Posted November 07, 2009
Well, that's useful to know, but as I stated, I only get Valve games from Steam and they will of course be fully patched as they are Valve's own.
Korell
No worries.
Registered: Jun 2009
From United Kingdom
Well, that's useful to know, but as I stated, I only get Valve games from Steam and they will of course be fully patched as they are Valve's own.
taczillabr
ATTN: Sarcastic
Registered: Apr 2009
From Brazil
Posted November 07, 2009
Shalgroth, Thanks for your time writing it. Here in Brazil we had the same controversy, what's essential and non-essential. Alright, if the taxes were well utilized by the government for transport, health care, etc, but they aren't.
Just to give you an idea of non-essential taxes here:
Video game consoles: 72.18%
PC,ps3,xbox,wii games: 72.18%
MP3 players, iPod, TVs: 45%-50%
mobile phones: 40%
Jaw dropping, when you see a game like MW2 for ps3 or xbox only, MSRP $60 (here it's equivalent to R$103.08), add the taxes and you end up paying at retail $144.94 (R$249.00). Can you believe it?
At retail, it is slightly better for PC titles than the consoles, but then the latest hardware isn't cheap. Comparing a PC game, this week I've paid $10 for Mass Effect, here at retail it would be $57.62 today. Conclusion, I have to be very picky or buy games through Steam or whatever service for modern games.
EDIT: My whole point was that since I pay based in USD, then buying through i.e. Steam isn't overpriced as for europeans, but I'm still tied to DRM and a "rental". There's no competition or incentive for the retail market, so it is next to impossible to get a nice deal, just look at the examples I've posted.
What most of the North Americans don't understand, is that they are the only ones that have access to both retail and digital distribution with competitive prices. (be it gogamer or whatever, be it unrestricted deals in DD sites).
And yes, I prefer GOG. I've paid $6 for EWJ1+2+3D.
Post edited November 08, 2009 by taczillabr
akwater
Who am I?
Registered: Nov 2009
From United States
Posted November 07, 2009
Totally agree with you there, I can go down to the local national shop outside the base here buy a copy of BioShock (for instance) or whatever no DRM for less then a buck and works great or I could order the game via Amazon (which I had did when I first got here, and then couldnt install due to a lack of internet connection at the time). Stay up to odd hours of the night to call the company only to find yep I should have read the label first, then the next morning. I bring my copy of Bioshock down to the EoD yard blow it to hell, go to the local national shop and buy a pirated copy for less then a dollar.
Out of principal I wont buy a new game that comes with DRM, ill go into the city and buy a pirated copy.
I will however buy the hell out of pretty much all of the GoG titles, as most of the games are reasonably priced and even though I started downloading The Settlers 2 gold Edition 3 hours ago and it still has 4 more hours to go (give or take).
Shrug, my download speed is currently at 10kb/s, hence why I dont mind getting older classics via GoG.
We have several people who have private servers for everything from WoW (effing blizzard even in Baghdad I can't get away from the damn game), to CS, to name it we can do it.
Sure online play would be a helluva lot better on real servers but cant complain.
Out of principal I wont buy a new game that comes with DRM, ill go into the city and buy a pirated copy.
I will however buy the hell out of pretty much all of the GoG titles, as most of the games are reasonably priced and even though I started downloading The Settlers 2 gold Edition 3 hours ago and it still has 4 more hours to go (give or take).
Shrug, my download speed is currently at 10kb/s, hence why I dont mind getting older classics via GoG.
We have several people who have private servers for everything from WoW (effing blizzard even in Baghdad I can't get away from the damn game), to CS, to name it we can do it.
Sure online play would be a helluva lot better on real servers but cant complain.
KrazyKain
New User
Registered: Mar 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted November 10, 2009
my complaint on steam is that i can get most retail games cheaper on cd, and frankly, when a physical copy is cheaper then a digital copy.. the digital retailer fails hard
anjohl
Disconnected
Registered: Jul 2009
From Canada
Posted November 11, 2009
Hearts of Iron 3 for 415 is pretty sick...even as a potentially finite rental. Could my 6-month plus embargo end?
Kola256
Greets from Lodz
Registered: Nov 2008
From Poland
Posted November 11, 2009
Every online distributor has got it's own better and worse offers
Eg. I would like to buy Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but not in a 20 Euro bundle
A good deal? Mahjong Quest Collection for just 9 Euro. You'll not find a better price for these 3 games even via casual game distributors.
By the way, 20 Euro = 29.98$
Eg. I would like to buy Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but not in a 20 Euro bundle
A good deal? Mahjong Quest Collection for just 9 Euro. You'll not find a better price for these 3 games even via casual game distributors.
