I don't like it much either and the fact that it took a while to find the "don't load on startup button" was also annoying.I just keep it around to watch when stuff I like gets cheap so I can go and check for the as a hard copy.Oh and Team Fortress.
Are low prices the only reason you use Steam?
- Thread starter ShotgunZombie
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I barely buy stuff on Steam, but really it has a great user interface (I especially enjoy being able to Shift+Tab during a game to bring up the overlay instead of having to Alt+Tab, wait a minute for the repeating noises to end, do a single thing, and then Alt+Tab back into the game. The web browser in the overlay is particularly awesome.)
As has also been said, it keeps your games all organised and has good social capabilities as well. Plus its by Valve, and Valve is pretty much always awesome, so yeah.
As has also been said, it keeps your games all organised and has good social capabilities as well. Plus its by Valve, and Valve is pretty much always awesome, so yeah.
My reasons:
1. The sales (that's usually the only time where its prices are better than alternatives like OzGameShop and Play-Asia)
2. It often has games I can't find anywhere else
Whilst I like some of its features, nothing makes up for the fact that if Valve goes bankgrupt in 10 years, I will have to re-buy all of those games if I want to play them.
It may sound minor but there are plenty of 10+ year old games I still play.
1. The sales (that's usually the only time where its prices are better than alternatives like OzGameShop and Play-Asia)
2. It often has games I can't find anywhere else
Whilst I like some of its features, nothing makes up for the fact that if Valve goes bankgrupt in 10 years, I will have to re-buy all of those games if I want to play them.
It may sound minor but there are plenty of 10+ year old games I still play.
i can push shift + tab to re-see yahtzee's review of the game i am playing to re-hear what his opinion. also it works for gathering special stars/gems/orbs/souls that will increase my characters' hp/mp/stamina/penis
also i dont have to switch cds for each game i want to play.
why does a lot of people (not just the op fo' sho') not pleased with the service? if the download speed is slow/laggy surely your ISP is shit.
also i dont have to switch cds for each game i want to play.
why does a lot of people (not just the op fo' sho') not pleased with the service? if the download speed is slow/laggy surely your ISP is shit.
I dont see any real Value with games on steam save older titles. in fact you get less.. No printed manual , no extra dvd or what have you .
For eg the price of witcher 2 was the exact same as EB on release. and yet for my eb copy i got a map , 2 books extras dvds and some extra content .
Steam is the bargain bin of cyberspace for most things, and an unfortunate form of Drm.
For eg the price of witcher 2 was the exact same as EB on release. and yet for my eb copy i got a map , 2 books extras dvds and some extra content .
Steam is the bargain bin of cyberspace for most things, and an unfortunate form of Drm.
I admit, the insane sales are a factor. It is always nice to grab a game for a massive discount. But, that isn't the only reason I love Steam.
I live out in the middle of nowhere. My choices for retail PC games are the rather meager selections at Walmart or the "PC Section" (which is almost all Blizzard games) at Gamestop; both of which are roughly an hour away. So, downloading the game is cheaper for me, even if the list price is a couple dollars more, and normally faster than getting the game retail.
Amazon is out of the question for must have games. I live on the very end of the route for both Fedex and UPS. So, if it isn't USPS I'll get a delivery at roughly four or five in the evening. Assuming the driver gets to me that day, which has happened a couple of times.
Having all my games collected in one place is a nice touch. Since Steam has a good selection of games, I don't have problems finding games I enjoy on it. In fact, I've found some that I love that I otherwise wouldn't have because of Steam sales and seeing them as new releases. This is why I'm not interested in single publisher/developer direct download services. I don't want to lose games because I forgot a password to a service I haven't used in the better part of a year.
Others have bought up the chat services. They are very handy to have in the Steam overlay. The simple fact that I don't have to tab out when someone starts talking to me is an amazing feature for me. It seems that people hover around, waiting for me to load up a game that hates getting tabbed out of before sending me a message on another IM client.
I live out in the middle of nowhere. My choices for retail PC games are the rather meager selections at Walmart or the "PC Section" (which is almost all Blizzard games) at Gamestop; both of which are roughly an hour away. So, downloading the game is cheaper for me, even if the list price is a couple dollars more, and normally faster than getting the game retail.
Amazon is out of the question for must have games. I live on the very end of the route for both Fedex and UPS. So, if it isn't USPS I'll get a delivery at roughly four or five in the evening. Assuming the driver gets to me that day, which has happened a couple of times.
Having all my games collected in one place is a nice touch. Since Steam has a good selection of games, I don't have problems finding games I enjoy on it. In fact, I've found some that I love that I otherwise wouldn't have because of Steam sales and seeing them as new releases. This is why I'm not interested in single publisher/developer direct download services. I don't want to lose games because I forgot a password to a service I haven't used in the better part of a year.
