uhm no because they cant be compared

These 'people' might not be the same set of people at all.

Some strawman.

how so?

for example, you don't need to run Origin just to play games bought there, unless they're newer, Origin-integrated EA Games (like BF3 or ME3).

some Steam games work the same way (Paradox games, GfWL games).

haha, nice try, professor, when i recognize some of the names above...

What the fuck have you been smoking?

The reason people hate Steam and Origin is because you need the clients to run the games and you need an internet connection to install the games. You don't need either for Desura. Once you've bought the games and downloaded them, you can burn them onto CD and you will never have to use the client again. Not to mention that you don't even need the client in the first place.

So much for double standards eh?

like Nuclear Dawn, eh?

99% of the games i see on Desura are indies that are already DRM-free everywhere else (Indie Bundles, GamersGate, etc.) no wonder you don't require the Desura client to run those games! does the same work with non-indies, too? are there any at all? any that aren't already DRM-free on other platforms? i doubt it.

I gave the steam key that I'd redeemed.

I just tried Desura and it completely failed to find the majority of my games it claims to support, even when I gave it the proper paths. Not a very good first impression.

True, not all games are drm-free and Desura has not the power to force the developers to do it, that's exactly why I hope they will add that information on the shop page. As far as I know Desura allows the developers how they want to publish their games, and unforunately in some cases that includes drm.

The great thing is that for the drm-free games you can have the benefits of the client system (easy management, automatic updates) and from direct downloads (easy backups, more independent) the same time, that's new and remarkable.

Thanks for heads-up, I will try that as well. :)

I agree totally. I like the Desura client, but I also like Origin and Steam clients. I wish GOG would finally come around and get a client ready.

You can complain about Steam not being DRM free, but you can't complain about "having a crappy client running" and then praise Desura.

Of course you can, if you can run Desura games without the Desura client but can't do the same with Steam games & client.

Personally, I just want a game manager/launcher that doesn't seriously piss me off in some manner. I'm still looking. (Tracking played time would be nice too)

Actually you can because the Desura client doesn't have to be running to let you play your games. You decide when you want to run the client to check for updates or download new games.
Origin is alright but newer games require the client to be running.

So just to clarify..

The client isn't necessary to actually run the games? It's more like a 'cupboard' to keep them all in one place and provides updates and news and stuff? It's not DRM?

I like the idea of a client, somewhere to have the games at easy access, but up to now with steam, origin, it's the fact that they are necessary that I HATE, no net connection and you're screwed, with the real control of your purchases in the hands of the publishers.

Yes, to all questions.
Also, they seem to be adding direct downloads for most of their games so if you totally allergic to clients you wouldn't even need to install it.