By the way, 20 Euro = 29.98$
Post edited November 11, 2009 by Kola256
Rhuto
New User
Registered: Nov 2009
From Norway
Posted November 11, 2009
I fully agree that a Digital copy of any game should be cheaper then the boxed version of the same.
When that said.
It is us, the Buyers, who need to solve this.
It will not help to cry and cry if the company sell enough games as expected.
It is only one thing that count, and that is the bottom line in any cash book.
If the majority hold again for , let say 6 month, then I am sure the prices or other benefits will change.
But as long as they sell and sell, who cares about the fuzz we make, it don't show up on the bottom line....the earning is good enough, and more will come when they see that the complains have no effect.
I am very glad to have found GOG, which I find keep nice prices and services.
I will rather take a good old game from them, then to buy something new from Steam or Impulse, if it is not a game that I really want....show restrictions...and maybe we will see changes :)
Since I am new...and it is my first post...hey all :)
When that said.
It is us, the Buyers, who need to solve this.
It will not help to cry and cry if the company sell enough games as expected.
It is only one thing that count, and that is the bottom line in any cash book.
If the majority hold again for , let say 6 month, then I am sure the prices or other benefits will change.
But as long as they sell and sell, who cares about the fuzz we make, it don't show up on the bottom line....the earning is good enough, and more will come when they see that the complains have no effect.
I am very glad to have found GOG, which I find keep nice prices and services.
I will rather take a good old game from them, then to buy something new from Steam or Impulse, if it is not a game that I really want....show restrictions...and maybe we will see changes :)
Since I am new...and it is my first post...hey all :)
Lucibel
moronic child
Registered: Jul 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted November 11, 2009
When that said.
It is us, the Buyers, who need to solve this.
It will not help to cry and cry if the company sell enough games as expected.
It is only one thing that count, and that is the bottom line in any cash book.
If the majority hold again for , let say 6 month, then I am sure the prices or other benefits will change.
But as long as they sell and sell, who cares about the fuzz we make, it don't show up on the bottom line....the earning is good enough, and more will come when they see that the complains have no effect.
I am very glad to have found GOG, which I find keep nice prices and services.
I will rather take a good old game from them, then to buy something new from Steam or Impulse, if it is not a game that I really want....show restrictions...and maybe we will see changes :)
Since I am new...and it is my first post...hey all :)
First post, yay, congrats! Welcome!
Villodre
New User
Registered: Mar 2009
From Spain
Posted November 11, 2009
What I really hate from Steam is its client.
When it was released, back in Windows 98 it hanged and gave you a lot of headaches - especially if you were using dial-up like me. But it didn't matter because as far as I can tell everything in Windows 98 was choppy and plenty of bugs. Networking wasn't great either and online gaming was still on its first steps as a mass phenomenon.
I resumed using Steam two years ago. That said, I own a whole pack of computers: currently I use an MSI laptop which accompanies me in my travels and is only suitable for light gaming (everything GOG.com, Steam games like Peggle, Bejeweled, Braid and so), an HP Slimline which I do use as everyday computer, an ASUS Pundit that is a Media Center and the big f*cking computer which is a Dual quad core Nehalem Xeon armed with so much horsepower hat if something's slow on it it's because it is poorly programed.
This is my typical gaming day: I'm using my everyday HP to find that I'll fancy a quick TF2 match but first I have to tell to my girlfriend on the salon to log off her Bejeweled online match because of that onlym to find that she was really playing it offline and the logged account is on the MSI laptopm which is on my work. To make things worse, I can't use my whooping Nehalem gaming rig because with all the fun login in and off games there (which are 5GB+ happily in size) never get downloaded. A real mess.
I've been using Steam on Windows 2000, XP. XP x64, Vista 64, 7 64-bits and ever Wine and there are bugs they have never corrected! For example: why in Heaven does a game, which has not been updated for years (like Sin 1, or Sacred Gold, or even frigging Doom ][) start updating itself!!! Or why if I leave a game updating or downloading I have to manually pause and resume it in order to keep downloading. Why the hell does the Steam client brings himself into the focus on XP x64 without any reason getting me killed at the spot?
Since I had known GOG.com I do think that DRM-free, unrestricted downloaded games could be a really good alternative to Steam, Direct2Drive and the other crappy content delivery platforms. Hell, I have bought games in GOG.com I already own just for the comfort of knowing I can download it anytime!
When it was released, back in Windows 98 it hanged and gave you a lot of headaches - especially if you were using dial-up like me. But it didn't matter because as far as I can tell everything in Windows 98 was choppy and plenty of bugs. Networking wasn't great either and online gaming was still on its first steps as a mass phenomenon.