Others have bought up the chat services. They are very handy to have in the Steam overlay. The simple fact that I don't have to tab out when someone starts talking to me is an amazing feature for me. It seems that people hover around, waiting for me to load up a game that hates getting tabbed out of before sending me a message on another IM client.
I like it for some of the features beyond low prices. More than anything else I love digital distribution. I don't need a physical copy of my games, and when I install Steam on a new computer(I'm on my fourth computer with a Steam account now.) I still have access to all my games. The social interaction is nice too, the steam chat is functional and very useful while in-game.
It's convenient and cheap like others have said. I got Terraria for $2.50, whats not to like?
I am a console gamer, however indie titles are just plain cheaper on steam.
I am a console gamer, however indie titles are just plain cheaper on steam.
I mainly use steam to play Team Fortress 2. Their prices are too high for me as it is - I can buy newly released games for the same (and very often) lower price in a store 15 minutes away from my house, get a physical copy and all the goodies that come along with it. Barring the occasional interesting sale I don't really buy anything there.
I have a steam account and to be honest the only reason i have it is because i needed it to play Dawn of War 2 when it first released... I have hated it ever since... But the sales they have keeps me there...
But most of the time i buy my games from another games place... It's called Dungeon Crawl and they sell really cheap games...
http://www.dungeoncrawl.com.au/
Just in case anyone is interested...
But most of the time i buy my games from another games place... It's called Dungeon Crawl and they sell really cheap games...
http://www.dungeoncrawl.com.au/
Just in case anyone is interested...
Nope i get most of new releases through steam..but you gotta admit they have awesome prices 
just take the summersale ^^
just take the summersale ^^
Since I am exclusively a PC gamer, there really isn't any more convenient way to organize all my games and friends who I play them with.
The main reason I use steam is because if I see a friend playing a game, with 3 clicks I can join whatever game their playing and the server they are playing on.
That too me, is its most valuable feature by far.
Second, the sales. You can get awesome games for under a fiver during their 3 big yearly sales.
The main reason I use steam is because if I see a friend playing a game, with 3 clicks I can join whatever game their playing and the server they are playing on.
That too me, is its most valuable feature by far.
Second, the sales. You can get awesome games for under a fiver during their 3 big yearly sales.
I have a large amount of friends on there, all my games are right there, very easy to organize, and Valve hosts many servers for the games, and the overlay in-game is very nice.
Also, Civilization V for 17 dollars this weekend. Me and my friend got it and have been having a hell of a time.
Also, Civilization V for 17 dollars this weekend. Me and my friend got it and have been having a hell of a time.
Absolutely. Having a central location for all my games is really nice and the fact that the overlay works for most non-Steam games is absolutely wonderful. Without Steam, you hear an IM pop up and, for many games, have to save, close, and restart them just because they don't play well with alt-tabbing. On top of that, it means that I can keep one friend list for an awful lot of games. The whole Steam Cloud thing for saving settings is also really handy now that the bugs seem to have been mostly ironed out.ShotgunZombie said:
Also, the friend and chat systems are simple, intuitive, and robust. Compare Steam to something like Origin and the polish that's gone into Steam is pretty remarkable. On that note, being able to change your username at any time is a small, but great move, and definitely fitting given that multiplayer games (the sort without any real progression - TF2 for instance) have functioned that way for so long.
I think the biggest thing is that, for the most part, Steam just works without too much hassle. It's rare and refreshing when something that does so many things does them so simply and so efficiently. And just about any issue you do have can be fixed by deleting the client registry blob. Also, any time I have had some sort of issue, like a game just not working for no discernable reasons, their customer service has been fast, friendly, and completely fair.
TL;DR: <3 Steam
Edit: It's worth noting that when Steam was younger, it was a pile of junk. It's gotten a lot better. And they could still afford some polish on the offline mode functionality, which remains relatively arcane and unpublicized.
The only time I have found significantly lower prices on Steam is during their sales.
Steam is about convenience to me. I've gone through three computers since I started my Steam account, I don't have to keep my discs, DLC is easily available and they've now added FTP games that I can use the Steam Wallet for, so I don't have to worry about dodgy sites and my credit card.
Steam is about convenience to me. I've gone through three computers since I started my Steam account, I don't have to keep my discs, DLC is easily available and they've now added FTP games that I can use the Steam Wallet for, so I don't have to worry about dodgy sites and my credit card.
To me (and I think a lot of other people who game on their PC, especially online) Steam has sort of become a user interface for PC gaming. It's just like XBL or PSN, except imo both of those services kinda suck compared to Steam (haters gonna hate).
So yes, if Steam would raise their prices, I'd still use it. I might buy less fromt hem though.
So yes, if Steam would raise their prices, I'd still use it. I might buy less fromt hem though.