Are low prices the only reason you use Steam?

[psicat]

Sales and games I can get no where else are the only reason I use Steam. Normal prices are too expensive, and I would never pay more than $10 for just a subscription to a game. It's crappy DRM that doesn't work well half the time, especially in offline mode. It's only 'good' feature is it's social integration, but I play single player games and don't really use it. So it's pretty much at the bottom of my digital distributors I use anyways: GOG, Gamersgate, Dotemu, direct purchase from indie developers, or just buy retail, then Steam.

 

[ShotgunZombie]

I love Good old Games!

 

[dfphetteplace]

I love Steam and have never had too many problems with it. It is the one program that I fully support. I wish there was Steam for the 360 so I could use it there as well.

 

[blue heartless]

I used Steam because it was a great way to spend all of my money without leaving my house.

I have been getting help with my addiction.

 

[Yopaz]

I got Steam a couple of months ago. I've been mainly happy with it, but the downloads are sooooo slow. I love how all your games are in one place. Oh, and the deals are great!

Except for Monkey Island. Bought that full price. Worth every penny.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Uhm, where do you live and what internet connection do you have? Also what do you mean with slow?
I usually get about 4.5mb/s and sometimes I am even up in 11mb/s on my Steam downloads.

 

[]DustArma[]

Only use it for cheap games. Gives me an affordable way to do my part in keeping the industry running instead of just not paying for games.

As far as chat, screenshots, etc goes, xfire is superior.

I first used Steam because when I bought Supreme Commander 2 it requires it. However after using it, I love it. Auto-update, integrated chat, good deals, and never having to keep physical copies of my games are all features I love.

Edit:

Steam is DRM in and of itself. So no internet connection, no games.

I never understood this point. Steam can be booted in offline mode and you can still play your games.

not all the time
infact for some reason it never has let me play HL2 offline

You actually need to log in (requires internet) and then manually go into offline mode, so yes, Steam does require an internet connection everytime you want to play. If I remember it correctly that is, but im 99% sure.

It does require an initial login (and credentials save) before being able to go offline, but after that you can go offline whenever you want even if you have no internet connection, at least that's how it always worked for me.

 

[DementedSheep]

I would use it allot less. The only reason I buy form steam is low prices, sometimes the getting the same game in a store will have a $60 price difference when they are not on sale on steam which is ridicules and for old or for games I can't get in a store...which is allot of them since. Games store where I live are very small.
I don?t like buying stuff online or having my games linked to an account. Downloading is a pain in the arse and costs me money. I laos don't like being needing internet to play conection or havng it save my details.

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

I've never noticed any particularly low prices on Steam (but then I have only bought Garry's Mod and Left 4 Dead 2). It's one of the most absurdly restrictive pieces of DRM I've ever come across, and my slow internet connection means it can take me up to five minutes to boot a game (even without the endless updates). Offline mode doesn't work for me for some absurd reason. And that's why I play Minecraft now.

 

[USSR]

Hm..
Yeah, pretty much.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Steam is annoying, have heavy DRM and a lot of bug.

I would love to know when and how you've encountered such. I've had Steam for about 2-3 years and haven't once encountered a single bug. Regarding "heavy DRM"...what? I can and have installed dozens of my 300+ titles and barely even notice DRM.

I think the most I've ever had to do was copy and paste a serial number from Steam (it even gives you a button to click on to copy it to clipboard) into a game. What game(s) and what DRM? I would be more inclined to believe you bought one of the only games on the platform that uses it's own DRM above Steam's. If it was an Ubisoft title for example that requires you to have an Ubi account/net connection, that's Ubi's fault, not Steam's.

 

[teh_gunslinger]

Sales prices are fine. Regular prices rips me off. A new release is cheaper in retail than on Steam in Denmark. In general EU customers get shafted.

 

[linwolf]

Steam is annoying, have heavy DRM and a lot of bug.

I would love to know when and how you've encountered such. I've had Steam for about 2-3 years and haven't once encountered a single bug. Regarding "heavy DRM"...what? I can and have installed dozens of my 300+ titles and barely even notice DRM.

