Steam 1984 ?

Many of my friends have been discussing the virtues (or not ) of steam controlled games.I would like the thoughts of others in the forums......We think that when you purchase a game it would be nice to have a choice of a steam controlled game or a non steam controlled game.We tend to think that for a small increase in price for a non controlled steam game...i.e. it doesn’t update your game or download advertising you don’t want (we are all big boys and know how to update,patch etc) it just validates your serial number and actually lets you play the game, it would be worth a small increase for the non steam version.The game provider would be expected to keep the servers running for a few years and after that be willing to allow the users or others to purchase the lobby rights to keep the game up and running if the players were there...
what are your views?
Now don’t get me wrong I am not denigrating steam,its only my and my friends personal opinion that we seem to have lost control over the games we purchase with our hard earned money , but we would be interested in other peoples opinion of where online games in general are going.
 
Race is a pretty special case. Not sure if there are any other games, apart from Valve games, that are tied to Steam in the same way.
So the issue is a non-issue, you always have a choice :)

In general, Steam has some drawbacks, but it offers more than enough for me to use it exclusively. If a game isn't on Steam, the chances of me buying it are slim.

For what it's worth, you can turn off ads and automatic game updates. I had to do it for Knights of the Old Republic II just the other day.


Late EDIT: seems I'm mistaken, F1 2012 also seems tied with Steam. Heh. I'd prefer that you could choose, of course. I'd still got with Steam though :D

Very late EDIT: ah, Raceroom thingy is also tied with Steam.
 
Race is a pretty special case. Not sure if there are any other games, apart from Valve games, that are tied to Steam in the same way.
So the issue is a non-issue, you always have a choice :)

In general, Steam has some drawbacks, but it offers more than enough for me to use it exclusively. If a game isn't on Steam, the chances of me buying it are slim.

For what it's worth, you can turn off ads and automatic game updates. I had to do it for Knights of the Old Republic II just the other day.


Late EDIT: seems I'm mistaken, F1 2012 also seems tied with Steam. Heh. I'd prefer that you could choose, of course. I'd still got with Steam though :D

Very late EDIT: ah, Raceroom thingy is also tied with Steam.

I think actually it is reasonably common to buy a disk and have it require steam. Skyrim is another game that can be added to that list.
 
I do not prefer Steam's method of controlling the files ... But, I see the advantage of this as well. so it seems to be a double edge sword.

My only compliant is I like to have total control of the game when I want to play OFF-LINE. I do not want to have to be connected to the internet 100% of the time. unless I am wrong, you need to be online even if you wish to play offline.
 
At first I was completely apposed to Steam usage and would install the offline version of the game instead of the steam version from disk. After the fiasco that happened to Race 07, I am thinking this would be a great idea once again. However, the use of a company like Steam helps out game developers quite a bit in keeping costs down. With Steam, the developer only needs to write code that will allow Steam to validate the install so they don't have to spend loads of time writing the initial code and then keeping it up to date to limit the amount of "hacked" versions of the game. The end result is we are charged less so they can spend more time actually developing the game.

Obviously using Steam doesn't stop "hackers" entirely as is evidenced by all the Skidrow accounts out there, but the number is probably a lot lower than it would have been if Simbin would have been required to maintain the code to prevent it.
 
My only compliant is I like to have total control of the game when I want to play OFF-LINE. I do not want to have to be connected to the internet 100% of the time. unless I am wrong, you need to be online even if you wish to play offline.

Not at all DD ... you may be totally Steam offline to play Steam Games offline and even online. !

If you like to be Steam Offline, open Steam, choose Steam in Menu and click 2nd line Steam Offline ( or something like that .. mine is in french ) and restart Steam as required.
You are then Steam Offline, you may play games offline without internet connection and online on official or private servers without being Steam Online.

If you wish being Steam online again, same manoeuvre but reversed ;)
 
Dislike and very much disagree with DLC and Steam, steam set the precedence for DLC on consoles, console gamers brought us to non ownership of your purchased item thru buying dlc content that even pc gamers were not having to pay for!
Now corps imo are buying out developers and are moving to the usual monopoly of control and greed by banging out any old crap developed game and why? Cos once you purchase and download you wont get a refund but if you had an hard copy?
Will RRE being so called f2p give you ownership? Will there be a modding community lol.

Once the UK residential areas have broadband (government initiative) then what will and i mean WILL come to us is this, simular to steam but held purely on there own servers will be ALL the games you wish for and a monthly subscription will in return allow you to stream any game you want! STREAM!!!!!


