Total Change in Perspective

MIGMaster · May 14, 2012, 09:32:36 AM

I was just sitting back, waiting for a game to download from Steam the other day when I realized that my purchasing habits have changed completely. I used to be a physical copy only guy and now I don't even consider looking for a PC game in the retail brick and mortar market. I hate to admit it, but I actually like Steam. It solves all my storage and patching woes - I have to face tha fact I'm Internet dependent. If the Internet went down for any period of time 75% of my games would be inaccessible as I usually keep my system fairly clean and only install a few of the games I own at any one time.

What a total turn around for me - how times have changed! It's like the whole PC sales machine has moved online and we have moved right along with it.

LongBlade · May 14, 2012, 09:37:15 AM

I'm in much the same boat.

I have had problems where Steam games refused to run on my system, but Steam did eventually solve the problem. It might take weeks, but they will eventually fix it.

That said, in the last couple of years I've had no complaints. Like you, Migs, I'm happy to park my unused games on Steam knowing that they'll be patched and accessible any time I want to return to them (for most it will be never).

Steam has its issues, but on balance my experience is favorable.

Gusington · May 14, 2012, 09:47:01 AM

I am similar. Years ago I feared Steam but now I really love it. Maybe I have one issue per year with it.

Guess I'm brainwashed.

meadbelly · May 14, 2012, 09:58:32 AM

I still have -- literally -- a steamer trunk (plastic walmart version) filled with cds and game manuals stretching back to the 80's. It gets opened up about once a century when I confuse it with the steamer trunk filled with pen and paper rpg goodness.

I love Steam. I loved impulse before it. I enjoy Gamersgate. I don't miss the trunk or it's junk. Al Gore won't let the internet fail.

And if I'm brainwashed, I'd still like to believe I am of a favorable experience.

Jarhead0331 · May 14, 2012, 10:01:08 AM

son_of_montfort · May 14, 2012, 10:24:43 AM

Like meadbelly, I have a giant plastic tote full of only CDs of games from the 90s-00s. It is heavy and worthless.

I have also switched to pretty much Digital channels only anymore. I even preordered Diablo III, which I sort of wanted in physical format, via Blizzard's digital store. The only reason I go into a brick and mortar store is to look at the used DS games (mostly to resell via eBay). The PC section is just a joke anyway, so no real reason to look there. I miss the old paper manuals, but I occasionally get a strategy guide or print out the digital manual to compensate.

mirth · May 14, 2012, 10:27:36 AM

I'm pretty comfortable using Steam and Gamersgate these days for game purchases. The Steam console can be kind of a pain for doing things other than running the games (for example connecting to the store through the console seems to take for ever so I end up just going to the website).

My first choice is still a physical copy, but most of my recent game purchases have been DDs.

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 14, 2012, 10:35:37 AM

I have no problem buying digitally. I buy from Steam only when it's the cheapest option but I much prefer Gamersgate. Steam's a little too intrusive for my tastes. I don't like that it patches games for me whether I want it to or not. I like to use mods and the patches often mess up my mods. I know that you can set the system to ignore auto updates but every time the Steam client updates itself (which seems like a lot), it forgets my settings and starts with the auto updates again.

I'm a bit leery of smaller digital download sites now as I've still not got access to the majority of the games I bought through D2D ever since they were taken over by GameFly. I followed their instructions and downloaded the installer for each game, but it's useless as the activation system no longer exists.

meadbelly · May 14, 2012, 10:47:05 AM

I run Steam in mostly offline mode for the reasons Martok and SDR identify (although I've never had a patch break a mod or a game, so that's one I'm not too worried about.)

Startup is amazingly quick in offline mode. Of course, it limits your MP awareness and capability.

The last game I really felt I wanted to have a manual at my side during play was my fairly recent re-dive into the X Universe.

Shelldrake · May 14, 2012, 11:50:10 AM

Virtually all my gaming purchases these days are digital, either from Steam, GamersGate, Impulse or GOG. Since more and more games require activation on Steam there is little point in picking up a hard copy for the doubtful pleasure of owning what now passes for a manual. Long gone are the days of the manuals that shipped with the Janes sims or Falcon 4!

Sir Slash · May 14, 2012, 12:24:22 PM

Yes it seems terribly old-fashioned and alot of trouble to play a game where I have to put in and take out a disk in the DVD drive. When I do play one of those dinosaurs, I often forget and leave disk in the drive and then can't find it the next time I want to play.

eyebiter · May 14, 2012, 01:09:42 PM

.

Bison · May 14, 2012, 01:20:31 PM

I've become a Steam fan. Hell my brother and I use the voice chat to talk more than we do a phone 99% of the time we are not in game together. I am starting to shy away from using so many digital download clients. Impulse, Origins, Battlenet, Gamersgate, Matrixgames, etc....

Arctic Blast · May 14, 2012, 04:05:43 PM

Quote from: eyebiter on May 14, 2012, 01:09:42 PM
Gamestop is now selling Steam voucher cards.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/05/14/gamestop-cedes-to-steam-and-starts-selling-its-vouchers/

I'm actually really surprised that it took this long for these to appear. I mean, check out the massive selection of game cards you can buy for multiple MMO's, music stores , XBox Live and the like near the Best Buy checkout. Seems to me that Steam cards would fit right in.

airboy · May 14, 2012, 04:27:11 PM

I am quite leery of Steam and other systems that require internet activation or internet connectivity to run. Although I buy the things (Fallout New Vegas....), I would prefer not to. It is a big negative on a purchase decision.

I think that GOG is actually a counter to Steam. GOG is DRM free. No worries about activation, internet connectivity (once you download the game) etc.......

I have seen most game companies that I bought stuff from in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s go under. What happens when the electronic support goes away? Answer- you are out of luck (until GOG gets it and then you are back in business).

Color me skeptical or paranoid. But game companies are not well capitalized and tend to fold. There are a lot of games from even 20 years ago that I still like to play (Fallout 1, CIV 2 and even the old Empire wargame). I know that if I can get the game up using dosbox or some other workaround, that I can still play the game. I have no such confidence for Fallout New Vegas or other games.

For this reason, I really have a preference for games that do not require an internet connection to play. I vote my dollars in this. After all, I know that I can play the Spiderweb games next decade. I can play my GOG games. I can play my old games with the CDs (if I can get a Windows 7 workaround). My Steam Games, I lack confidence.

This is one of the reasons that I have misgivings about Panzer Corps multiplayer only being available through the Slitherine server. I think one fine day in the next 5 to 15 years we will wake up and no more multiplayer.

If your one of the people that always goes from one game to the next, then this is no problem. But once I invest the considerable time needed to really understand an RPG, Wargame, or Strategy Game I tend to keep playing it for years and years. Space Empires IV is still wonderful. My time cost is a bigger problem than the cost of the game itself by a huge margin.