the extra costs in steam

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

the extra costs in steam
by sayNO2steam
version 1.0
march 2005

- index
.. introduction
.. the admissible costs in pc games
.. extra costs now present with steam
.. extra costs possible in the future with steam
.. conclusion
.. what pc games to buy with assurance of no extra costs
.. notes
.. other documents by the same author
.. how to get this and other documents by the same author
.. contact and feedback
.. thanks
.. version
.. copyright
.. authenticity

- introduction

this is a list of extra cost present in any steam based game, versus the
current standard controlled costs found in every other pc game
this document is to show how much more expensive does steam turn pc games

- the admissible costs in pc games
the costs we pc gamers have been paying to play pc games for over one
decade have been totally admissible, controled and balanced like:
.. cost of buying a pc
.. cost of buying individual titles, pay once use forever
.. cost of electricity bill
these are all costs we all agree must pay to play pc games, there is no
discussion and its totally unanimous among pc gamers
with the current system no need to pay extra superfluous costs like for
backups or humiliating online activations or extra hardware and software
but adding to this will always be superfluous and abusive, that is why i
decided to list the extra costs in steam all of them completely not
admissible

- extra costs now present with steam

.. internet connection to buy
extra cost of needing an internet connection to buy a pc game cause it
will not be available in your local retail store
extra cost: between 1 and 5

.. credit card
extra cost of needing a credit card to pay to buy pc games cause it will
not accept any other means of payment
extra cost: monthly fee between 1 and 5

.. internet connection to install
extra cost of needing an internet connection to install a single player
pc game, cause without it you will not be able to use the single player
pc game you have bought
extra cost: monthly fee between 10 and 20

.. broadband connection to patch
extra cost of needing a broadband internet connection to patch the pc
game cause no other way is given cause patches are not available in a
single file format to be freely accessible and distributed
extra cost: monthly fee between 20 and 50

.. hardware for internet connection
extra cost of needing to buy specific hardware for either a normal or
broadband internet connection cause without it you will not be able to
install, play and patch the single player pc game you have bought
extra cost: between 50 and 200

.. software for internet connection
extra cost of needing to buy specific software for either a normal or
broadband internet connection like anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall
cause without it you will not be able to install, play and patch the
single player pc game you have bought
extra cost: between 50 and 100

.. bigger hard drive
extra cost of needing a bigger hard drive cause you need at least two
times the hard disk space for each pc game you buy and play, the space
for the downloaded installation files and the space required for the pc
game to be installed, so it doubles the space required and consumes two
times the space for gaming
extra cost: between 100 and 200

.. dvd recordable hardware
extra cost of needing a dvd recordable drive for you to backup the pc
game you just bought cause steam doesn't give you any physical medium,
and you only have a bunch of files on your hard-disk with a high risk of
getting damaged, erased or simply vanishing cause of hardware failure
extra cost: between 100 and 200

.. dvd recordable blank media
extra cost of needing one or more dvd recordable blank media for you to
backup the pc game you just bought cause steam doesn't give you any
physical medium, and you only have a bunch of files on your hard-disk
with a high risk of getting damaged, erased or simply vanishing cause of
hardware failure
extra cost: between 1 and 5

.. increase probability of loosing the pc games you bought
extra cost cause of an extremely less reliable archive and storing means
so a much higher probability of you loosing the pc game you have bought
cause you don't keep a physical medium and it must be you doing so and
we all know the majority doesn't do it and even if it does, a home made
dvd is always a much less reliable archive medium than a manufactured
dvd, and also if the game only remains in your hard drive there are a
great number of reasons you can loose all or partially the installation
files downloaded so you will have to pay for it again, paying double for
the same game
extra cost: between 50 and 100

.. increase in game troubleshooting
extra cost in game troubleshooting cause steam creates many new layers
of complexity which makes more pc gamers dealing with problems related
to installation and authentication so more cost in phone calls, emails
extra cost: between 1 and 5

.. increase in the electricity bill
extra cost in the electricity bill cause need to power extra superfluous
equipment like dvd recordable and internet connection hardware
extra cost: monthly fee between 1 and 5

.. increase in pc maintenance cost
extra cost of maintenance cause extra hardware and software and the more
complexity of having a pc connected to the internet makes it much more
likely to fail and need maintenance either hardware or software related
extra cost: between 50 and 100

- extra costs possible in the future with steam

although not yet present at the time, steam give the publisher a great
deal of power for in the future start charging for many things in pc
games we now have for free like:
.. pay to play, with by the minute charges or monthly fees
.. pay for patches, with by the patch charges or monthly fees
.. pay for expansion packs, with by the pack charges or monthly fees
.. pay for mods, with by the mod charges or monthly fees
.. pay for multiplayer, with by the minute charges or monthly fees

