I tolerate steam. I'd rather not use it but when games are super discounted it becomes, well what the hell, it may feel like a rental service, but it's currently cheaper than renting and I don't have any immediate time limit. I do use steam for demos though simply because it installs as it downloads which saves some time.

Steam's best aspect is sales on dos games. Good deals and the client is not required to play.

That's how I generally feel about Steam as well. Multiplayer-wise, VAC does a great job at keeping out the hackers, and I find the client features (overlay, cloud, etc) very useful.

I mean, if you stick to the deals, you can have a great library of games for only like $3-$5 each. So even though technically the games are pretty much lifelong rentals, for that price, you can't really complain.

Valve is quite an awesome company too, and seem to care for its users more than most companies of its kind. I really have no problem as long as they're in control, but I do fear what could happen if somebody else gets their hands on Steam. Hopefully that won't happen.
Haha yeah I wonder how many hits you'd get for Googling 'Windows errors'.

yeah and unplayeble i tried to play the game but not even the servers are showing.

I'm not defending it, nor dismissing the errors. I'm just questioning your methodology, which is quite frankly completely absurd. Because this way, you could conclusively prove that literally everything is terrible.

You need an OS installed to be able to play PC games, so OS errors come with the territory. You DO NOT need EXTRA CRAP CLIENTS throwing their own errors to be able to play PC games.

Do you use Windows?

True, and even though many people like the clients I do agree there should be a way to download games without needing one. Then again, you can just you know... not buy stuff on Steam.

Broken record time...

Well, for one, it's required for all Valve games and a great many other titles (eg. Red Orchestra) now, so I don't have much a choice... especially since I review a lot of games.

Still, if I ignore the fact that the client is total garbage (constant disconnects, slow downloads, random freezing, and horrendously slow to load), Steam's one of the few DRM's I can stand (the others being old-fashioned disc checks and the classic "ask a question" thing). It's annoying, yes, but the perks (esp. community features and constant updates) outweigh the negatives.

The sales really help though. I've grabbed plenty of games for dirt cheap on there. Not to mention I've been introduced to plenty of indie games that I'd never know about otherwise. I almost never use it for getting anything older than 2004 though. It's only in the era of limited activations and "always on" DRM that I'd say Steam is the least of the evils.

lol . . . what in the world are you talking about. I simply did research which determined that . . . for me . . . Steam is not for me personally. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just a game service . . . that's it.

Not sure what the "everything is terrible" logic is about, just added my observations to a thread about Steam and immediately find the blind defense to a perceived attack. It is just a game service . . . one that has it flaws as well as it good points. Pointing out either is not rocket surgery.

I hate steam but i buy games there but i cant without steam since you log in even if you install from a dvd.

Googling for "anything errors" will show you the stories of people who have encountered errors with the particular thing. Not the stories of presumably a lot more people who haven't. Because very few users fill their blogs with "I have launched Steam again today -- nope, no errors this time, either". Your sample is biased. Very, very biased. Which makes your conclusions completely invalid, that's all. As GoJays pointed out, you could just as well search for "Windows errors" immediately followed by "MacOS errors" and "Linux errors" and find out that all major operating systems are downright awful.

And by the by, I strongly object to your immediate assessment of me as a rabid Steam fanboy. I am well aware of all its limitations, thank you very much. I just really wish these debates, pointless as they are, used arguments that have at least some semblance of fairness. Because this doesn't.

Yeah, bias it what one has when they make up their mind about something. IT"S JUST A GAME SERVICE!! I have no personally agenda to discount it. I just related my findings and objections as was the OP's request.

I don't think you are a "rabid fanboy" but your bias is showing along with your superior reasoning powers. It's just a game service with good and bad aspects. Attacking any who point out obvious negatives it not required. Continue with your point of view, please, Steam is not worth much discussion . . . =)

No argument there, clients should be optional not a mandatory leash.

Even though steam is on the thread title, notice that i haven't mentioned steam at all, i said EXTRA CRAP CLIENTS, which means all of them. But yeah, i know i can not buy from steam, thanks for that reminder, though i'm not sure what does that have to do with the fact that clients and their errors are redundant when it comes to running PC games, unlike OS's and their errors which are something you'll always have to deal with to run PC games. A single error is already one error too many when you're forced to deal with something you don't need to do whatever it is you're trying to do.

If you are saying that I can't change the installation directory, then yes, it is a big deal.

And when it comes to owning games.
I thought that when you purchase a game you OWN a game, you just don't own the IP for the game. I can sell a game, play the game even 50 years in the future and modify the game, so I call it owning a game.

I love Steam.

Sure, GoG.com is - in my opinion - the best form of digital download, because you are not restricted by any sort of DRM.

Steam, though, has the advantage of its big discounts, a.k.a. the Summer Sale that's soon gonna be upon us. When a Summer Sale gets going, you can't stop purchasing: every modern game you previously desired will usually be in one of those promotions at a fraction of its original price.