Being a GOG customer isn't so bad; we get pretty good deals; competent customer support, no client is required...

Ah, Forget it! We STILL don't have Freddi Fish 2 after all this time! Gosh darn steambois and their superior library of games. >:(

That was a good game. ;) Remember loving it when I was a kid.

That was HI-LA-RI-OUS, Mr e.

It was hilarious because you put XD after it.

That, and you said enema.

No, but I realize I was overreaching and unnecessarily accusatory with my statement.

Being a responsible consumer, to me, simply means making purchasing decisions not based on empty hype, marketing, or the need to chase after the latest and greatest. It also means sticking to your principles when you make your purchasing decisions -- whether it be to avoid any games sold on Steam/with DRM, avoiding Early Access games, avoiding day-one release games, forsaking pre-orders/DLC, or avoiding games from a given developer/publisher as an act of protest against their business practices. (Or socio-political views, etc.)

In the case of many here, it's adhering to a specific stance on DRM in gaming. Or at the very least, doing so as much as possible. I can only speak for my experience, but on the very few times where I've bought a game on Steam, it was because it wasn't available anywhere else, wasn't likely at all to come to GOG, and came from a developer that, by and large, I wanted to support.

But to go back to the OP's question, yes, someone can be a PC gamer in 2016, and not use Steam, and be quite happy doing so. It just means that person thinking of PC gaming as something other than the latest and greatest shiny thing released by the AAA game industry.

I revel in my immorality! I confess! I am a sinner!

Because I like to actually OWN my games and not have their use impeded by someone else's system of control.

Having to deal with DRM is like being put on probation for another persons crime.

Mr e only has one ball.

Thank you for the clarification.

I can agree with what you wrote in this quoted post. I respect people's decision to have DRM free games based on personal's assessment and not because of bias.

There is only 1 way to avoid steam. And that is buying the physical game. But it will still come with DRM, but at least you own a physical copy of the game that way. Steam is shady, selling someone a license to use a game when they could purchased the exact same game for the same price from say walmart, is their backdoor if they ever need it or want it. GOG is good, steam is bad, but sometimes you have to suffer through their crap to play a game exclusive to them. Key point, origin and uplay, nobody wants them, but yet they are there. Steam is the same way, just not quite as invasive, or buggy, but still could just lock you out of your games on a whim. I say f all 3 of them. I buy on GOG first, and if i have to wait years, ill wait years.

See post 90. It's not hard to understand why.

Yes, many games are available DRM free. And many are not. Resident Evil, MGS 5, Dark Souls, Civilization, GTA 5, CS:GO, TF2, Left 4 Dead, DOTA 2, Company of Heroes 2, Skyrim, Fallout, Farcry, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Overwatch, Hearthstone... the list goes on. These are all AAA games that are not your generic COD or Assassin's Creed yearly release. The majority wants to play games, not worry about something being DRM free or not. If that were the case GOG's customer base would have grown x5 the rate then what it is now. There are different methods of DRM with varying degrees of annoyance. The majority sees Steam as one of the least annoying forms.

Thus, most PC gamers are not going to go out and buy a console just because a game has no DRM free release. I'm sorry but that mode of thinking is just absurd. They are happy with their PC and they are fine with using Steam because it provides them with what they ultimately want. To play games. Especially multiplayer games and with their friends. Why buy an even more closed off system?

Consoles are fast becoming nothing but actual downgraded computers. That used to be a joke but it's honestly becoming a reality. With the announcement of games like Fallout 4 releasing mod capability on console and being able to upgrade your console like a computer.

Phil Spencer has said they will release their Xbox exclusives on PC, and they will sell games on their PC store, and they will return to selling games on Steam. Can you tell me, as an already established PC gamer, what reason do I have to ever buy an Xbox now? This year's E3 announced almost every single game coming to PC, including a lot of Sony titles. What reason do I really have to buy a PS4? I mean, they have waaaay more exclusive titles than Xbox has now, but who is to tell what they'll do with them? Arguably the biggest "winner" of this E3 was PC.

If anything, consoles are going to experience some turbulence. Some analysts even have the balls to say by 2017 MS should drop out of games completely just based on their horrible E3 show alone. Nope. I'll stick with GOG and Steam. Fuck that noise.

You can mod your Steam games, so I don't understand what you're getting at here? If you can't, that's not really Steam's fault. That's the dev's fault. Even if a game doesn't use Steam Workshop you can mod your games to your heart's content, if there is anything for it out there, or if you just want to tweak performance options. A number of games can be launched without the client even.

You make it sound like booting up any game on PC is this monstrous task that some simpleton would never understand. Maybe in the 90's this was true but today if someone just wants to play CS:GO or GTA 5 all you have to do is double click the icon in Steam. Hardware isn't as wild west as it was back then, and neither is software, and that's a GOOD thing. Anybody not computer savvy can ask the internet or buy a pre-built and have a PC gaming experience easily. Complex driver issues and DOS-ism and the like are all in the past. Anybody can game on their PC with the right hardware just as well as they could on a console. You can even set up your PC in the living room and play on a couch. You can even set up Steam's picture mode and all that fancy shit if you so desire.

