Once in a while Steam has a really nice deal, like last week I picked up Assassin's Creed for $5, and early this year I got Bioshock for the same price. Aside from that I mainly use it where I can't avoid it, e.g., Orange Box/TF2. I much prefer actually owning my games, though, and who knows what the heck will happen to Steam-purchased games 10 years down the line if/when Steam goes defunct.

I just like the convenience of Steam too much. All my games in one place that I can manage from any computer. It doesn't mean that I always have to buy from Steam. I've been able to register my keys for most games I've purchased from either Steam competitors or boxed copies easily. And you just can't beat some of their deals.

Oops, I was editing when you quoted. In the PayPal site the account linking is only available for U.S. citizens, or am I wrong?
How Australia is like? ;)

A few other downsides to Steam
First, if you want to play more than one game at a time or against each other in the same house (e.g., my wife and I), you can't do it without buying another copy of the game.
Second, sometimes they push a patch to you that actually breaks the game. They did this with Half Life:Opposing Force late last year, and it took them something like nine months to fix it. You literally could not progress beyond a certain point, because the game would crash. Had I bought the game online via Steam, I would have been screwed until they finally fixed it. Fortunately, after a few months some people in the forums found a workaround that worked if you owned the CD, which fortunately I did. [However, it was one of the more recent-vintage CD versions, which requires Steam to play.]
The workaround was to reinstall the game from the CD, and prior to launching it, change a particular file to read-only so the Steam patch, which there's no way to avoid receiving, would not overwrite that file. After Valve was notified of the problem, they could/should have retracted the patch until they fixed whatever was wrong, but they didn't.
Nonetheless, sometimes they offer a bargain that is so good that it's hard to pass up, even if it's only for a "rental" game.

I usually do the same, I prefer to own boxed games, and keep it for Valve own games.
But sometimes you cannot resist a $5 deal for what would be a 2 disc, root kit included, 8+ Gigabytes game, and manual patches. :/

Games were purchased before I took the red pill.

Hm.. I'm not sure if there is a regional restriction. I certainly didn't find out on the Paypal site, however, it's definitely not open to just US citizens. But I don't know if it's a feature that's available to everyone.
Absolutely awesome! A little too big, especially if you have friends in different states, but well worth the visit. Games are a little pricey, the politics suck (don't they everywhere?), but the people are pretty cool, and there's just about everything for whatever tastes you have. Be it art, music, et cetera.

Yeah, the convenience factor is what keeps me coming back. So what if you need to use the Internet (most of the time)? You'd need one to download the games anyway.

Circumstances change? Now if every home had free internet, there'd be no problem.

Taxes aren't too bad, considering we have services like Medicare (usually free public healthcare, if you have to pay, you get back some of the money back), good social security, subsidised medications (not all) and so on.
We have the GST, which is a tax of 10% on "non-essential" goods and services, though when it was introduced it did cause a huge outlash. I think some of the outlash, if I remember correctly, was because of what the government considered non-essential, and essential. There are other taxes, depending on what state you live in.
I think we've all gotten used to it now.
Petrol can be rather expensive. The price of cigarettes is ridiculous, which seems to rise just about every year. Alcohol is so-so. There was a small period when our Prime Minister introduced a new tax on pre-mixed drinks to prevent binge and underage drinking, but that didn't last too long.
Generally, though, price of living is good. There are differences from state to state, but I found living costs in Portugal (when visiting) seemed a little hefty in comparison.
While we mumble and groan about it, the public transport is rather decent, and fairly cheap. Again, it varies from state to state. But here in the Melbourne area, we have trams, trains and buses that can take you to most places. Trams though, are a very Melbourne (Victoria) thing. I believe Adelaide (South Australia) has trams, too. But only one line if I remember correctly.
We are charged way too much for games, but I think that is largely the decision of distributors. A new game might cost you around $90-100AU. Sometimes a little more. But there are plenty of ways to find a bargain.
You can also check out www.australia.gov.au
But anyway, I'll cease derailing the thread. =)

Yeah... I can understand the whole issue of not having internet thing. Because on multiple occasions I've had to go extended periods of time with no internet. But still, modern gaming practically demands having online access, what with all the DLC, patches, and community aspects. If you want to play modern games, the reality is that you need online connectivity.
The problem is that we're in that transitional stage where the technology curve is slightly ahead of everyone's capability to enjoy them. But it's like saying "Oh man I want to play those videogames so bad... if only I had a computer."
I think people are looking for that whole self contained experience in case of an apocalypse or if they get stranded on a desert island type situation. But if that ever happens, I'm sure videogames should be the least of your concerns.

Likewise. I've been in the position of not having internet access a few times. Which is why I try to reconsider purchasing games that require internet activation, or need internet access. Especially if they're mainly single player games.
Multiplayer? Well, that's buyer beware, really. You buy a multiplayer in the knowledge that it does indeed require internet access, and that one day, sadly, servers will shut down and move on to the next big thing.
However, though it's dwindling, you can still get PC gaming magazines that come with a cover disc, usually with demos, patches and whatever else. [url=www.pcpowerplay.com.au]Like PCPP.[/url]
Sadly, been there too...
I wouldn't go that far.. Personally, I want to be able to play my games if I ever lose net connectivity, for whatever reason - financial, most likely.
But in case of the robot-zombie-ninja apocalypse, we need to train by way of simulation. i.e. Left 4 Dead.

You can play Steam games offline (well, the non-multiplayer ones) -- you just can't install them when you're offline, obviously.

While I still disagree that Steam is to blame for the pricing, This is still a severe case of WTF?!
That's $26.50 USD each, by the way.