My changing gaming and reading habits

Toonces · September 18, 2012, 12:59:12 AM

You know, I've been thinking about this for a while now but this week it really struck home and I thought I'd share.

I'd say about 2-3 years ago I was one of the most anti-Steam guys on the Wargamer. I remember the first game that came out that I really wanted, that required Steam to activate, was Empire Total War. I was so opposed to Steam that I adamantly refused to buy the game and I didn't until just recently actually. It might have been either during the last Xmas or else the summer sale. But I digress.

Around the same time I refused to buy Empire I got my first Amazon Kindle for Xmas. And, shortly thereafter, I created a Steam account to get in on my first Steam Xmas sale because Metro2033 was part of a collection of like 50 games for $50 and I figured why not? My attitude towards Steam was that it was ok to buy "throw away" games, but I wouldn't buy any "real" games on it. For "real" games it was CD all the way, and there better not be any DRM besides a serial number! My attitude towards my Kindle was similar- neat toy, but I'm not buying any "real" books on it.

Well, fast forward two years to today and I find that I have come full circle in my thinking on both games and books. I actually prefer to buy a game on Steam now, to the extent that I am starting to double-buy games I already own just so I can consolidate the game under my Steam account and not have to worry about the CD or DRM. And, similarly, I find myself looking for books that are really big and untidy to lug around to buy for my Kindle, even if I already own the paper book (Rise and Decline of the Third Reich is a great example of this). For example, I'm reading Musashi right now and I really wish I could get it on my Kindle instead of having to read the hardcover version.

I find it interesting how I've changed on this. But the thing is, my Kindle is so damn convenient that I realize I simply prefer it to a paper book. That's not to say I've gone 100% digital, but more often than not I'm looking for Kindle versions when they're available, especially for novels or books that aren't map heavy. And, with games, I realize that I have literally hundreds of CDs of games, and I hate having to search for and change out a CD to play a game when I can just hit Steam, library, play and be done with it. I like that flexibility of being able to pull up all of my games in a digital library and find a game to play that way rather than flip through 3 CD cases to find that missing disk.

Toonces · September 18, 2012, 01:14:21 AM

I cut that short due to bedtime ack.

What happened that sort of inspired me to write this thread is that I almost bought $50 worth of Steam games yesterday, two of which I already own.

I own both Silent Hunter III and IV. In fact I bought the Collector's Edition of SH4 that came in a steel case with a manual, big map, poster of all the ships and who knows what else. But the thing is, I'm reluctant to install III because I don't want to take a chance of nuking my new computer with that Starforce BS, and as to IV I don't even know if I have both disks, the serial numbers, and I know for sure it will require some sort of painful patching to get it up to date. And as for the case, posters and all that other crap? Who knows where that stuff is. What possible reason is there to keep a CD box anymore? So for $50 I can get the Brothers in Arms series, which is what I was looking for, and also get SH3 and SH4, patched up and without a bunch of Starforce. I like that. See, now I'm actually motivated to install those games and play them since I never did spend very much time with either of them.

Anyway, that's my story. Someday Steam will probably go away, and so will Amazon, and I don't know what that will mean for my games and books. But, then again, I have plenty of CD-games that no longer work on my new computer. They don't last forever. So maybe it's ok if my Steam games don't last forever, too. With the current crop of games I have, I don't know if I could properly play through all of the games I own in my remaining lifetime even if I never buy another game. And certainly I've got a good 5 years of paper books to read if my Kindle died tomorrow...and then there's always the library which I actually use almost exclusively unless there's a "must have" book they don't have. So, maybe it's ok...these things don't have to last forever.

GDS_Starfury · September 18, 2012, 02:10:04 AM

resistance is futile.

LongBlade · September 18, 2012, 05:37:40 AM

Interesting. I don't have time for a full reply right now, but don't rebuy your games on Steam. You can add many by entering the key into Steam. I'll be able to share how later this morning - unless someone else here wants to walk him through the process before I get to it.

Gusington · September 18, 2012, 06:52:03 AM

LB may be talking about 'activating a game on Steam.'

I have grown to like Steam but I still prefer printed books.

mirth · September 18, 2012, 09:05:58 AM

Quote from: Gusington on September 18, 2012, 06:52:03 AM
I have grown to like Steam but I still prefer printed books.

+1. I've bit the Steam hook as well, but I still prefer hard copy for reading.

W8taminute · September 18, 2012, 09:31:27 AM

I must admit that back in the day I was an anti-Steam fanatic but have since changed my mind. I love how I don't have to worry about game CDs and can have my Steam account on as many computers as I wish.

When it comes to books though, I still prefer the paper rather than the electronic version however.

Greybriar · September 18, 2012, 09:51:12 AM

I don't like having things forced down my throat. I bought DOS games until they were no longer readily available. On 5.25" floppies.

