Should I buy games or get them off of steam?

[DougoMan]

I'm basically getting back into video games after ten years (last games I was invested in was Red Alert 2 and Starcraft back in the 90s)

What I am wondering about is steam?

Being a collector, I hate the idea of not getting CDs and boxes.

Any good reason to use steam, then?

 

[coxmaster]

I'm basically getting back into video games after ten years (last games I was invested in was Red Alert 2 and Starcraft back in the 90s)

What I am wondering about is steam?

Being a collector, I hate the idea of not getting CDs and boxes.

Any good reason to use steam, then?

Not all games are available in retail stores.
Steam does offer some awesome deals at times.
Re-download/reinstall, regardless of if you lose the disk.


That being said, I still prefer to get a disc. Plus Steam can be a giant pain in the ass at times

 

[dguy6789]

Having steam means you can never lose a disc or a CD key. You never worry about scratched up discs either. It means you can install a fresh copy of windows and have it automatically install all of your games without you needing to attend and swap discs all afternoon long. It's very convenient.

 

[Lonyo]

If you are in the US, there is minimal price difference between buying from Steam and buying elsewhere.
If Steam has a sale on a game, then usually it will be a decent chunk cheaper than elsewhere.

Many 'retail' bought games require Steam anyway, and often don't come with manuals, so Steam vs retail just means no box/disc, and everything else is the same.

 

[thedosbox]

Being a collector, I hate the idea of not getting CDs and boxes.

Bear in mind that's all you get nowadays. The game manual is usually a pamphlet, and you'll have to pay over the odds for the "collector" editions containing extras.

 

[zerocool84]

I almost never buy retail boxed games. Steam is cheaper first of all cus you don't have to pay tax then of course they have their Steam sales all the time, you never have to worry about losing or breaking the disc or losing the CD-Key, no needing to swap discs for installs, it updates the games automatically, all your friends on one platform, I get insanely fast downloads off Steam unless a huge game literally just came out which can flood the servers which is rare but it does happen, there's many more reasons as well but obviously if you feel you need the box then you gotta pay more for it.

 

[Nintendesert]

I still have boxes of Wing Commander 3 and Wing Commander 4, I have the original Zelda box along with Final Fantasy and tons of others. With that being said I now only buy through STEAM.

The ability to simply log in and download my games again no matter what computer I'm on at the time and play is amazing. I don't have to worry about having to go find my disk. I've lost and misplaced or scratched so many game CDs over the years...

There's just too many good reasons to use STEAM now for me. When I went to the Caribbean and wanted to play a game I owned, I only had to log into my STEAM account and download it. I was a thousand miles away from where my CD/DVD would have been. And there I was able to play after a few hours of downloading.

It's hard to beat that. I also use Impulse for the very same reason. In that case for playing amazing games like Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv2.

 

[paperfist]

WTH have you been doing for the last 10 years?

The downside to Steam is you don't own anything and therefore can't re-sell it.

Upside is you don't need to keep a CD in the drive.

 

[Lonyo]

WTH have you been doing for the last 10 years?

The downside to Steam is you don't own anything and therefore can't re-sell it.

Upside is you don't need to keep a CD in the drive.

You don't need to keep a disc in the drive for many newer games.

 

[shortylickens]

Steam has gotten a lot more stable since it was introduced.
Its also a lot more invasive and unpleasant. Especially since many games also require Games For Windows Live running alongside it, and theres also the YuPlay bullshit.

I used to love Steam, but lately it causes more problems than it fixes and I would just as soon go with the normal disc install and then a no-disc patch afterwards. Was disappointed when I learned Fallout New Vegas requires Steam regardless of how you buy it.

Also, Steam sometimes has phenomenal package deals, like the Star Wars collection or THQ mega pack. I got 400 bucks worth of games for a hundred.

 

[Zenoth]

The last game I bought retail was Command & Conquer 3, and after that I've always bought games on Steam and others like Direct 2 Drive and a few more. I preferred retail back a few years ago, but over time I got used to the digital purchase principle and it's now more a reflex than anything else, I check if it's available digitally first, then if not I check for retail, but so far no games I wanted were not available as a digital purchase, so no need for retail games since years. Nowadays a "retail game" sounds like a console game to me.

 

[Arglebargle]

Steam has gotten a lot more stable since it was introduced.
Its also a lot more invasive and unpleasant. Especially since many games also require Games For Windows Live running alongside it, and theres also the YuPlay bullshit.

I used to love Steam, but lately it causes more problems than it fixes and I would just as soon go with the normal disc install and then a no-disc patch afterwards. Was disappointed when I learned Fallout New Vegas requires Steam regardless of how you buy it.

Also, Steam sometimes has phenomenal package deals, like the Star Wars collection or THQ mega pack. I got 400 bucks worth of games for a hundred.

Games For Windows Live is the kiss of death for me in considering a game. Recently was about to buy a $3 game, til I saw the GFWL requirement. It's been such a hassle to me, that I don't think I would consider most GFWL games if they were free.

I have had a few hassles with Steam games not working, but it was generally the fault of the game developers, and couldn't be fixed by Steam support. Other than that, it's been pretty smooth for me. And the sales make it easy to pick up those iffy games you might possibly like, at $3 or $5 rather than $20 or $40.

