Retailers Threaten Steam Ban

[Surplus]

@The Minotaur

Personally I agree with what the Retailers are trying to do. I’ve nothing against Steam, and adding it to Valve games makes sense, but to use other companies games in order to advertise Steam so-to-speak is just too much.

While Valve does do a good job, it’s never good for 1 company to monopolize something. They need to have competition, otherwise they will lose their focus.

This ban is a good idea. Unlikely to work, but if it does then it’s a good thing. Steam is strong enough anyway, so this will simply keep them down to earth.

Anyone else agree?

Here is the thing I don’t think retail has much impact on digital sales. Most people are aware that often you can find cheaper digital versions now a days. Not only that but retailers can’t provide the services that steam can. With or without the case there is no competition. For example, if there was a retail verison with case that I couldn’t connect to steam and a steam version without case that cost the same I KNOW I’d get the steam version.

Steam provides community features, networking, management and other things like the in game overlay that retailers simply can’t provide. The only thing that could stop steam now is another digital distribution system. Who stands a chance, not anyone right now. Hopefully MS will get their shit together on Windows Live or Xfire will explode into a huge thing or Direct to Drive will provide better services or something.

[gugamilare]

Well, if the companies don’t like Steam, let them create some competition. Steam is here to stay.

[Hakkuze]

@OrderOfDagon

Lol companys are jelly of Steam’s awesome convinence.

Sorry, but Steam is not convenient in any way besides simply buying a game. Forcing people to have an internent connection to play singleplayer games because they can’t “authenticate” without it is a joke. Being unable to install and run a game without Steam is a joke. Steam game auto-updates can be a pain when they break other games/mods without warning and cannot be undone. Steam’s Friend system is a complete joke. People can be displayed as in-game when they are offline, or they can be displayed as offline when in-game. The fact that games like Just Cause 2 work exculsively with Steam is terrible because Steam, even minimized, eats processor power and memory. If I could ditch it, I would.

[gugamilare]

Do you think having to put a CD on your drive every time you want to play a game is cool? And, of course, pray that the CD is not scratched, missing or something? Not being allowed to (legally) install the same game on more than one machine?

Steam allows you to play on offline mode, although from time to time you need to connect to authenticate. I really don’t see how that is bad. It is much better than all other DRM systems I know.

[Katana]

More recent games let you play without the CD as long as there is some other sort of check. COD4, for instance, removes the need for a CD if you’re playing a patched version of multiplayer.

And gugamilare, you are making the misconception in the first place that we want it to be all CDs. I probably couldn’t count on two hands the number of sites that have sold games over the web, rather than through physical copy. Many of them have less DRM than Steam does.

[Acristoff]

@The Minotaur

While Valve does do a good job, it’s never good for 1 company to monopolize something. They need to have competition, otherwise they will lose their focus.

This would be a good argument if there actually wasn’t any competition, but there is.

[Katana]

Well, considering the competition thing, think about Windows vs OSX. When game developers make their games steam-exclusive and use steamworks, it’s about the equivalent of software developers making their programs only for Windows - even when they could potentially work fine on a mac. (I mean software, not just games - I understand OS X doesn’t have DirectX etc)

[Surplus]

See here is the thing, while you guys might not like the DRM and internet connection it doesn’t really matter. Most people now have the internet. Also most people are willing to look at the services steam provides vs the harm from drm and still consider it a bonus.

In fact Hakkuze the only one of your arguments that has any meaning to it is the processor and memory taken up but even that is kind of a meager amount for today’s computers and again most people don’t have an issue with it. As far as your other arguments go offline mode is supported, auto update can be turned off and I have never had an issue with steam friends displaying incorrect info the most I’ve gotten was it being unstable and me going into offline on friends without meaning to.

Honestly people who dislike steam are the minority consumer and business rarely gives a fuck about the minority consumer.

[The_Minotaur]

@rx33gundam

Ban? Don’t ban steam! It’s my only source of original pc games here in this damned country! I used to just play campaigns and not play multiplayer at all because I can’t go online because it’s FAKE! I don’t want to go back. I’ve just started to enjoy the community!

Just don’t ban steam. The retailers must think of some other way instead of “killing” their “boss rival”.

You always kill the boss, in order to win the game.

Also, how much did you actually read? They don’t want the games they sell to install Steam onto users computers. Basically they don’t wanna give free advertising to their biggest rival.