Personally i like it, I don't have to hunt down a game and i can pre-order and load so that i can play not just on launch day, but launch hour. It also provides the best anti cheat ever. However it does have its many many screw ups...Like the fact that i cant play ETQW on it without completely reinstalling....

God damn how many polls do you make?

I use it, but I don't hate it or love it.

Almost no one has a legitimate beef with Steam anymore. It's evolved into a very nice platform.

It works fine for me..

At first I didn't like steam that much, but after using it lately I've reconsidered. There is a decent inventory of games on there now, and things work painlessly most of the time. I have FIOS, so download times are very reasonable.

It's nice because delivery of purchased games is immediate, there is no physical media to lose/get damaged, and games get cheaper if you wait awhile after they come out.

Wolfy, awesome post.

...?

I personally love it.

Especially with the Community setup now, it's really a nice little package.

Lots of my games are easy to access, I never have a problem or encounter bugs, and I love the fact they can update a game when a fix is released - rather then wait until they have a big patch and you have to download off a website.

I'm all for Lucasarts releasing their old catelogue (like id) on Steam. Games like Rebel Assault 1 & 2, X-wing, TIE Fighter, then JK of course. It'd be more cash for them, and a permanent home for people to play/access them

LOVE IT!

Don't use it. Don't play PC games anymore.
When I did use it over a year ago, I hated it.
If I used it now, I'd probably just really dislike it.
Then again, as long as I can find the game in a physical package, I'll buy that. I don't like digital distribution unless it's for tiny games. I feel like I actually own something if I have a disc to look at.

You can also put shortcuts to non-Steam games into your game list, and when you launch the game you'll still have access to Steam Friends and Community.

I never really hated it, but I have really grown to like it with the way they've built it up. Going from a broken friends list to Steam Community was a bit of a nice upgrade.

Phoenix, you can always burn the games to DVD. If Steam servers failing is what you'r worries about Valve has a system where the can "un-leash" the games. Tested and true.

I like retail games. Not home burned ones.

Basically, if I paid money for it, I want a physical disc from a manufacturer in my hand. Not one I had to make myself.

I'm old fashioned like that.

If you like your digital distribution, ok. I personally don't unless it's some 5 dollar game on Xbox Live Arcade.

Digital distribution is nice because it can be accessed much quicker and from anywhere.

I used to think the same way you did, but then I realized that, once the game is installed, or after it's beaten, I usually never see the disc again. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think people like you (and me, before) may just be resisting change.

I don't doubt that I'm probably resisting change. But like I said, right now none of this effects me either way. I don't play PC games anymore. I play everything on my 360. So I'm constantly seeing discs and using them, and while I can definitely yank my memory card, take it to a friend's house, log on, and download a full version of some arcade game I own while I'm there, usually it's just an annoyance for them afterwards that they have to delete.

Anyway digital distribution rolls in the next few years, I likely won't be dealing with any of it until the next iteration of the Xbox. Presuming there will be one.

I will say though, that microtransactions are ****ing stupid and whoever came up with that idea needs to be shot.

Microtransactions? That BS "Pay per level" Crap? Ya i tend to agree.

I'm surprised that you guys like it (I have never used it, and only heard really bad things about it). I have a question, though. In the license agreement, does Valve promise to "unleash" the games if they ever go out of business or sell or anything? Like, do you have any guarantee that if the valiation servers bail for whatever reason, you can always play your games?

That's a good question...I highly doubt they wouldn't, though. I can't think of any instance where Valve and Steam would suddenly disappear without any warning.

You can backup your games manually and (I assume) play them with one of the cracked versions of Steam.

I just can't get past the block that someone else has control over my computer and over games I already bought. I've heard of the "offline" mode but people still say that every once in a while it wants to revalidate.

I tried to download DirectX 9 from MS the other day, and they wanted me to install some Windows Genuine Advantage before they would give me the download. Is this seriously the direction we want to move in?

Windows genuine advantage just makes sure you bought the OS.

You don't deserve and are not entitled to updates if you didn't buy the OS.

None of the games I've bought on steam require any form of authentication or validation :?

I'm also very fond of digital distrubution in general. There's a lot less hassle, plus I don't feel so bad about having hundreds of CDs and DVDs that require some tangible resource to produce littering my apartment.

I just pulled up the TOC, and they specifically indicate that purchase of a game of steam constitutes subscription to a service, and not actual ownership, and that Steam may discontinue any subscriptions whenever and whyever they want.

So, no, there is no guarantee.

That said, the TOC is just a civil contract, and could probably be challenged in court if push ever comes to shove. Furthermore, we have Gabe Newell's personal word that they will "unleash" games should steam ever go down permanently.

I personally love Steam, mostly for allot of the reasons described above, but also because THE PRICE IS RIGHT. Seriously, good games, reasonable prices. What's not to love?