- conclusion

steam adds a great number of extra superfluous costs that will make pc
games much more expensive, so costs in yet another reason why to fight
against steam
also the future is extremely worrisome cause steam gives the publisher
a great power to start charging for everything, from playing to patches
or anything else related to the game
we must protect the way it has been for over a decade with the pay once
and play forever system in pc games with no extra superfluous costs
steam wants to kill that system and replace it with pc games as service
in which you have to pay to play adding monthly fees to the market, so
we must fight it to keep and protect pc games as a affordable, popular
widely accessible form of entertainment

- what pc games to buy with assurance of no extra costs

to buy pc games and be sure you will not have to deal with extra cost,
please don't accept steam, and boycott any pc game having steam, so only
buy pc games without steam or any alike technology that might be released
in the future and only pay for pc games which are available in your local
retail store, in a physical packaged box either cd-rom or dvd-rom with no
need for extra humiliating authentications "ask" for permission" to use

- notes

numbers included in the extra costs are only guidelines and not precise
cause not even a currency i specify, basically its only to give an idea
of what kind of extra costs are we dealing with

- other documents by the same author

.. "guidelines for good buying habits in pc games"
.. "what steam takes from you"
.. "the top 5 false myths about pc games"
.. "against steam graphic expression compilation"
.. "the 3 unnegotiable requirements"
.. "top 10 things to know before buying half-life 2 and accepting steam"
.. "the truth about gaming cost"
.. "if its doomed we have us to blame"
.. "threat of a steam "malicious" version"
.. "we want steam out of retail channel"
.. "wow box proves valve fault"
.. "the only admissible costs in pc games"

- how to get this and other documents by the same author

.. read usenet newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
.. please email me and i'll send you a copy

- contact and feedback

please email to sayNO2steam@yahoo.com

- thanks

to every single pc gamer that has fought against steam for the last four
months and haven't give up or betrayed

- version

1.0 first created 29 march 2005
originally posted to the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.* newsgroups hierarchy

- copyright

this document and all its text is copyright myself and cannot be used or
published in any means or way without my permission

- authenticity

due to various tries to "imitate" and even "impersonate" my person in
the usenet i advise everyone to get this document only from reliable
sources cause of possible risk of adulteration

<end of document>


--
to check this post authenticity please read the thread "check for post
authenticity" in this group and if you have any doubt please email me
for further authenticity confirmation

this post is copyright of myself and cannot be used in any way without
my express permission with the only exception for being used to quote
part of my post in a direct follow-up, without any change in original
text

post made in a steam-free computer
i said "NO" to valve and steam

against steam campaign
http://nosteam.afterdarknet.at/

steamwatch - independent observatory about steam
http://www.steamwatch.org/

please sign petition "Say NO! to Steam!" available at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/nosteam/petition.html

what steam does to pc gamers in a million word worth picture:
http://www.nforce.nl/forum/images/avatars/1405845568421463c26ef44.gif

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

sayNO2steam [authentic] wrote:
[SNIP]
> - extra costs now present with steam
>
> . internet connection to buy
> extra cost of needing an internet connection to buy a pc game cause
it
> will not be available in your local retail store
> extra cost: between 1 and 5

So far, the only Steam games are from Valve. The multi-player games and
HL mods were never available in the shops before Steam, so you needed
an internet connection to get them anyway. So no change there.
As for single player games, HL2 is available in the shops, in a box.


> . credit card
> extra cost of needing a credit card to pay to buy pc games cause it
will
> not accept any other means of payment
> extra cost: monthly fee between 1 and 5

Then get a different card. I have several credit cards and none of them
charge me an annual fee. Some of them I have for their cheap interest
rates, and some of them actually pay me in the form of cash-back or
loyalty points (eg. Airmiles).


> . internet connection to install
> extra cost of needing an internet connection to install a single
player
> pc game, cause without it you will not be able to use the single
player
> pc game you have bought
> extra cost: monthly fee between 10 and 20

This, like all the internet-related items in this list, is an
additional cost if you either do not already have an internet
connection, or have a Pay-As-You-Go connection. If you have a Pay
Monthly internet account, then there is no additional cost.
As has been discussed previously (including in the German courts), the
box should (IMO) state more clearly that an internet connection is
required to install the game.


> . broadband connection to patch
> extra cost of needing a broadband internet connection to patch the pc
> game cause no other way is given cause patches are not available in a
> single file format to be freely accessible and distributed
> extra cost: monthly fee between 20 and 50

You can download the patches over a narrowband connection - it just
takes longer. That is true of downloading anything, including email and
newsgroup messages. Also, there are broadband connections which cost
the same as narrowband, so this is a cost that is optional and can be
avoided.


