Originally posted by Crazy_Stick

As we continue the move into a time where the digital distribution of media such as games becomes the preferred means of acquiring the product by the majority of consumers I find STEAM to be my best alternative. I support it in preference to Windows developing Marketplace system and EA’s Origin. It is most certainly a step up from the days of STARFORCE DRM in spite of the problems some people express with the current digital distribution models.

 

I prefer digital to the days when I would go to GameStop or Babbages and pull a box off the shelf only to worry over if the employees had stolen the disks from the box or scratched them to bits while trying to put them back in too.

 

STEAM is typically problem free for me. I would suggest you get help from their technical support or a geeky-gaming friend. :)

Very true. I prefer an online distributer to the older days of physichal media. No more discs getting scratched or lost. 

DancingQueen's comments are valid but their misdirected. PC games sucks today because of the bugs in the products.

Example, SC2. I played the game in 2010 when WOL(Wings of LIberty) was released and played with no problems. I bought/pre-ordered HOTS(Heart of the Storm) late last month but the game has problems with achievements, cutscenes activation, and offline play now. I uninstalled the game and canceled my preorder. Just a mess now...

City of Heroes had the same problem. Great game but they couldn't contain the bugs.

SWTOR ->>> This game basically means buggy. I play against naked villains, got my lightsaber stuck in villains, etc.

I have basically stopped playing games because the bugs are stealing my time.

I now dream about the days when you could buy a game on console that worked:

Republic Commando

Half-Life 2

MegaMan

Tomb Raider

I hate Internet Gaming!!

The only thing steam does well is download the games to your PC. I only buy my games there now.

Many AAA games requires steam in order to play them so you can't avoid steam unless you only want to play shovel ware.

I just don't want to have things forced on me and I have never been interested in steam and what it offers.

Originally posted by Konfess
Steam is an anti-piracy technology. To be against steam is to be for piracy.

Originally posted by DancingQueen

Many AAA games requires steam in order to play them so you can't avoid steam unless you only want to play shovel ware.

I just don't want to have things forced on me and I have never been interested in steam and what it offers.

I do see where your coming from, especially if your new to PC gaming I guess it does feel a bit forced..

But its the main place to go for people to distribute their games because so many people started using Steam of their own free will. it gave us a single place to get so many games, some of them we would never have even seen in the shops.. so more and more people started using steam and because of that more and more companies started putting their games on steam and then eventually started to only publish them on Steam.. So it was really the customers that forced the publishers there LOL..

Myself im happy with the service on Steam and have never had any issues and i dont understand how anyone could not be interested in the service they offer but there we go we all like different things :)

Originally posted by AlBQuirky

 

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Originally posted by Gdemami

I dislike Steam very much.

 

It is no longer a service but platform and I do not like to be pushed around using things I do not have use for nor like..

Pity.

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This is it for me. I HAD to go Steam and create an account when I went to a store and purchased Skyrim. It took me forever, but I finally figured out how to play Skyrim "offline" and do so now, yet I am still connecting to the Steam App.

 

I have the physical CD. I pop it into my PC. And I am connecting to Steam in order to play? No, thank you.

Call me old fashioned and paranoid, but I highly dislike programs that track my computer usage.

Now, I realize many people enjoy Steam and the services they offer. I am happy for them. I am highly unhappy about not having the choice about using it.

I do, however love Good Old Games (gog.com)! I actually get the games and never have to connect to GOG ever again in order to play.

What are you doing on your PC that you are so worried about steam tracking you? Piracy maybe? 

Of course you dislike steam.

Originally posted by Thane

why say steam gaming is pc gaming nowadays?

 

in your title you complain about that "pc  gaming is crap these days"... seriously, most of my games do NOT require steam to play em. some do, and they actually work quite fine.

 

that's why alot of devs "only" develop on consoles, you have a set hardware and try to minimize the pebiac problem ^^

on the other hand... consoles are consoles. i will always prefer a pc to a console.

 

it gives me options.  and that's the prob you got, too many options, one is set wrong :)

 

ps: afaik portal 2 for example was released for the ps3 via steam too, so... maybe you get what i mean *G*

 i have to agree w/ this one. yeah, it's sorta wrong to generalize steam as the whole PC gaming. I have a steam account but i haven't experienced any probs with it so far. I too prefer PC because of the options available

@OP If you don't like steam, then why don't you just purchase games outside of steam? you can get other pre-order games out there.  

Not sure why Steam is getting hated on.

As someone who knows people that are rich enough to retire after getting their 'hit' on Steam it is an awesome platform for developers and customers.

Esp, Steam sales which is just around the corner.... OHGODMYBACKLOG!

Originally posted by zymurgeist

Originally posted by Gdemami

I dislike Steam very much.

It is no longer a service but platform and I do not like to be pushed around using things I do not have use for nor like..

Pity.

 Yeah but it's getting to be a common theme in PC gaming. Blizzard has battlenet for instance. Sony had station pass. Everyone is trying to leverage the power of the internet to "lock in" their customers. It's a trick they learned from consoles and social networking sites.

"It's a trick they learned from consoles and social networking sites"

I would havve to disagree. Steam launched back in 2003... I'd say other services such as Origin and Battle.net emulated Valve's software.