What if Steam just... stopped.

[Daveman]

POINTLESS BACK-STORY PARAGRAPH: I moved to uni this year and I've had the joys of their retarded network to deal with. The first problem was changing my NOD32 awesomesauce antivirus to shitty AVG because apparently NOD isn't compatible. The second problem I discovered was that it wouldn't let me get on steam. I tried ceaselessly for about a day to get it to work to no avail. After about a month my friend says that when he took his laptop home he allowed steam to update and since then it's worked. So after totally reinstalling steam (twice) I managed to get it up and running again. Until today when it said it couldn't connect to the network... I then shat a brick. I then did something constructive by trying to start it again and thankfully it worked.

Then I wondered... so much of my games are reliant on steam... what would I do if at some point in the future for some unknown reason, Steam just stopped. For everyone. What'd we do? What would YOU do?

edit: oh dear people. I expected SOME independent thought so you'd tell whether your opinion had any place on this forum so we wouldn't get "duh? but I don't use steam? hur hur hur! silly PC gamers! LOL!" Seriously guys, it's just sad.

 

[YoUnG205]

the world as we know it would stop and fall into chaos and i would have to start buying console games

 

[Blackadder51]

I would not care as i dont use steam

 

[Caliostro]

Someone would just come up with a "no-steam" hack to continue playing games normally but without steam.

The world would suck a little more without steam though.

 

[Quick Ben]

I would first demand customer support from Valve. If it stopped because they were bankrupt or something, then I would get my games to work with other means...

 

[bride_of_lister]

...I'd go and play The World Ends With You or Professor Layton on my DS?
...Play flash games online?
...Go and carpent on Puzzle Pirates?
...SMS my friends?
...Read some fan fic?
...Read an RL novel?
...Play with the rats?

 

[Ace of Spades]

I would be angry that I couldn't play Fallout 3, BioShock or COD4 anymore, and then remember that if I really wanted to play them, I could borrow them on PS3 from my friends.

 

[Rascarin]

Wouldn't bother me - don't use steam.

So, I'd probably just laugh at all the people who WERE affected.

 

[TimeLord]

I only play 2 games on Steam, TF2 and the first Red Faction.

Not a big deal but I'd miss both of them.

 

[Gardenia]

I would post on 4chan, then go on a killing spree in the nearest mall. With a fire axe.
...or just cry ^^

 

[fix-the-spade]

Within 24 hours there would be a crack all over the Torrent sites to spoof Steam authentication or disable it. All would be well.

 

[Tears of Blood]

I'd laugh at all the silly PC gamers. <_<;

Nah, just kidding. I wouldn't particularly care.

 

[Vkmies]

I would laugh at the pityful people who rely on steam! And then i would cry 'cause i couldnt play HL2, portal or L4D2-demo.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Wouldn't really phase me tbh

 

[Woodsey]

I would not care as i dont use steam

Then you are a fool.

OT: Weep, eat, become grossly over weight, long for Episode 3, die.

 

[Renoozo]

I remember when a tree plunged into valves server room a few years back which pretty much killed of steam for a day. The post-apocalyptic uproar between my friends wasn't pretty, so I'd imagine that everyone who was planning to play games, would rage a forum about it instead.

 

[Carnagath]

I wouldn't do anything, since I consciously stay away from anything that uses Steam for any reason (I think it's ass, it's always super slow and unstable whenever I have tried it). I also refuse to purchase anything that doesn't come in a box to go neatly on my shelf, ready to be used again 10 or 15 years from now. Call me a caveman if you will.

 

[Captain Pancake]

I would be slightly pissed off, Half life 2 soaked up many an hour of my life.

 

[Iron Mal]

PC gamers would descend into a frenzied panic and wipe themselves out in the following anarchy while those of us who never used Steam in the first place would simply sit by, chuckle and ask 'Why is it such a big deal?'.

After that there would be a wide spread paranoia and discrimination between the 'loyalists' who stick to the PC and those who 'defect' and start playing consoles. Sure, it would just start off with petty name calling and trolling but before long there would be blood in the streets...I mean forums.

A nightmare vision, I know.