DirectX is shipped with any modern game. I was going to download it because it has always been easier than getting out a disk and using the installer from there. But there's no way in hell I'm going to put yet another piece of MS software on my computer that phones home all the time. I specifically use Windows2000 because it doesn't require "activation" -- and in fact, I used windows update to get tons of security patches with no issues. It's only directx they want this "genuine advantage" thing for. Forget it. I got it off a game disk.

Seriously, though, how many times do they need to check validity before they believe you? Used to be you type in a key from the cd, shouldn't that be enough? Then it was iff you do product activation, shouldn't that be enough? Now it's any time you connect to a MS web site to download anything, is that going to be enough? Or like steam, every time you activate the program. Soon it will be each time you click? Give me a break.

Just loop the callhome to localhost with your HOSTS file. That's what I do.

I bought the Steam version of Jagged Alliance 2. BAD MOVE. It has bugs that make it unplayable, bugs that aren't present in any other version, such as the one I bought shortly after. (I now own three versions of the game by the way.) They've had this problem for a long time now and are apparently not in a hurry to fix it. They don't even refund people who bought it thinking they'd get an appropriately working game.

I found it hard to believe you had an account with an MMORPG at one time, considering MMORPGs are really no different. MMORPGs requires an account to play and the developers don't have to provide you access to it if they don't want to. Just look at Auto Assault - that game was shutdown at the end of August. Playing an MMORPG is a risk you just have to take if you really want to play one.

Try to remember that PC games are no different than any other software - you DO NOT own the software but only a license to use the software. Therefore, the concept of "owning a pc game I bought" doesn't exist. If you really want to feel like you own a video game, I suggest you stick to consoles since there is no way the game developer can affect your copy of the game (unless you update it on something like Xbox Live but that's only if you want online play).

I personally don't have a problem with Steam. Not once did I ever feel they were going to screw me over with credit card theft. Steam was a bit crappy at first (it was quite buggy) but today the software is pretty decent. So far the only game I've purchased through Steam was Half-Life 2. I have yet to buy anything else through the service. The only other digital download I've bought outside of Steam was Guild Wars Factions but that was through NCsoft's store before the Guild Wars In-Game store was established.

The difference between an MMORPG, steam, and regular games is this:

In a regular game, you are granted a PERPETUAL license to use the software. With no time limit or other restrictions.

With a MMORPG, you are granted a license to play as long as they keep taking your money.

With steam, you pay as if it were a regular game, but you are granted a license more akin to the MMORPG, but instead of basing it on whether they keep taking your money, they base it on the life of the validation servers.

MMORPGs don't make you have a subscription in order to combat piracy, that's their entire revenue model. In order for me to play a game, the MMORPG company has to run servers, employ people, etc. It's a persistent game world completely unlike Half-Life. If I want to play Half-Life 10 years from now on an old box I kept just for that purpose, it would take nothing from Valve to accomodate that (using the old model). I pop the game in, install it, install any patches I had previously downloaded, and I could play. Now, using the steam model, I could only play assuming their validation servers are still up and running and still recognize that I own the games (which could be difficult if I forgot my password or no longer have access to my registration email address). It needs a worldwide, networked infrastructure in order for me to play the game. It doesn't make sense.

I don't have a problem with digital distribution. I don't have a problem not owning game disks. I like the idea of being able to download the games into any computer I want. What I have a problem with is being forced to use steam to play the games. I think that once it's installed, you should be able to run it w/out using steam.

But steam is not only a convenient digital distribution tool, it's also an anti-piracy measure which simply goes too far and seems way too inconvenient.

It's not inconvenient to use by any means.

For someone who's never used it, you sure seem to know a lot about it.

CONSPIRACIES ABOUND.

I used to not care either way, then I visited my uncle and had CS for a week on his computer because I could download/install it there.

****ing. Awesome. Didn't have to carry a disc with me. I love that.

Yet again i point out, If server failure happens we have Garrys word (Take it for whatever you see fit) that the games will be unlocked, I also point out that AT ANY TIME you can put the stuff on a dvd.

There's this really cool thing called an "internet" which lets one do research on interesting things. It's really cool, you should check it out sometime. The other thing I'd like to point out is that if I do buy HL2 and end up not liking steam, it's not like I can just go get a refund. Unlike most software with digital distribution, there is no "free trial" with no strings attached.

You know, there is a Half-Life 2 demo available. It does require a Steam account but that's free anyway, so I don't really think of that as an attached string.

(Also, if you still haven't played HL:2, we could probably just hook you up. Those of us who bought the "Orange Box" and already own HL:2 will get a "Gift" option to give HL:2 to anyone with a Steam account.)

I read it on the internet, so you KNOW it's true.