I guess I would be on the DotEmu forums writing this instead, then, playing "The Watcher 3: Savage Chase".

My country took the side of opposing the evil aggressor (Stalin) who attacked our peaceful and country. Good thing we did it, otherwise we would have had the fate of the Baltic countries, and I wouldn't have liked that, no siree. Then we wouldn't have had games like Max Payne 1-2, Grimrock, Porrasturvat etc.

I don't personally take these things that seriously, to be frank. More consumer choices is always a good thing, and I tend to take a very platform agnostic approach to who and where I buy my games from. I originally came here for old games, when GOG was just that, Good Old Games, and at that point, there was really no thought put into how much they'd expand beyond that. As long as GOG keeps slangin' them thangs, I'll keep buyin' em.

Whichever store gives me the better deal is the one I buy from, unless I have a flat out intifada against that company. (Ubisoft, EA.) Don't get me wrong, I prefer GOG and their DRM approach 100%, but I also have the reality that most big AAA companies generally don't drop releases here in tune with everyone else. That's fine for most people and whichever approach you take is all good, man. I just tend to think that the industry needs a landfill like Steam where the drek can go and populate, once they spill over from places like itch.io and GameJolt.

Which leads me to my last point: much like Desura; itch, DotEmu, GameJolt, etc, really aren't anywhere near the same weight class as any of the "big" platforms, nor do they offer the same products, or the same types of products and sometimes quality, as well. (Yeah, even with Steam's non-curation approach.) They're platforms for pretty much anyone to dump anything on, a lot like Kongregate or Newgrounds used to be in their heydays, except, you're paying for it, unless it's released free.

My recommendations would be Humble store or GMG.

(Edited for clarification: I sound like I dislike itch, DE, etc. I don't. They serve a purpose and I use them all because of the rare gems there. I'm just making the point that anyone going there with the thought that they're a 1 for 1 replacement for a Steam, Windows store, Origin, Uplay, etc, is going to be hugely disappointed, more than likely. By all means, check them out.)

I think that the best use of itch.io (as a consumer) isn't to browse the games available there, but rather to use the site to purchase games you hear about elsewhere. For example, the two games I've bought from there (Secret Little Haven and Celeste) are games that I heard about elsewhere.

(Just one thing I should point out: Both those games would be considered off-genre for me; If you would otherwise rate my recommendations highly because of what games I generally play, I should point out that these two games definitely don't fit; Celeste is a pure platformer (I could perhaps call it a kaizo platformer given its style and difficulty) while Secret Little Haven would be classified as a visual novel. Definitely not similar to the RPGs I usually play.)

I just buy from stores that give me the best games with the best deals. This form of tribalism is very weird and very unnecessary but it seems to be a sign of the times. Gamers take gaming way too seriously sometimes. It's just a hobby for crying out loud.

Can't reconcile being in favor of more consumer choice while supporting Scheme in any capacity. The more the Scheme monopoly is reinforced by people buying games there (or keys from resellers), the less consumer choice we all get.

welcome, this is generally my first place to buy too if i can.

My personal order for buying games is
Physical (some times) > Gog > Steam > Humble > Epic > origin (EA bad) > Uplay? never really used it.
I don't have reasons to why it is like this other then that is where i have games.

For me, I consider DRM to be unethical, so my rule is that if a store provides DRM and/or encourages developers to use DRM, I will avoid that store.

If a store focuses solely on DRM-free downloads, or is primarily DRM-free, I will shop at the store, regardless of whether the store is called GOG or located at the domain gog.com. I tend to prefer GOG simply beacuse I have an account with 270 games on it (according to the site), but I am willing to buy from other DRM-free stores if it's not on GOG.

Humble Bundle is a mixed case for me, and at this point I will only buy there if it's a game I really want (in particular, it would probably need to be either a Wizardry-style RPG or a SaGa-style RPG), and said game has a DRM-free on Humble Bundle. (If it only offers a Steam key or other key for an unacceptable store, then it's no deal.) (Problems with Hunble Bundle are their abandoning of DRM-free principles and their bundles including DRM-encumbered software along with DRM-free software.)

(Note that I have more Humble Bundle purchases than itch.io purchases, but that's mainly because I got them before Humble Bundle became no longer a good choice.)

One other thing: Encouraging DRM encumbered games makes companies think DRM works and is a good thing, which can lead to DRM appearing in more serious situations, like on cars and refrigerators (yes, seriously).

