The reason why you should NOT buy Steam games

[jpoon]

Agreed, Steam is shit. Not a fan at all. I will always buy retail copies, and 99.9% of the time I will ALWAYS avoid steam purchases like the plague.

 

[Flames66]

Nobodies perfect. But at least Valve allows estsho.

 

[burgbrand22]

Here's why Steam is awesome- I bought Super Meat Boy for under four bucks! Best purchase eva!

 

[Alexnader]

snip

Can the industry find a better way to sell me 300 games most of which below were $5?

Garage sales? Value boxes at Gaming stores? Wait, no, the things in those can actually be considered games and you're actually allowed to play them after you've bought them.

I don't have good experiences with Steam.

Garage sales? XD I haven't seen one of those in years!

Also I'd use the term "value" box with some degree of trepidation if it's a "value" box sitting in a retail store. They just don't compare to the deals on steam full stop. Especially as an Australian where steam sells new release games at 66% of Aussie retail price. (Saving of approximately $30 and yes the AUD has been at parity with the USD for quite a while but that doesn't actually matter in the scheme of things).

 

[oplinger]

You know blaming steam for something inherently wrong with game registration and CD keys is kind of funny.

Your just spouting nonsense, steam can't help you because the CD key isn't made or registered to them. The CD key is from the publisher, who put that CD key in a specific region. Don't talk to steam, talk to the publisher.

Learn where blame goes ffs

 

[omicron1]

I have a problem with any policy that can be summed up as "In order to get around our arbitrary rules, please give us more money." I have only slightly more patience with policies that replace "money" with "time."

That said, this does make me worried about what happens if I, for instance, travel overseas. I am not exactly eager to lose my $1000+ in games, and this sounds like just such a policy as mentioned above. Incoming moral quandary, gah...

 

[The Apothecarry]

Steam is nice, but I must say I do not approve of the Steam Cloud system. Feedback is important, but if you can't play games offline without running the risk of losing a save file then something needs to be fixed.

Note: I actually lost a Dawn of War II save to the Steam Cloud. Stupid cloud, blocking my saves...

 

[soldierguy678]

I dont buy nonexisting products=virtual copies. I want a box and a Disc. Or all they get is my virtual money.

I do this and feel pretty much the same way. But mostly it's so I can keep the cool "boxed" graphics that come with the disc. But I understand there's gonna be less of that stuff in the future--Eventually no boxed dvds? or? Just a dvd in a paper sleeve like an old 45RPM vinyl?
I hope not-that will suck.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

I dont buy nonexisting products=virtual copies. I want a box and a Disc. Or all they get is my virtual money.

I do this and feel pretty much the same way. But mostly it's so I can keep the cool "boxed" graphics that come with the disc. But I understand there's gonna be less of that stuff in the future--Eventually no boxed dvds? or? Just a dvd in a paper sleeve like an old 45RPM vinyl?
I hope not-that will suck.

Ach, it cant get much worse than it is. There are no real game boxes anymore like there used to be. Manuals are most of the time either pdf or 3 pages with weblinks and lets not even start to talk about gimmicks like poster sized maps and such and children knew how to behave , while we still had real seasons and you could go to a restaurant, pay with a nickel and still got change. Ok got all my oldmantalk out of the system now^^

 

[Void(null)]

Besides the fact that Steam is a horrible system that does nothing but inconvenience gamers everywhere because the industry couldn't come up with a better way to cut piracy?

Can the industry find a better way to sell me 300 games most of which below were $5?

Garage sales? Value boxes at Gaming stores? Wait, no, the things in those can actually be considered games and you're actually allowed to play them after you've bought them.

I don't have good experiences with Steam.

Garage Sales and Bargain bins are not going to net me deals like Batman AA for $7 or Amnesia for $4.80 within six months of the games release.

I buy games off Steam, Impulse, GamersGate & Good Old Games all the time with no problems. The only Digital Distributor that has ever given me an issue is Direct2Drive.

