Poll: Did Steam "save" PC gaming?

[Charmi the ninja]

I say, sort of.
And Indirectly, YES.

Can?t really explain why. But if I tried it would include words like, inspiring developer confidence through security, anti-piracy, legal digital downloads, accessibility, cheaper distribution, no physical media, transferable between computers, indie developers, promotional content, updates, integrating gamers into a single massive community, great for advertising, freebies.

Showing devs that pc gamers are an organised massive united community just like xbl and psn, makes them more confident in releasing games for pc. So, yeah, steam is certainly helping pc gaming, and showing devs that we aren?t a bunch of rampant pirates.
Go Steamy!

 

[Denamic]

PC gaming was always strong, but Steam certainly did help.
The reason Steam was even successful to begin with was because PC gaming was strong.
It's not like people went out of their way to buy a gaming computer just because Steam appeared.
A lot of people actually disliked Steam at the beginning, because it was a pretty bad resource hog.
On the ye olde computers, at least.

 

[Wayneguard]

It provided an easy and cheap alternative to piracy like what itunes did for music. I love the ability to download tons of games for low cost at a whim, even if I don't like the steam client itself.

 

[DalekJaas]

A lot of PC gamers hate steam, so unlikely

 

[Alade]

Yes, steam did unfortunately save PC gaming, I was hoping it would just die with dignity but nooo... it got revived and now we have the PC gamer master race again.

 

[S_K]

Saved pc gaming no, made it more accessable? VERY YES, the biggest turnoff for people with pc games apart from getting used to a keyboard and mouse to begin with is any and all technical knowledge they require. Steam has made a smart console like system which ties everything more together and makes things more simple, hell once you buy a game you don't even need to have it on cd/dvd anymore with their systems, granted there is still a technical side to pc gaming but compared to before steam, it's more of a optional thing rather then essential to fix problems etc.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Not in and of itself it did not. However by making it so easy to buy and obtain legal software it has had a significant impact on piracy. That isn't to say that it has cured it by any stretch, but I for example used to simply 'obtain' things because it was so much easier to do than order online, wait for delivery, mess about with DVDs, serial numbers, DRM, etc.

Steam is even easier than messing with dodgy downloads, unreliable cracks and what not. I can download a 1.5mb file to any computer with Internet access and access all my games from it. I can download it however many times I like, on as many computers as I like to be played online or off.

Regarding the comment above about Steam games costing the same as or more than a boxed copy, that is absolutely true and I agree is ridiculous wholeheartedly (eBooks are the same in this way, costing as much or more than a hardback). However it's my understanding this is basically price fixing by the publishers in agreement with "the industry" as a whole, so as to not put bricks and mortar shops out of business. It is an intentional choice to have artificially higher prices on Steam to keep shops competitive.

That's not to say Steam is perfect. As well as the above pricing thing, I hate how games are different prices in different regions, usually penalising the Euro/GB zone heavily. Further, the release date thing is *still* an issue? Seriously? Haven't games publishers learned anything from movie piracy? Dear Lord, the Internet killed the concept of regional release dates years ago.

But really I think Steam is a very good platform. If not for it, I would not have spent so much money on indie games, older titles I played/finished years earlier or just on a whim. It's easier and more convenient than piracy, includes all the extra community bits that one can take or leave, auto updates, voice comms, etc. Good job Valve. Just sort out the pricing and release dates thing.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Yes, steam did unfortunately save PC gaming, I was hoping it would just die with dignity but nooo... it got revived and now we have the PC gamer master race again.

There is no need to harbour such bitterness. Not everyone can be superior, it is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[Popido]

Saved it? No. Changed? Yes, it did.

 

[i2esol]

STEAM has done what Walmart has always been known for. They have brought a lot of merchandise for lower prices through a fast, close, convenient outlet that may or may not be the best option, but it could be your only option depending on where you live. It brings old and new games to the masses at an expedited speed (expedited if you consider downloading faster than driving to the store, buying the game, driving home, installing, patching, then playing). I have to say that there are times I find myself buying the box just because I'm a hoarder of video games. If I don't really know if I'll enjoy the game or STEAM has a better price I'll usually shop through them.

As far as saving the PC industry? I don't think it's saved it, but I do believe it's having to carry it. Gamestop and other modern retailers have gone from having an entire section for video games to a wall. Then from a wall down to a small kiosk about the size of what they store their used GBA and GB games.

Side note: Some games are coming STEAM exclusive. I heard Duke Nukem: Forever is STEAM exclusive and if I remember correctly Fallout: New Vegas came on a disc, but force installed over STEAM.

 

[kasperbbs]

Not really, it didn't need saving in the first place. Steam is the most popular digital distributor, but that's all it is, if steam didn't exist others would have taken its place.

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

I put sort of, simply because of the amount of help it has been for indie groups and ease of distribution of games.

 

[mcnally86]

I don't like physical games that force install steam. If its a valve game I understand but that kinda upsets me when I hear they did that with New Vegas. Steam is like an old bouncy castle. Everyone is exited to be on it but only after fully inflating do you see the holes in it. Granted there are a lot of good parts to steam but their tech supports sucks, you can't return games, and they are adding/selling games that just plain do not work.

 

[CleverNickname]

sort of

I'm sure just about everything would have kept PC gaming alive (because it can't die, no matter how hard Activision tries)

but Steam definitely improved PC Gaming.

 

[Zantos]

I think it did a lot for it. There are plenty of games now in my Steam library that, had I had to track down or wait several days for delivery, I wouldn't have bothered. It's convenience has probably led to an increase in sales somewhere.

 

[GeorgW]

They made it more accessible and cheaper, and that goes a long way. So in a way, I think it did save PC gaming. PC gaming would never have died without it, but it does bring in a lot of money to PC gaming that would have been lost without it.

 

[Madman123456]

I doubt PC gaming needed saving. Its not dead yet. Sure, many Developers thought it would be cool if they took it up the ass by Microsoft and sony instead of Pirates, the companies will at least tell you in advance how much money they're going to steal from you so you got something to calculate with.


Overall, i like steam. Nice indiegame platform, also its a copy protection that actually does something other then annoy me. I don't have to move my giant ass to the shelf to get the games for the CD/DVD Verification.
That is at least one tiny little babystep in the right direction. If you going to have copy Protection because you apparently like throwing piles of money away, include something that isn't designed for the sole purpose of annoying me.

 

[Valdus]

NO, steam hasn't saved PC gamming and in my opinion has ruined it. I like having hard copies of my game and it pisses me off that some Steam Exclusive games that I like I can't get without first having to install and run steam on my computer.

Besides, it's Terms and Conditions are pretty crap - for one it means if steam ever go in the red or something they can revoke all purchases of my games on my steam account. In other words - they go buy buy and so do all my games that require steam to run.