Poll: What if Steam were to stop existing

[GrinningManiac]

I'd be really, really pissed

Plus, I would loose contact with a few aquaintances I've befriended across the world

SuPeR ShEeP from Norway would be no more! I'll miss that endearing little bugger

 

[microwaviblerabbit]

Well, the collapse of Steam would be something major. A quick skim through their publisher catalog results in a lot of companies that are not sort on funds. If it did start to collapse, I think there would be a buyout. I know I would pay some money to keep it going. If value was collapsing then maybe a going out of business sale to get continuity funds?

Or they could release episode 3.

 

[jarate]

I would switch my on/off switch to off.

 

[AlphaOmega]

I can't recall where but they would give you ample time to make backups (it has that function already in some form) and remove the steam requirement for booting up the games.

Oh and pc gaming would loose major; D2D would rejoice and Id have to backup over 70 games

 

[JamesTehWench]

PC Gamers would be upset.
I wouldn't care so much.
But I would probably cheer a little to myself because Valve is a bunch of douchebags.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!?!? :'(

Not not trolling. You don't have a PS3 do you? Look for Valve's stance on it. I was going to call them talentless hacks but that WOULD BE trolling.

Then buy a PC, my good man, far better XD

 

[SeanTheSheep]

If I couldn't get onto any games I've downloaded through steam (not even in offline mode) then: First, I'd be pissed, then, less angry, then go into depression considering I've spent at least £100 on Steam, then, I'd wait 2 weeks to see if there was any way to get my money back or my games back, then if not, slowly buy them back over he next few months, starting with The Orange Box.
Otherwise, meh.

 

[SeanTheSheep]

PC Gamers would be upset.
I wouldn't care so much.
But I would probably cheer a little to myself because Valve is a bunch of douchebags.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!?!? :'(

Not not trolling. You don't have a PS3 do you? Look for Valve's stance on it. I was going to call them talentless hacks but that WOULD BE trolling.

Then buy a PC, my good man, far better XD

Now that really really depends on what you want:
A really good gaming PC will set you back £3000 (Educated guess) and stay relevant for 7-ish years.
A PC that you can do stuff on and will stay relevant for 2-3 years, but usable for other stuff for another 5 years after that (though getting oooold) will cost you £1000 pushing it.

A PS3 slim, you can pick up at Sainsbury's at the moment for £200 (Crazy I know!) in the xmas sales. They'll still be cheap for the next month and a bit because of January sales, and aren't too outrageously expensive anymore after that.
A PS3 will stay relevant until the next gen of consoles comes out in what 4-5 years, you will lose a few titles for exclusivity, but you will for a PC too, just less.

Also, if you get a mac, I'll be here laughing, and not bankrupt.

EDIT: sorry for not adding this to my original post, I thought I did.

 

[quiet_samurai]

I would be out of a couple of hundred dollars. But you could still use it's functions, it would have to go wrong on your end for it to be truly unusable.

 

[Jory]

Steam is the most annoying service ever. It seems that because you're kinda forced in to using it, they think it's okay for it to suck. So maybe it would be a good thing if you were given stand alone versions of all the games

 

[Cherry Cola]

What would happen... I wouldn't care, I have my PS3.

 

[Souplex]

I would be pleased as Valve would stop getting money to fund the production of average games (Not counting portal which I enjoyed) that people hail as the greatest thing to happen to gaming since jiggle physics.
I would also be pleased as it would be a big point in favor of hard copies as I hate digital distribution.

 

[Woodsey]

I would weep - the greatest gaming service I have ever known, GONE.

 

[Irridium]

hm...

I wouldn't be able to play TF2 with the escapist tf2 group anymore...

It would suck, and I would cry.
Then cry some more.

 

[Cyberjester]

I've recently purchased quite a few games through Steam, [sup]and I doubt I'm the only one[/sup].
Now I've been thinking: "What if the Steam service were to suddenly stop and none would be able to play their Steam games?"
This could be due to a lack of money or complete bankruptcy.
What would you do if Steam were to become unavailable for all time? Is there a backup plan for such a situation?
I think I'd be quite displeased about it.
/understatement

You can hack the game to remove the Steam wrapper, thus making it standalone and playable. My backup plan is compiling a list of how to do that for each game. Technically illegal as you're just renting the games from Steam, but since they cost as much as a game that includes the disk and how most people like the idea of ownership, I feel safe from being sued. =P

then prepare offline mode, problem solved.

If you're offline for a significant amount of time it cancels so you have to login periodically.

I think Steam has a clause in its user agreement where they will allow all of their users to download standalone versions of their games if the company goes belly-up.

No, actually. It's more like "if we go out of business then tough".





Although given that Sony have moved to the digital distribution model, Steam going out of business is a pretty far fetched idea.. Although.. Read "The Black Swan - The Impact of the Highly Improbable". Far fetched things happen quite often, they just don't seem as far fetched when they've happened.

 

[JamesTehWench]

PC Gamers would be upset.
I wouldn't care so much.
But I would probably cheer a little to myself because Valve is a bunch of douchebags.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!?!? :'(

Not not trolling. You don't have a PS3 do you? Look for Valve's stance on it. I was going to call them talentless hacks but that WOULD BE trolling.

Then buy a PC, my good man, far better XD

Now that really really depends on what you want:
A really good gaming PC will set you back £3000 (Educated guess) and stay relevant for 7-ish years.
A PC that you can do stuff on and will stay relevant for 2-3 years, but usable for other stuff for another 5 years after that (though getting oooold) will cost you £1000 pushing it.

A PS3 slim, you can pick up at Sainsbury's at the moment for £200 (Crazy I know!) in the xmas sales. They'll still be cheap for the next month and a bit because of January sales, and aren't too outrageously expensive anymore after that.
A PS3 will stay relevant until the next gen of consoles comes out in what 4-5 years, you will lose a few titles for exclusivity, but you will for a PC too, just less.

Also, if you get a mac, I'll be here laughing, and not bankrupt.

EDIT: sorry for not adding this to my original post, I thought I did.

my PC rig has cost me 500 pounds in total, and i can run everything i throw at it at max, the processors are slightly slow, but to upgrade that'll be another 100, selling my old one for 30, i can do so much more crap on my PC than a PS3, and the games are free, when i really have no money at the time :\

 

[AkJay]

I'd sue them for my money back, then create an account on Direct2Drive.

 

[klaynexas3]

my computer's a ***** and doesn't use steam so i don't give a damn

 

[Marcus Dubious]

Things would go back the things were before steam...After a huge cry from PC users.

Things would go back the things were before steam...After a huge cry cheer from PC users.

 

[TK421]

None of my games require steam.