Its unfortunate that your experience with Steam has been a bad one but I can assure you that's not the case for everyone. If it were, they would not hold 70% of the market.

 

[McNinja]

The Witcher was $10. I bought the frick out of it.

 

[Zabriskie Point]

I love how everyone is shitting on Steam right now. Just so you guys know, if it wasn't for Steam, PC gaming would be virtually dead.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

This is why you go console!

even then different disc formats will screw you over (did you know that NTSC is not the only disc format? creepy)

but since i don't travel, console games it is then! so i don't have to sink 1000 dollars into something that may or may not work when and how i want it to

 

[Vampire cat]

I've never had any problems with Steam, and I'm so thankful such an easy-to-use service is available for clumsy people like me. I hate going out of the apartment if I don't have to, and I never do... Am I isolated and creepy? Yes, and yes. Do I have actual friends? Yes, and I see them frequently, ti's one of those things I "have to do" =3.

Send them an e-mail, I'm sure it'll be resolved, and if not: rage.

Anyway - Welcome to the Escapist, and I'm told at this point I must state that whatever you do don't go into the basement. Trust me on this one. No-one told me of this rule when I arrived.

Why, what's in the basement I still haven't OH GOD THE HORROR, THE ETERNAL, UNFATHOMABLE HORROR

Oh shush, I've been to the basement and there's nothing there! Just remember to flick the light switch on your way down, cause that plastic Christmas tree in the corner kinda looks like a creeper in the dark.

This is why you go console!

even then different disc formats will screw you over (did you know that NTSC is not the only disc format? creepy)

but since i don't travel, console games it is then! so i don't have to sink 1000 dollars into something that may or may not work when and how i want it to

Only real plus I see with a console, personally. Compatibility. Everything is just plug-and-play, no fuzz with complicated instructions, installations and windows errors =3.

...

I still prefer my PC and windows tho...

 

[willow925]

No problems with purchases ever with steam. America!

 

[Zabriskie Point]

This is why you go console!

even then different disc formats will screw you over (did you know that NTSC is not the only disc format? creepy)

but since i don't travel, console games it is then! so i don't have to sink 1000 dollars into something that may or may not work when and how i want it to

My PC was only $500, and I play Crysis on 40 FPS. I've also never had compatibility issues on games that I've bought. The only times I've had problems installing games in on the rare occasion where I pirate something. And even then, I can't really complain. I'm doing something illegal.

One thing you have to note is that a gaming PC is also... a PC. Most homes nowadays have at least one computer, which costs at least $300. So a console that will last at an average of 5 years plus a computer costs roughly $750. But, you then have to buy an entirely new console 5 years later, for another $500. With your PC all you have to do is make a $100-$200 upgrade.

If anything, PC's can be the cheaper choice.

 

[Souplex]

Just one of many reasons.
Digital Distribution is not to be trusted.
Valve is not to be trusted.
Therefore steam is not to be trusted.

 

[Antari]

"This game was activated with a product code that is valid only in a specific geographic region. Since you are not currently in that region, Left 4 Dead 2 is not avaliable to play."

This is the error message I get when I attempt to install certain games (Left 4 Dead 2 being one of a few) on Steam. I legally purchased these games while I was in Singapore fully expecting them to continue working when I returned to the UK. This expectation was wrong as Steam support has made blindingly clear. It would appear Steam seems to think you don't actually own games you buy, you only own them if you remain within the geographic region you bought them in. So I think I will be buying physical/non-steam copies of games from now on...

Well thank you for listening to my rant, just take it as a warning if you intend on buying Steam games overseas

You realize Steam is an ONLINE DOWNLOAD DISTRIBUTION SERVICE? ... Why were you not just buying it through the steam store?????? ... Sorry but I can't fault Steam on this one. If your going to refuse to adapt to the changing world around you, don't be angry when things go wrong.