I resumed using Steam two years ago. That said, I own a whole pack of computers: currently I use an MSI laptop which accompanies me in my travels and is only suitable for light gaming (everything GOG.com, Steam games like Peggle, Bejeweled, Braid and so), an HP Slimline which I do use as everyday computer, an ASUS Pundit that is a Media Center and the big f*cking computer which is a Dual quad core Nehalem Xeon armed with so much horsepower hat if something's slow on it it's because it is poorly programed.
This is my typical gaming day: I'm using my everyday HP to find that I'll fancy a quick TF2 match but first I have to tell to my girlfriend on the salon to log off her Bejeweled online match because of that onlym to find that she was really playing it offline and the logged account is on the MSI laptopm which is on my work. To make things worse, I can't use my whooping Nehalem gaming rig because with all the fun login in and off games there (which are 5GB+ happily in size) never get downloaded. A real mess.
I've been using Steam on Windows 2000, XP. XP x64, Vista 64, 7 64-bits and ever Wine and there are bugs they have never corrected! For example: why in Heaven does a game, which has not been updated for years (like Sin 1, or Sacred Gold, or even frigging Doom ][) start updating itself!!! Or why if I leave a game updating or downloading I have to manually pause and resume it in order to keep downloading. Why the hell does the Steam client brings himself into the focus on XP x64 without any reason getting me killed at the spot?
Since I had known GOG.com I do think that DRM-free, unrestricted downloaded games could be a really good alternative to Steam, Direct2Drive and the other crappy content delivery platforms. Hell, I have bought games in GOG.com I already own just for the comfort of knowing I can download it anytime!
Post edited November 11, 2009 by Villodre
Lucibel
moronic child
Registered: Jul 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted November 11, 2009
When it was released, back in Windows 98 it hanged and gave you a lot of headaches - especially if you were using dial-up like me. But it didn't matter because as far as I can tell everything in Windows 98 was choppy and plenty of bugs. Networking wasn't great either and online gaming was still on its first steps as a mass phenomenon.
I resumed using Steam two years ago. That said, I own a whole pack of computers: currently I use an MSI laptop which accompanies me in my travels and is only suitable for light gaming (everything GOG.com, Steam games like Peggle, Bejeweled, Braid and so), an HP Slimline which I do use as everyday computer, an ASUS Pundit that is a Media Center and the big f*cking computer which is a Dual quad core Nehalem Xeon armed with so much horsepower hat if something's slow on it it's because it is poorly programed.
This is my typical gaming day: I'm using my everyday HP to find that I'll fancy a quick TF2 match but first I have to tell to my girlfriend on the salon to log off her Bejeweled online match because of that onlym to find that she was really playing it offline and the logged account is on the MSI laptopm which is on my work. To make things worse, I can't use my whooping Nehalem gaming rig because with all the fun login in and off games there (which are 5GB+ happily in size) never get downloaded. A real mess.
I've been using Steam on Windows 2000, XP. XP x64, Vista 64, 7 64-bits and ever Wine and there are bugs they have never corrected! For example: why in Heaven does a game, which has not been updated for years (like Sin 1, or Sacred Gold, or even frigging Doom ][) start updating itself!!! Or why if I leave a game updating or downloading I have to manually pause and resume it in order to keep downloading. Why the hell does the Steam client brings himself into the focus on XP x64 without any reason getting me killed at the spot?
Since I had known GOG.com I do think that DRM-free, unrestricted downloaded games could be a really good alternative to Steam, Direct2Drive and the other crappy content delivery platforms. Hell, I have bought games in GOG.com I already own just for the comfort of knowing I can download it anytime!
I recognise and sympathise with all of those frustrations - especially having to pause and then resume updating just to make it work.
I've stopped using Steam and my games associated with it, don't have it on my PC, don't plan to.
TheCheese33
Saves The Day
Registered: Sep 2008
From United States
melchiz
New User
Registered: Sep 2009
From United States
Posted November 12, 2009
Steam is a service that offers convenience at the cost of freedom. That is a dangerous compromise, friends.
TheCheese33
Saves The Day
Registered: Sep 2008
From United States
stonebro
Love Lumberjacks
Registered: Sep 2008
From Netherlands
Posted November 12, 2009
Steam ... APOCALYPSE 2012 ... aliens ... nazis ... cinnamon rolls ... IT'S ALL CONNECTED!
Lucibel
moronic child
Registered: Jul 2009
From United Kingdom
Posted November 12, 2009
If that's the case, expect the game "Tom Clancy's Gamerfight: Steam Apocalypse: Doomsday: The End Is Nigh" coming soon, published by Ubisoft and available on STEAM!