Steam, or PC gaming rocks hard...

[Maximus]

So, I think Steam is great. It used to be a complete chore seeing a game with the Steam logo and I used to actively ignore games with it.

Now I love it.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

I'm only starting to get into PC gaming. But when I get a rig, The first thing I'll be downloading is the Steam Client with the Orange Box.

[GLaDOS]

I've been a member of the Steam Community ever since I've gotten Left 4 Dead on PC. I liked the online experience, but not that much with the community. The Steam community is full of fanboys; they think that the PS3 and Wii are totally inferior, and that the 360 and the PC are better on so many levels. Even the forums are full of fanboys, accusing us PS3 owners of trolls, when in fact we didn't do anything. This is why I don't play on Steam that often anymore.

[RatedRstar]

Steam has a lot of great deals. I got both Freedom Force games last week for 2 bucks. Both games for 2 dollars is crazy. It's a shame my pc is 9 years old and I can't play newer releases on my pc or else I'd always be on steam.

[GLaDOS]

One of my main problems with Steam is that they don't have specific cards for you to purchase products online, like PSN cards and Xbox Live points. You have to use your credit or debit card. I only bother getting the demos. The deals are great, but you still need cash and money.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by kotsedriver

One of my main problems with Steam is that they don't have specific cards for you to purchase products online, like PSN cards and Xbox Live points. You have to use your credit or debit card. I only bother getting the demos. The deals are great, but you still need cash and money.

Valve doesn't have the resources Sony or Microsoft has. Deals to sell cards with major retailers cost a lot of time and lawyer fees.

Personally I'd rather use real currency when buying games online rather than having to convert them to odd chucks of "units" and then having "units" left over because of the way the pricing of games is designed (Nintendo is the biggest culprit in this)

But I don't actually understand your last point. How can you get PSN games without using cash or money?

[mikejet]

I have a rig capable of playing the current crop of games. I've been considering downloading CS Source.

The wife might like Sims 3 also.

Currently I'm waiting for Diablo 3. Then I'm going to build a PC around it.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Seeking_Alpha

But I don't actually understand your last point. How can you get PSN games without using cash or money?

What I meant was you need credit or debit cards to buy games from Steam, but I see your point there with Valve not having resources to make that kind of stuff.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by kotsedriver

What I meant was you need credit or debit cards to buy games from Steam, but I see your point there with Valve not having resources to make that kind of stuff.

One workaround is buying a Visa or Amex prepaid giftcard with cash. Once activated online it is treated just like a credit card.

The downside of course is that there is a fee, $3.25 I think for the $25 card.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Seeking_Alpha

One workaround is buying a Visa or Amex prepaid giftcard with cash. Once activated online it is treated just like a credit card.

The downside of course is that there is a fee, $3.25 I think for the $25 card.

This is why I don't buy games from Steam.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by kotsedriver

This is why I don't buy games from Steam.

I still game on the PC platform, but I don't see or understand the appeal behind a digital distribution / content delivery system such as Steam, Direct2Drive, etc. As I understand it, the CD key is tied to one's Steam account, which leads me to believe that it can't be passed along to someone else in the future. Also, if I'm signed in, only one title can be played at any given moment, i.e. if there are multiple PCs in my household, no one can sign in to the service with my account to play a different title concurrently. It may be up-to-date on patches and other DLC, but I have the bandwidth at home and at work, so downloading large files isn't a concern. There is the portability factor I suppose (i.e. being able to sign in from anywhere), but I don't use laptops or netbooks for gaming (I'm a staunch desktop PC gamer).

For those that use this service regularly, what is it about Steam that makes it appealing to you?

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

For those that use this service regularly, what is it about Steam that makes it appealing to you?

When Steam first came out for CS and Half-Life the main appeal, to me, was the connectivity that it allowed so that cheated would be strictly enforced. Before then cheating was RAMPANT on CS and it was easy to do also. Now they constantly update it and they can ban people completely for cheating.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by mikejet

When Steam first came out for CS and Half-Life the main appeal, to me, was the connectivity that it allowed so that cheated would be strictly enforced. Before then cheating was RAMPANT on CS and it was easy to do also. Now they constantly update it and they can ban people completely for cheating.

I remember those days, but then again, I never grasped the appeal of Counter-Strike (I was more of a UT guy, and still am to this day)

[lphr0z3nl]

Steam is just convenient. Never lose a cd key or scratched discs. I can see how for a family or someone who shares account it wouldn't be useful but for one person its good. It has all your games on one account. Everything is updated when it needs to be. You can preload a game so you can play the minute of release. The anti cheat to me is a joke. It's never stopped anyone more then before. You can reformat and just reinstall steam easily. Its a simple system and it works. I still prefer having a disc but steam isn't to bad. I has gotten a lot better over time and will continue getting better. I only have problems with it in offline mode.

[Seeking_Alpha]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

For those that use this service regularly, what is it about Steam that makes it appealing to you?

I like it primarily because of pricing. Their recent holiday sale was crazy.

I also like how I have all my games under one tab and can install anything whenever I feel like it. No need to look for, switch, and store disks.

Sure you can't trade games back but to me if it is a really good game, its okay to keep it.

However since accounts are free to create you can theoretically create one account per game. That might solve your problem with multiple gamers in a household

[RiseDarthVader]

The reason I love Steam is the pricing. Especially in Australia where I shave about $30 off the price at the cheapest retail store in Australia.

[Elandyll]

I despise Valve on many levels, never got into Steam, and probably never will (as long as I have laternatives)

[Offender_Mullet]

Have been using Steam ever since Half-Life 2. Never had a single problem. Also, like lphr0z3nl & Seeking_Alpha said it's very convenient mainly because you don't have to worry about physical discs, losing cd keys, etc. It's a great space saver.

About the only thing Steam is slow on is releasing updates for games sometimes.

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

Also, if I'm signed in, only one title can be played at any given moment, i.e. if there are multiple PCs in my household, no one can sign in to the service with my account to play a different title concurrently.

They have that sync feature which allows you to run the same Steam account across multiple pc's, but I've never tried it. So basically what you're saying is if you're logged into Steam on let's say 3 pc's at once.....it won't allow the other users to play different games on each computer? That's odd.

[Mors]

I would be more likely to try Steam if it wasn't for having to be online to play. My internet has gone down multiple times a day, nearly everyday for the past two years. I hate Mediacom.

[Offender_Mullet]

Mors, you can sign offline and still play the games.