"Tribalism" would be an accurate description if applied to very similar categories. Like, Xbox fans versus Playstation fans. In the case of DRM-free gaming versus DRMed gaming monopoly that ruined the PC gaming market forever, there is valid reason to "pick a side". The side you pick affects not only your own future purchases, but those of others too. We do want to KEEP enjoying this hobby in the future, no? For some of us that enjoyment is hinged on being able to (effectively) own what we buy.

i think the thing that will kill steam alot is the fact game devs will use or create there own launchers, why have 70% profit if you put your game on steam cos they take 30% cut, when you can jsut make a launcher and have 100% of the profit fro myour games

Greetings to Suomi and enjoy your stay.

[Modded by Bookwyrm627: Please refrain from political posts.]

I get that. Thing is, Steam was the only game in town for a long time, and not all of it can be blamed on a platform that was allowed to proliferate as much as it did before publishers and other investors started getting their acts together in order to form a credible alternative. Trust that when I say that when I think one does actually emerge, I'd be all for it. I probably still won't eliminate Steam entirely, but I'd be less likely to purchase from them.

I also get that Steam can quasi be blamed for "sale culture" that causes gamers to not purchase full price titles anymore, but you could also make the argument that at least in the case of AAA developers, expecting people to still pay $60-100 depending on what version you purchase on digital titles that only grant program accesses and future DLCs is greedy as well.

I also get that nobody likes the "no steam, no buy" or Gaben's glorious PC master race that saved PC gaming!

But I also get that some people just aren't as attached to principle, and will still shop at Walmart because it's what they can afford and not everyone wants to prop up new businesses throughout their growing pains, or because they have large libraries attached to their platforms of choice.

It is what it is, I just don't think it's that big of a deal, as long consumers are smart about their purchases, access and purchasing options. I do prefer DRMless entertainment mediums, absolutely, but that wasn't the original reason I came to GOG. I'm here for those sweet old games. ;)

No, I agree totally - at least I used to. These platform wars are ridiculous (or shopping wars, digital distribution store wars lol).

Nobody should start preaching ethics/morality/politics/financial economy or any other thing related to shopping preferences for a hobby, especially to others. I hope that's not what I am doing, nor that it came across that way.

But at the same token - if someone does feel that way about a hobby that they might invest a lot of time and money in, they are allowed to express that sentiment, maybe even see if some other like-minded people are out there.

Consider this though - if everyone only bought from stores with 'the best games with the best deals', who could ever compete with Steam? Especially without exclusivity? Do you honestly believe the smaller competitors in the market stand a chance? GOG exists because it offers a niche additional service/feature, and caters to those who do not like dominant behemoths in any industry. The latter point is especially relevant - if people did not care about it enough and only shopped at stores with 'the best games and the best deals', GOG would be far less popular and STeam that much bigger.

People complain about anti-consumerism all the time, and way too much IMO - if consumers had their way, they wouldn't have to pay for anything and get a huge assortment of perfect goods and services. But wait - some would say that already happens, due to 'arrr sailing the high seas' option, which is so often witnessed on any board. Funny thing is, that action happens to be one of the most anti-consumerist things to do, in the long term.

So what are we left with? Contribute to the near monopolistic entity on the market - or try and avoid it, even if it costs a few euros more shopping at alternative shops? Luckily, we get perks for contributing to the underdog competitor - a feature/service that is not offered by Steam (DRM free) that helps me especially playing on Linux. Thus, paying a bit more / waiting a bit more, offers some benefits.

I'm not trying to sound harsh/personal but it seems to me the larger share of the blame goes to the consumers who supported it and let it get to that point. The intentionally bad choice given to consumers was "buy DRMed games, or miss out". Consumers needed to think more about these things and choose "miss out". They didn't, now they have next-to-zero leverage, and the majority of gaming will forever be locked behind DRM. To use your term, it can all work out "as long as consumers are smart about their purchases, access and purchasing options". In the case of Scheme, consumers weren't, at least not in a long term view.

Believe me, I would love an ideal world where consumers can freely choose among different options; buy, rent, physical, streaming...but we don't have that. The buying choices of consumers are affecting the buying options for consumers. We have seen this time and again not just with DRM but with microtransactions, DLC, etc.

I almost quit PC gaming when I bought Warhammer 40.000 came home and found out i had to sign up for a service in order to play it. I thought to myself 'the fck!' I just spent $65 and this!?