 

[nsafreak]

I purchase pretty much all of my games via Steam with the sole exception of StarCraft II which was not available on Steam. I like that I don't ever have to worry about CD-Keys getting lost, scratched/lost media, updating my games, etc. I can reinstall my OS or move to a new PC, download the Steam client and then have all of my games downloaded once again in the space of an evening. My wallet fears the true upcoming Black Friday & Cyber Monday as I'm sure that Steam will have some crazy sales once again.

 

[paperfist]

You don't need to keep a disc in the drive for many newer games.

I didn't know that as 98% of my purchases come off of Steam.

Is there an alternate DRM they use instead of the no CD now?

 

[manimal]

I have even repurchased a bunch of games on steam just because its just too damn convenient. Yes I hate GFWL but its a neccesary evil these days...

Never having to get up from the couch to change a game? priceless...

 

[Net]

seems like when i want to play a game there is a deal on steam for it.

got these for $10~15 each at different times... crysis, lfd2, metro 2033, half life 2

its nice to be able to reinstall them anytime as long as you have an internet connection

 

[CurseTheSky]

Almost all of my game purchases are on Steam now. There are several key advantages:

1) No boxes, no manuals, no discs. True, I could just throw out everything but the disc and CD key, but I feel bad trashing a game box / manual for some reason, especially the nice plastic ones.

2) No more hunting for patches and updates to each game. Steam does all of that for me.

3) No need to lug around discs for games. I primarily game on my desktop, but every now and then I'm out and about and feel like firing something up on my laptop. More often than not, I couldn't simply because I didn't have the game installed on my laptop and didn't have the disc with me. With Steam, it's just a simple download.

4) I don't have to run to a store to buy a game that I want, or buy it from an e-tailer and wait for it to come in. A lot of my favorite games these days are impulse buys from Steam sales - Titan Quest, Trine, DogFighter, Defense Grid, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, STALKER: SoC, etc. Nothing like treating yourself to a new, random game to play after a rough week.

5) Having the social tools (friends list, browser, etc.) built right into the in-game interface is awesome. Being able to fire off a quick message to someone without having to alt-tab, or being able to look up a map or hint in games where alt-tab sometimes results in a hang or crash is a plus in my book.

There are downsides, of course - sometimes parts of Steam are down and games will fail to update or launch, sometimes Steam is buggy and causes problems that a stand-alone game wouldn't have, there's always the looming (though remote) possibility of having your account compromised, banned, or Steam shutting down (all resulting in loss of your game library), etc. The problems have been few and far-between for me, though, so the good far outweighs the bad.

 

[cixx79]

Steam is the way to go, it makes things super convenient. Other posts already have explained the pros and cons, there's more pros to Steam than cons for me. Hopefully Steam will never go under, if they do, that means angels and demons are fighting and we're too worried about being canon fodder.

 

[sandorski]

Steam has gotten a lot more stable since it was introduced.
Its also a lot more invasive and unpleasant. Especially since many games also require Games For Windows Live running alongside it, and theres also the YuPlay bullshit.

I used to love Steam, but lately it causes more problems than it fixes and I would just as soon go with the normal disc install and then a no-disc patch afterwards. Was disappointed when I learned Fallout New Vegas requires Steam regardless of how you buy it.

Also, Steam sometimes has phenomenal package deals, like the Star Wars collection or THQ mega pack. I got 400 bucks worth of games for a hundred.

That worked to my benefit. My DVD Drive had issues Installing from the DVD I bought. So I verified the Key with Steam and it Downloaded no hassle. On the flipside, after the last Patch the game crashes within seconds. lol...i'm hoping the next Patch fixes it so I can play the game again.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

Your thread title implies that Steam gives games away for free.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Steam has gotten much better the last few years.


The only complaint I have has more to do with developers than steam, but it's really obnoxious that some games require GFWL on top of steam (Batman Arkham Asylum and GTA IV)

 

[AstroManLuca]

Don't really get the GFWL hate. Some games have it but it's never gotten in the way for me. Most complaints I've seen about it are similar to complaints for most DRM - people are more unhappy that it's there than they are unhappy about anything in particular that it does.

 

[busydude]

Don't really get the GFWL hate. Some games have it but it's never gotten in the way for me. Most complaints I've seen about it are similar to complaints for most DRM - people are more unhappy that it's there than they are unhappy about anything in particular that it does.

Me too, I actually like it.. it makes playing with friends, sending game invites a breeze.

OT, I currently have a 1:1 ratio of steam games and physical copies.. I have no particular preference, I recently bought a physical copy of BF:BC2 for $13 directly from EA store.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Me too, I actually like it.. it makes playing with friends, sending game invites a breeze.

OT, I currently have a 1:1 ratio of steam games and physical copies.. I have no particular preference, I recently bought a physical copy of BF:BC2 for $13 directly from EA store.

I don't use it for that but even I have a tiny benefit - achievements in some GFWL gamers get added to my e-penis gamerscore. I play games on PC and Xbox 360.

 

[Lonyo]

I didn't know that as 98% of my purchases come off of Steam.

Is there an alternate DRM they use instead of the no CD now?

Some use online authentification of another sort, or give you a choice.
BF:BC2 for instance you can either install a Securom online authentication, or use a Securom disc check (so you get a choice of disc or no disc).

Starcraft 2 uses online authentication through Battle.net.
Crysis: Warhead also has online I think, or at least it doesn't require the disc.

Not sure about others, since i can't remember what does and doesn't do stuff, since the only games I played recently are SC2, BFBC2, TF2 and Crysis: W.