What is Steam?

[Icingdeath]

I've been hearing a lot of stuff about some place to download games called Steam. But I would like some more information about it, like:

What is the website name?
What exactly can you do on Steam?
Is it legal?

(That last one is just because I am very cautious.)

And feel free to add any other information about it.

 

[walls of cetepedes]

Steam is what water turns into when you boil it.

Yes it is legal.

 

[grimsprice]

http://store.steampowered.com/

Its quite legal and one of the most trust worthy sites on the net to give your money to.

I trust them, and i'm a paranoid schizophrenic emo violinist sociopath.

Edit: Ha ha. I just ninja'd Neonbob. I should get a badge for that.

 

[zagazsano]

Ok, first of all.
Steam is a program that you need to play games such as
Left4Dead
Counter Strike
etc.
(or so i think, I needed Steam for Left4Dead)
The website of Steam, is...well www(dot)steam(dot)com
No, it is not illegal to download games from Steam.
You must pay for those games, or download demos for free.
Steam you can join groups that are related to games, sports, etc. You can purchase at their store, which is very convienient sometimes (once Call of Duty World at War was 50% off on Steam, only $25 for 3 days). And...yeah.

 

[Amnestic]

What is the website name?

Pretty sure it's this [http://store.steampowered.com/]

What exactly can you do on Steam?

Buy and digitally download full games, join communities, play online with people on your steam friend's list, store all your game priviledges on Valve servers so that you can just install them and uninstall them whenever you want with no disk required.

Is it legal?

Yes.

 

[Neonbob]

[link]http://steampowered.com[/link]
It's an game download service, run by Valve.
You can buy games and download them...
Check out the site.

And yes, it's legal.

EDIT: shoulda seen that coming. ninja'd[sup]4[/sup]

 

[Sporadic chaos]

http://store.steampowered.com/
Buy games and connect with other players.
It is 100% legal because it is run by Valve a well know and respected game developer/publisher.

 

[Icingdeath]

Ok, first of all.
Steam is a program that you need to play games such as
Left4Dead
Counter Strike
etc.
(or so i think, I needed Steam for Left4Dead)
The website of Steam, is...well www(dot)steam(dot)com
No, it is not illegal to download games from Steam.
You must pay for those games, or download demos for free.
Steam you can join groups that are related to games, sports, etc. You can purchase at their store, which is very convienient sometimes (once Call of Duty World at War was 50% off on Steam, only $25 for 3 days). And...yeah.

So for some games, you need the disc from the store AND Steam to play, but for some you can just download the game off Steam and play it without a disc?

 

[Erana]

Well, for me, Steam is better than the possibility of sex, but I have a medical reason for that. XD

 

[grimsprice]

Ok, first of all.
Steam is a program that you need to play games such as
Left4Dead
Counter Strike
etc.
(or so i think, I needed Steam for Left4Dead)
The website of Steam, is...well www(dot)steam(dot)com
No, it is not illegal to download games from Steam.
You must pay for those games, or download demos for free.
Steam you can join groups that are related to games, sports, etc. You can purchase at their store, which is very convienient sometimes (once Call of Duty World at War was 50% off on Steam, only $25 for 3 days). And...yeah.

So for some games, you need the disc from the store AND Steam to play, but for some you can just download the game off Steam and play it without a disc?

Most of the information up there is... not precise.

As half a dozen people have said... its steampowered.com.

Anything you download to your computer works without a disc. But needs internet connection and you have to be signed on to steam. Its just a safety thing so you don't just copy the download and give it to all your friends.

Steam provides community aspects... though not as good as the Escapist. And online servers for most, if not all, of its games.

If you have the disc from a store. You can play it without steam, But you can use steams multiplayer servers if you sign in.

Yes, steam is awesome, its almost always cheaper than a store, and they have sales all the friggin time.

And its bloody safe. I'd trust them before i trust my local Game Crazy. They're just that upstanding.

 

[Daye.04]

And lets not forget all the goodies Steam adds. Like being able to go search for something on the internet while still playing. Seeing your friends' online status while playing. And especially being able to chat with them through text and even speech. Althought the quality is not allways at best.

Anything you download to your computer works without a disc. But needs internet connection and you have to be signed on to steam. Its just a safety thing so you don't just copy the download and give it to all your friends.

If I'm not mistaken, you don't have to be logged in online for every game. There are plenty games where you just have to be logged in online once, then you can still play the game later with just being logged in in offline mode

...
Esplain! Story time! *gets popcorn*

Medical reason being she's a female ... [sup]I'm sorry[/sup]

 

[IncindiaryPickle]

The greatest thing since sliced bread.
The website is http://store.steampowered.com/
It's a service that lets you purchase games relatively cheap, with a lot of discounts, just about every day. You play games using Valve's Anti-Cheat servers, join groups, hang out with friends, and game. And I love it, so much ^_^

About how much does a game usually cost on steam, as opposed to other places?

 

[IncindiaryPickle]

The greatest thing since sliced bread.
The website is http://store.steampowered.com/
It's a service that lets you purchase games relatively cheap, with a lot of discounts, just about every day. You play games using Valve's Anti-Cheat servers, join groups, hang out with friends, and game. And I love it, so much ^_^

About how much does a game usually cost on steam, as opposed to other places?

Depends on the game. They were selling L4D for 30 some last time I checked it's price. And, I believe if you went to GameStop to buy it, or somewhere else, it's still probably high. And, like I said, they have sales/discounts on their games just about every day, and every occasion. They just had a sale, I believe, on TF2 since they updated it. I know Killing Floor got put on sale, since it just had an update.

Ok, thank you.

 

[nicholaxxx]

there's literally NOTHING I can say that hasn't been said other than if you like videogames, you'll love steam.

 

[IncindiaryPickle]

The greatest thing since sliced bread.
The website is http://store.steampowered.com/
It's a service that lets you purchase games relatively cheap, with a lot of discounts, just about every day. You play games using Valve's Anti-Cheat servers, join groups, hang out with friends, and game. And I love it, so much ^_^

About how much does a game usually cost on steam, as opposed to other places?

Depends on the game. They were selling L4D for 30 some last time I checked it's price. And, I believe if you went to GameStop to buy it, or somewhere else, it's still probably high. And, like I said, they have sales/discounts on their games just about every day, and every occasion. They just had a sale, I believe, on TF2 since they updated it. I know Killing Floor got put on sale, since it just had an update.

Ok, thank you.

No problem. Now, I expect my payment since I told you? I demand my internets, right now >:[

Uhhh... I left my internets in my OTHER pants pocket, sorry. I have a small ball of lint, a gumball, and a paper clip that I can pay you with. Kay?