Point is you can do ANYTHING a console can with a PC and you don't have to be a tech god.

I seriously doubt it.The future of gaming in general is open world games or multiplayer games. Or both combined.

You have a better chance of seeing GOG, Uplay, Origin and the Window's Store all dying out before Steam ever does. They are MASSIVE. They rake in crazy amount of money from DOTA 2, TF2 and CS:GO alone. All Valve games. All 100% their profit. Even Blizzard wanted a piece of that pie when they made Overwatch.

The business model that makes the most money is exactly what Steam is doing. Multiplayer, in-game markets, sponsering big MP tournaments around their games.

Yes, GOG is growing, and that's good. But the reality is at the very least, I'd venture to guess that 50% of GOG's customers's don't give a shit about DRM and shop at many other places, including Steam. They just want to play games, not worry about ideologies. Just because GOG is growing does not signify that Steam, Origin, or whatever other store out there is losing popularity. But as far as ranking goes I'd say GOG is definitely #2 with Origin behind it at #3.

No, Devs don't have to work with Steam. They never did. They choose to for the benefits. Steamworks, the largest base of buyers, Steam marketplace, easy advertising and whatever else Steam offers devs.

Everyone enjoys their gaming differently. Some see PC gaming in general as a headache waiting to happen, even though it's actually pretty easy and only made out to be scary. IMO from the times I've had to use a modern console I found them to be more of a headache due to my expectations just not being met from the PC. You might get your wish soon as Bethesda adds mod capability to their other games on console. You can go buy Fallout 4 right now on console and mod it.

At that point, I'd rather just buy it on PC/Steam and get better performance and graphics mods on top of that. But that's because I already own a PC I've spent lots of time building and put lots of money into, and don't base my purchases on DRM alone, but other factors too.

This is a nice fairytale view of the future. Unfortunately it completely ignores all the facts of the situation now.

Again, consoles are adapting many aspects of PC gaming, including modability and upgrades for your console. They are literally becoming mini-PC's. MS's E3 conference was extremely cringy, and there are reports of internal fighting. The future of consoles is honestly looking pretty shaky. We'll have to wait and see on that one.

You also fail to realize the biggest games on PC are mostly multiplayer based. GOG will never be able to match the number of players currently playing DOTA 2, CS:GO, TF2 or GTA 5. Steam's stats are available for anyone to see. Not to mention Blizzard's own games, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and of course WoW. Mostly MP titles.

The hot shit on PC is multiplayer games and open-world based games. Y'know, the kind of games that rely on a system like Steam or Origin. I'm sorry, but I don't see thousands upon thousands of people ditching their Steam accounts of which they poured tons of money into, the games they want that are nowhere else are there, all their friends are there, and they logged many hours into. These are the majority, and the majority just wants to come home, log into Steam/Battle.Net, double click Overwatch or CS:GO or GTA 5 or Dota 2, and start playing with their friends.

GOG doesn't have the resources to compete against that. They have no major MP games on their service or the systems in place to help devs manage said games, their client isn't even complete yet, and CDPR doesn't develop MP games, they develop story rich RPGs that they sell everywhere, including Steam, which is probably where they get their largest amount of buyers by far, with GOG at #2.

skeletonbow makes a good observation in this thread regarding MP games and GOG.

Everyone's reason for not using Steam is cool and fine and just as valid as anyone who chooses to use it, GOG is great, but they are far from perfect, and personally I like that both GOG and Steam are around. It creates good competition, especially for people like me who shop where the best deals are, not who offers games DRM Free, which I see as just a nice added bonus and not something to base my purchase off of.

More often than not though, I want to sit down and play some Company of Heroes 2, or GTA 5, or jump into a game of Insurgency with friends. Steam lets me do that with no issues, and I'm not going to limit myself from the many awesome moments I've had personally.

Last year I took a list of major games released in 2014.
If I remember correctly it was about 40% that where steam exclusive

However remove games published by super-publishers such as EA, ubisoft and Blizzard, It was about 80%

me looks over at the last few games I bought physically and see that 60% of them is only a steam code with a small installer, where you need to download ~60% of the game from steam :P

I doubt any brick and mortar shop could ever compete with steam, I paid $22 (paid in $'s since that was what steam was using at the time here) for Tomb Raider collection, in 2013, it included nearly every game in the Tomb raider franchise up to Tomb Raider (2013) (except it's DLC) I paid almost 40% of the price I would have paid if I bought just Tomb Raider (2013) in the shops.

Also it's near impossible to compete against steam's Summer and Winter sales for any retail shop

Keep in mind, though, that not releasing a game on steam means a lot of lost sales for developers. Developers need money so if you want to make great games, you have to release on steam. I'm making a game myself and would never consider not releasing it on steam. However you can still release it on drm free platforms like gog. But steam is going to be 90 to 95% of your sales...It's a bit sad but that's how it is.

You sir, have taste...