I think the most I've ever had to do was copy and paste a serial number from Steam (it even gives you a button to click on to copy it to clipboard) into a game. What game(s) and what DRM? I would be more inclined to believe you bought one of the only games on the platform that uses it's own DRM above Steam's. If it was an Ubisoft title for example that requires you to have an Ubi account/net connection, that's Ubi's fault, not Steam's.

Steam itself is DRM, here are how it works.
You connect to Steam?s license servers to get authorization to play the game. If anything gets between you ad the license server then you can forget about playing the game you paid for. Now they do have offline mode that allows you to check you games and that play them without internet the trouble with this is that it is shaky and doesn't always work. So for people like me who doesn't have a stable internet connection, there can be long periods of time where any steam games I have are unplayable.

 

[SSoSFAGTiaCaGwaP]

I've been mainly happy with it, but the downloads are sooooo slow.

Uhm, where do you live and what internet connection do you have? Also what do you mean with slow?
I usually get about 4.5mb/s and sometimes I am even up in 11mb/s on my Steam downloads.

I have very fast internet, but for some reason, it only downloads about 100kb/s.

 

[Sixcess]

I find it easy to use and it avoids the need (most of the time) to go through separate site registration, purchasing and installation processes every time I buy a new game.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Steam itself is DRM

And it's completely unnoticeable and unobtrusive. That is the point of it. No CDs, no rootkits, just Steam.

Now they do have offline mode that allows you to check you games and that play them without internet the trouble with this is that it is shaky and doesn't always work. So for people like me who doesn't have a stable internet connection, there can be long periods of time where any steam games I have are unplayable.

So because of your unstable internet, you blame Steam that you can't use the service? I would blame your Internet connection. Would you also blame the supermarket that you can't get food from them because your car broke down? I can use Steam online and offline perfectly and without any bugs. There is nothing wrong with the service, it is just not suitable for you because your ISP is rubbish. Offline mode works perfectly for every game I've tried on it. Blame your ISP, not Steam.

 

[linwolf]

Steam itself is DRM

And it's completely unnoticeable and unobtrusive. That is the point of it. No CDs, no rootkits, just Steam.

Now they do have offline mode that allows you to check you games and that play them without internet the trouble with this is that it is shaky and doesn't always work. So for people like me who doesn't have a stable internet connection, there can be long periods of time where any steam games I have are unplayable.

So because of your unstable internet, you blame Steam that you can't use the service? I would blame your Internet connection. Would you also blame the supermarket that you can't get food from them because your car broke down? I can use Steam online and offline perfectly and without any bugs. There is nothing wrong with the service, it is just not suitable for you because your ISP is rubbish. Offline mode works perfectly for every game I've tried on it. Blame your ISP, not Steam.

Did you miss the part where I mention that Steams offline mode was shaky and didn't always work. God people are completely blind to any problem with Steam.

But follow you Ubisofts always online DRM was completely unnoticeable and unobtrusive, any blame was on your internet connection.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Did you miss the part where I mention that Steams offline mode was shaky and didn't always work. God people are completely blind to any problem with Steam.

How is it "shaky"? Could you be more vague? I have used it many times and have exactly the same client software as you do and it works absolutely fine. You are obviously experiencing a problem but blaming a service that is working fine is not correct. Perhaps it was a one off issue that happened. Most likely though, something else is the cause of whatever issue you had. It could be your OS, your firewall, your Internet connection, any other DRM a particular game employed. Do you call Microsoft for PC support when you've had a power cut?

Give us a specific example of the circumstances when offline mode didn't work for you. What game? Were you online at the time? What OS? What was the error?

But follow you Ubisofts always online DRM was completely unnoticeable and unobtrusive, any blame was on your internet connection.

I've never knowingly bought or installed an Ubisoft game with that protection, nor would I more than likely. But Dragon Age 2 [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/5887403] also had some online checks, never once had a problem with it and I am fairly sure I wouldn't have any issues with Ubisoft's working either.