> . hardware for internet connection
> extra cost of needing to buy specific hardware for either a normal or
> broadband internet connection cause without it you will not be able
to
> install, play and patch the single player pc game you have bought
> extra cost: between 50 and 200

As stated above, this is only an additional cost if you do not already
have an internet connection.


> . software for internet connection
> extra cost of needing to buy specific software for either a normal or
> broadband internet connection like anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall
> cause without it you will not be able to install, play and patch the
> single player pc game you have bought
> extra cost: between 50 and 100

Again, if you do not already have an internet connection, then you will
need these things. You can buy them, or you can use free versions. For
example, Windows XP has a basic firewall built in, or ZoneAlarm have a
free version of their firewall. I think SpyBot is also free for
anti-spyware.


> . bigger hard drive
> extra cost of needing a bigger hard drive cause you need at least two
> times the hard disk space for each pc game you buy and play, the
space
> for the downloaded installation files and the space required for the
pc
> game to be installed, so it doubles the space required and consumes
two
> times the space for gaming
> extra cost: between 100 and 200

Not sure if this is true if you install from the DVD.


> . dvd recordable hardware
> extra cost of needing a dvd recordable drive for you to backup the pc
> game you just bought cause steam doesn't give you any physical
medium,
> and you only have a bunch of files on your hard-disk with a high risk
of
> getting damaged, erased or simply vanishing cause of hardware failure
> extra cost: between 100 and 200

If you buy the retail box, then you already have a physical DVD. Also,
if your hard drive does fail, or the game files get corrupted, you can
just download them again from Steam; you have a permanent on-line
backup. This cost is a luxury that is not necessary.


> . dvd recordable blank media
> extra cost of needing one or more dvd recordable blank media for you
to
> backup the pc game you just bought cause steam doesn't give you any
> physical medium, and you only have a bunch of files on your hard-disk
> with a high risk of getting damaged, erased or simply vanishing cause
of
> hardware failure
> extra cost: between 1 and 5

See point above about DVDR hardware.


> . increase probability of loosing the pc games you bought
> extra cost cause of an extremely less reliable archive and storing
means
> so a much higher probability of you loosing the pc game you have
bought
> cause you don't keep a physical medium and it must be you doing so
and
> we all know the majority doesn't do it and even if it does, a home
made
> dvd is always a much less reliable archive medium than a manufactured
> dvd, and also if the game only remains in your hard drive there are a
> great number of reasons you can loose all or partially the
installation
> files downloaded so you will have to pay for it again, paying double
for
> the same game
> extra cost: between 50 and 100

You don't have to buy the game again. You can download it through Steam
again. In fact, once you have registered your game, you can go to any
internet-connected PC in the world, and download your games through
Steam.

If your hard drive fails, you will probably have more difficulty
reinstalling other programs that require registration because your
CD-Key will apparently already have been registered. With Steam, you
are still registered in your name and you can just download the
software again.


> . increase in game troubleshooting
> extra cost in game troubleshooting cause steam creates many new
layers
> of complexity which makes more pc gamers dealing with problems
related
> to installation and authentication so more cost in phone calls,
emails
> extra cost: between 1 and 5

I don't think this can be counted as an extra cost because any new
software will bring additional troubleshooting requirements. For
example, most non-Steam games do not tell you when an update or
additional content is available. You have to search for it yourself and
if you find it, you have to download and install it yourself, and hope
that you haven't just installed a virus or similar.
Yes, some people have trouble with Steam, but other people have trouble
with other games and programs.


> . increase in the electricity bill
> extra cost in the electricity bill cause need to power extra
superfluous
> equipment like dvd recordable and internet connection hardware
> extra cost: monthly fee between 1 and 5

Again, if you aleady have these items, this is not an additional cost.
In any case, the DVD is a one-off operation and only necessary if you
download a game (instead of buying the box) and the modem uses very
little power. This is a negliable cost.

If you're worried about your electric bill, then the big power-users
are things which generate heat and things which move. Heaters, cookers,
toasters, lightbulbs are the main culprits. If you close the curtains
at dusk, turn the heating down by a degree, fit energy efficient
lightbulbs or don't leave the TV on standby overnight, you'll more than
recover the cost of the DVD and the modem's power consumption.


> . increase in pc maintenance cost
> extra cost of maintenance cause extra hardware and software and the
more
> complexity of having a pc connected to the internet makes it much
more
> likely to fail and need maintenance either hardware or software
related
> extra cost: between 50 and 100

If you're already connected to the internet, then Steam does not make
it any more dangerous, so your maintenance costs are not changed. Steam
also allows you to backup and replace your game files, making
maintenance (or recovery at least) much easier. If your PC is in good
health generally, Steam won't make it any worse.