Welcome to 1984 where you are told what to do, eat and play.
 
steam set the precedence for DLC on consoles, console gamers brought us to non ownership of your purchased item thru buying dlc content that even pc gamers were not having to pay for!
PC gamers got it for free because they use Steam, which is primarily a PC platform. Valve can update and deliver it whenever, for free.
XBOX is a Microsoft thing, and Microsoft wants you to pay for that, not Valve/Steam. Check things before posting.

As for the rest of your crackpot rant, meh.
 
Crackpot? Your staff???? Haha very nice didnt realise insulting members was what you do.

Im old enough to Know that actually pc gamer were getting extras free and Before steam, how old are you? Becuase with that reply id say young if not grow up.

Wrong it is not an xbox thing at all, sony? Wii?

Please.....
 
Crackpot? Your staff???? Haha very nice didnt realise insulting members was what you do.
My staff? What am I, a wizard? I don't have a staff.

Wrong it is not an xbox thing at all, sony? Wii?

Please.....
What is wrong with my statement? Valve has their own content delivery system, and they provide it for free. Microsoft has their own system, and wants to charge you for it.

Have no clue about PS3, but again, it's most likely not due to Steam. Their primary platform is PC, if they're giving it for free there, why wouldn't they give it for free on a practically irrelevant market for them? What does Steam have to do with anything?
 
What is wrong is that you have just trolled.

Look at your response again. You only have xbox as your response to why not sit back and think it through, i am giving an opinion and an informed one! They are pushing towards streaming games they have been developing technology for it for years, this very site as previously advertised a box that will stream games, i wont even tell you its brand name seems i am a crackpot!

Rather than be grown up and proffessional, your response should be with a good arguement if you disagree not a trolled insult with hardly any sustance for debate.

Seems to be a rather occuring thing with staff here.

I responded to the OP, have a nice day.
 
Well, there is no Steam for Wii, and on PS3, there is only a couple of Valve games, so it isn't really relevant? The topic here is Steam, not Console DLC pricing strategies.

I'm just wondering why you think companies charging for DLC on consoles has anything to do with Steam. Because it has nothing to do with Steam. They provide a service, and charge for it. Is your electric bill Steam's fault?
If you don't like the system they use, don't buy their products.
 
When something is a reason for something else happening like when the wind blows, this blows leaves about and more. So yes it is relevant.

It is called "conditioning" people. Where you never taught the lesson about the boiling frog?!

Hence... YOU are now happy to buy files from and not hardware which in return gives ownership steam doesnt. something your happy with now but if you ever realised steam were going to hold the monopoly and charge rather than be a free program would you still be happy? And now micro transactions (f2p) seriously blind if you dont see monthly subscribed gaming thru streams.

You remember when valve first launched i assume? And on that note you assume to much about me.

You should re-read my post. Seriously wonder why you reply to drop your foot further in the cow pat you built for yourself.
 
The way pricing is going is disgusting.

DLC will be the death of gaming. I don't agree with having to pay for more and more content when games come with next to none to begin with.

Same with itunes and never actually owning the music, I hate the way our money is just taken and taken.

Look at energy saving light bulbs, yet our bills go up and up, they must be saving a ridiculous amount. It's a money grab free for all these days and it makes me sick. It's not about gaming it's about corporations profits.

These are the start of dark days for sure!
 
Well, i have to add to that off-topic.. How much more home electronics have you got since incandescent bulbs went away? That massive flat screen tv, new PC etc draws a lot of current..

But i agree, if the game is DLC based, then the game base price should be in single digits.

Steam is unnecessary evil. When it works it works really really well. But cramming that many titles to it causes problems if the games aren't designed for Steam in the first place.. Race07 is one of those where we need additional layers between Steam and the game simply because it's designed differently from the start.. I'll bet that RRRE has very few Steam related problems..
 
What will you make of the PAY to PLAY that IS going to be the future of gaming. Buying a physical game or a downloadable (steam) game will be a thing of the past. All games will be purchased by the amount of time you want to play it and it will be streamed directly to your device. Essentially you will be renting it, maybe for a week, maybe for life.....
It's already beginning, take a look at ONLIVE.
http://www.onlive.co.uk/

Game developers and the like will seize the opportunity to shed the cost of producing physical media and download servers etc.
 
Oops, my BC2 and BF3 are on origin. Never had a problem and just had an easy re-install after switching to Win7. Steam has been very good to me on re-installs also, the beasts you gotta love.

Exactly. I don't even want to imagine the hassle I'd have with installing all the games I bought during Steam Summer Sale if Steam didn't exi...oh, wait. :D
 

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