

However, I've bought a few games through Steam now, and quite frankly, when it works... it works. And they offer occasional deals that are FAR better than game retailers are even willing (let alone able) to touch.

Where I do agree with the retailers though, is when the game has Steam integrated even though you're buying a retail DVD copy. If I buy the game, I want to install it and play like normal without being required to link to to Steam.

Then again, linking it to Steam means I can legally download it from Steam years later if I lose my DVD (or as a parent, my kids scratch the crap out of it).

 

[Guest]

I will and have never bought/supported ANY Nazi DRM software. If Steam is an "Option" let the sheep buy that card, but forced "Steam only" games can follow Hitler into the grave !

Forcing Steaming pile software is the Devil.
All you Devil worshipers have not been educated as to why it is wrong yet.

 

[megamanx00]

Not really. I buy some of my games on newegg or if I see it at a store, especially on sale, as an impulse buy. I don't do too many of those impulse buys now adays, but I recently saw Gothic 4 at target and I just had to have it, so I did .

 

[Master Exon]

There are many that I'm sure I've forgotten right now but,
a - all appdata is stored in the same place, complicating matters for people with plenty of small harddrives or low disk space

I am certain that it's the many small hard drives that make the issue complicated. BTW 640GB drive is available on newegg for maybe $55 at the moment. Also, Valve is experimenting with "Cloud" technology for online gamesaves.

f - the ui is very limiting. Searches are poorly designed, and title information is in many cases insufficient. For instance, when you're buying an older game it might come wrapped in a dosbox enviroment, though an opengl wrapper would've been available instead, deducing from the value of the game. This they ought to inform the user of really.

Reminds me of a time I wanted to know how many players could play "Sacraboar". The Steam page made no mention. One would think in this new online society we had the multiplayer capacity would be very important. For anyone who cares, it was no more than 2 players.

I hate Steam's search with a passion. They need to take a hint from Google and implement AND OR NOT operators. Especially for the categories.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

was anyone there when half life 2 got released. I bought the game having no idea about this steam bull***T. 4 hrs later after installing the game and registering for steam, and letting steam download updates, then downloading game updates and basically downloading half the game which should have been on the discs i was able to play it. I actually gave up after the 1st hr and looked for a crack which i could not find. You should not have to look for a crack out of frustration of installing the game. To this day I hate steam and the fact that it loads itself into memory and needs to be updated before playing games. F**k STEAM!

 

[wmtyrance]

I'm not a fan of steam but retail stores have some nerve complaining when their pc gaming section is one small shelve. Its their own fault that steam got so big.

 

[jnjkele]

Meh, steam works, I guess, but sometimes it really hacks me off. Bought Supcom 2, NO WARNING on the package that it was 'steam only'. Plugged in the disc, signed into steam, and the dumb thing downloaded the entire game from steam, while the DVD drive sat idle. Why did I buy the disc again? Not to mention that now I can no longer use one CD to spawn a multiplayer game for my son and I on our LAN, we have to have two separate steam accounts and I have to buy two copies of the game. Steam is a step forward but has some serious issues IMO that need to be addressed before I'm willing to buy more from them.