> - extra costs possible in the future with steam
>
> although not yet present at the time, steam give the publisher a
great
> deal of power for in the future start charging for many things in pc
> games we now have for free like:
> . pay to play, with by the minute charges or monthly fees
> . pay for patches, with by the patch charges or monthly fees
> . pay for expansion packs, with by the pack charges or monthly fees
> . pay for mods, with by the mod charges or monthly fees
> . pay for multiplayer, with by the minute charges or monthly fees

True, they could do any of this. A couple of points:
Expansion packs are often released commercially, so you have to pay for
them anyway.
A lot of multiplayer games already do charge monthly fees.


> - conclusion
>
> steam adds a great number of extra superfluous costs that will make
pc
> games much more expensive, so costs in yet another reason why to
fight
> against steam

Although most of these costs are to do with having an internet
connection. If you already have this, for other reasons, then these
costs are not additional.

> also the future is extremely worrisome cause steam gives the
publisher
> a great power to start charging for everything, from playing to
patches
> or anything else related to the game
> we must protect the way it has been for over a decade with the pay
once
> and play forever system in pc games with no extra superfluous costs
> steam wants to kill that system and replace it with pc games as
service
> in which you have to pay to play adding monthly fees to the market,
so
> we must fight it to keep and protect pc games as a affordable,
popular
> widely accessible form of entertainment

You said above that they could add monthly fees to a single-player
game; now you say they definitely will. Which is it? Personally, I
don't think they will because that would restrict the PC games market
even further (I won't pay monthly fees for a single-player game).

 

[vinCe]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"sayNO2steam [authentic]" wrote

> extra cost of needing an internet connection to buy a pc game cause it
> will not be available in your local retail store

Lies. That's where I bought mine. Unless you're referring to future
pretend-ware games.

> . credit card
> extra cost of needing a credit card to pay to buy pc games cause it will
> not accept any other means of payment

Lies. I pay nothing for a credit card (or direct debit card which I mainly
use).

In fact credit cards can give you free credit (Ok... free debt!) for a
month.

> . internet connection to install
> extra cost of needing an internet connection to install a single player

You already did that one...

> . broadband connection to patch

.... and here it is again.

> . hardware for internet connection
> extra cost of needing to buy specific hardware for either a normal or
> broadband internet connection cause without it you will not be able to
> install, play and patch the single player pc game you have bought
> extra cost: between 50 and 200

Do you have to pay more than $20 for a network card (Broadband) or a dial-up
Modem?

> . software for internet connection
> extra cost of needing to buy specific software for either a normal or
> broadband internet connection like anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall
> cause without it you will not be able to install, play and patch the
> single player pc game you have bought
> extra cost: between 50 and 100

B*ll*cks. These are all free.

AVG or Avast (Ideal for you me hearty). Spybot or Adaware. Zone alarm.

> . bigger hard drive

A lot of new games take up Gigabytes of space. However if HL2 is
significantly bigger because of Steam, I defer.

> . dvd recordable hardware.
> . dvd recordable blank media

Debatable since you reckon that Valve will go bust and you won't be able to
play the backup anyway.

I have the game on DVD so it's not needed.

> . increase probability of loosing the pc games you bought

If that is true (and that would be a radical departure from the rest of your
post) then you could make duplicate copies and redo it every couple of
years. DVDs are very cheap.

> . increase in game troubleshooting

You probably mean decrease. No DVD checks.

> . increase in the electricity bill.

I already have one of the newer electric-computers so that doesn't make any
difference to me.

> . increase in pc maintenance cost
> extra cost of maintenance cause extra hardware and software and the more
> complexity of having a pc connected to the internet makes it much more
> likely to fail and need maintenance either hardware or software related

Lies. If you're talking about downloading dodgy pirated software - that's
not the fault of Steam.

> - extra costs possible in the future with steam

Not relevant in an intelligent discussion. I might as well assert that games
will come down in price because of Steam (maybe they will, but I'm not
stupid enough to use it as an argument).

> - conclusion

John Lewis won't buy HL2 - and I respect him for it.

Just do the same.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"sayNO2steam [authentic]" <sayNO2steam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0m6i419k3rlahrb7b79nf8tc4qmma6gjfo@4ax.com...
> the extra costs in steam
> by sayNO2steam
> version 1.0
> march 2005
> <snip>

You are good. I predict that you will find a future in politics or
something like an analyst where you need to juggle the numbers to make
things seem worse/better than they truely are. Say analyst in banking,
stock market, .... ;-)