I still don't like Microsoft, but what are you going to do if you want to be able to play all the latest games.

Now replace Microsoft in the sentence above with Steam. I only buy the games that require Steam to be installed on my PC when there is no alternative (except for a draconian DRM, but that is a topic for another thread).

As for reading, I prefer printed paper ones instead of the digital versions.

airboy · September 18, 2012, 10:33:34 AM

An additional advantage of electronic books is they do not become moldy or musty with time. I have bad allergies and paperback books eventually make me sick to read if I own them long enough.

I bought "Emile and the Dutchman" last night. It has been out of print for years and the paperback made me sick to read it. It recently became available on Kindle and I can reread it for the first time in a decade.

The space savings for Kindle are also a big plus when on a long trip. You are unlikely to run out of things to read.

MIGMaster · September 18, 2012, 10:57:08 AM

Quote from: W8taminute on September 18, 2012, 09:31:27 AM
I must admit that back in the day I was an anti-Steam fanatic but have since changed my mind. I love how I don't have to worry about game CDs and can have my Steam account on as many computers as I wish.

When it comes to books though, I still prefer the paper rather than the electronic version however.

I can sorta relate - I just can't bring myself to go shopping for games anymore. The luxury of broadband, online back-up and automatic patching destroyed any final resistance i could muster. I'm the same way with books - storage was becoming an issue - so I sold them and went with a Kindle and couldn't be happier, but I can appreciate that not everybody likes them. For me, it's all about online storage, mobility and a fault tolerant approach.

Toonces · September 18, 2012, 12:38:44 PM

It is all about convenience.

Honestly, what possible reason is there to get a CD-based game that you can get on a digital download service like Steam? I can't find a good reason.

Sure, there's the thought that, "well, if the apocalypse hits tomorrow and Steam gets destroyed, I'll still have the copy of The Sims on CD to fall back on!" Sure. But besides that, chances are the game will become incompatible with your hardware before Steam blows up.

And, to some extent, I don't get the desire for a paper manual anymore, either. I'll use the WiTP:AE manual as an example. That is a game where I spent the extra money to get the CD, manual and all shipped to me because I just had to have a printed manual. Have you guys seen that thing? It's tiny, like mass-paperback small or smaller, and the print is tiny. Seriously? Let me pull that bad boy up on my 30" monitor if I have to read it, or worst case, it's no smaller on my Kindle Fire.

With the Kindle, I just can't believe how much it has impacted my reading style. I'm someone that usually has several books going at once and so if I was going somewhere where I would need something to read, I might struggle with deciding what to bring. The Kindle solves all of that- I can bring my whole library with me...no more worrying if that trip to the doctor's office will be the day I get inspired to read the copy of War and Peace that I left at home!

I do like paper books, though, too and I think I still reserve the right to buy "special" books in print format. For example, I've been thinking of picking up The Simillarion (or whatever it's called) and I imagine that's a hardbound print book I want to own rather than Kindle. Not sure why. And, occassionally, I read a really good digital book and think, "I'd like to have a hardbound copy of that for my bookshelf"...With Fire and Sword is an example of that. But for the most part, if it's digital, that's how I'd prefer to read it. Book in one hand, coffee in the other, no worries about losing my place, etc.

Bison · September 18, 2012, 02:18:35 PM

I like Steam. I like Kindle books. No guilt here. If it all collapses then we've got bigger issues than a few lost digital games or books.

LongBlade · September 18, 2012, 02:56:03 PM

Quote from: Bison on September 18, 2012, 02:18:35 PM
I like Steam. I like Kindle books. No guilt here. If it all collapses then we've got bigger issues than a few lost digital games or books.

That's how I am.

I'm more worried about how I will pass on an ebook library when I'm gone than if it goes before me.

Toonces: have you had a chance to look into how to register an existing game into Steam or would you like a walkthrough?

Toonces · September 25, 2012, 02:25:47 AM

Quote from: LongBlade on September 18, 2012, 02:56:03 PM

Toonces: have you had a chance to look into how to register an existing game into Steam or would you like a walkthrough?

You better talk me through it. I want to buy some DLC for ARMA2, but I have the disk version, not Steam, but the DLC are on Steam.

LongBlade · September 25, 2012, 07:04:06 AM

Quote from: Toonces on September 25, 2012, 02:25:47 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 18, 2012, 02:56:03 PM

Toonces: have you had a chance to look into how to register an existing game into Steam or would you like a walkthrough?

You better talk me through it. I want to buy some DLC for ARMA2, but I have the disk version, not Steam, but the DLC are on Steam.

Roger. This isn't my gaming rig (still in the shop) but I do have Steam on it. Once I figure out what kind of screen capture program is on it I'll post some shots to show you. It's not hard, but you do have to know it's there.