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[Zimbardo]

4) I only need to remember one account, not 5 different accounts from 5 different stores. I also don't have to keep a spreadsheet to know from which store each game came from.

ya, i'm not the type that would want to have games being bought from 5 different sites ...but 2 or 3 is manageable ...at least to me.

For my point of view, that's not "extreme loyalty to Steam", but preferring a platform. Those might not be reason enough for other people to prefer a game on Steam. It most certainly is MORE than enough for me to pay an extra 15 bucks so I can have a game on Steam (like your Brink example, if that was the case).

Brink uses Steamworks, so all ya gotta do is input the code into Steam and voila, you have a copy just as if you bought it directly from Steam (even if you bought it from D2D, etc).

you'd be paying $15 extra just for fun buying that game from Steam right now.

Steamworks titles can be bought anywhere ...just drop the code into Steam and away you go.

Achievements, FriendLists, VoiceChat are all nice features, but they're not really important to me, because I can just add a shortcut to Steam and get all that functionality. That wont EVER be a reason. That's why arguments like "well you can just add a shortcut to steam and have the same experience" are NEVER going to stick with me, since adding a shortcut on Steam won't instantly provide me with infinite downloads of the game from Steam servers nor it'll give me automatic updates.

most games that are of any importance will have those features built in ...like Bulletstorm for example. it uses Games for Windows Live, so it auto updates through that, has xbox live achievements through that, chat, friends list, etc ...are all present via Games for Windows Live.

most, if not all, newer EA games have auto patching built in. examples, are that i bought Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Crysis 2 from Direct2Drive. both EA games, and both auto check for updates when you run the game. they auto download and patch themselves if necessary.

want access to your Steam buddy list? just add those games via shortcut into Steam.

i don't see the problem, but if you do, then that's fine.



i always back them up on DVDs too, so i don't have to worry too much about redownloading titles again. but places like D2D have unlimited downloads if needed, just like Steam.

 

[Nabs]

It's not like Brink is a day 1 purchase for most people.

 

[Zimbardo]

It's not like Brink is a day 1 purchase for most people.

i'm not saying that its a must own title ...i'm just using it as an example.

 

[zombieshavebrains]

just out of curiosity, and i'm not trying to be an arsehole or anything, but why the extreme loyalty to Steam?

you're missing out on some great deals elsewhere.

Direct2Drive is great for pre orders and new releases because they often have 20% (or more) off everything sales.

like for example, Brink is $37 on D2D now, while its $49 on Steam. the game even uses Steamworks (it requires Steam to play), so why the heck not buy it from D2D instead of Steam?


i can see not wanting to have your games spread across all kinds of different digital distribution sites, but using a couple isn't bad.

Have you not seen all the posts on the past couple pages asking if the cd key from X game can be used in steam? The loyalists use different DD services if the deal is better and if you can register it on steam.

 

[Zimbardo]

Have you not seen all the posts on the past couple pages asking if the cd key from X game can be used in steam? The loyalists use different DD services if the deal is better and if you can register it on steam.

sure i've seen some. but i've also seen some that wont touch anything that's not purchased through Steam.

and that's why i asked the question.

 

[Corky]

I do enjoy the steam system and interface. But if I find a game on , more often than not, D2D where the pricedifference is too big to discount I'll buy it on D2D.

With rebates it's not rare for me to be able to buy brand new games at 50% of the price on steam.

But that's day 1 purchases. And steam sales is just another demon in of itself

 

[Chiaroscuro]

I do not know if it has being posted/discussed before, but Fable III is on pre-order on Steam right now: http://store.steampowered.com/app/6720/

What??? A Microsoft GFWL game on Steam? Are they giving up?

 

[paperspace]

There are a few GFWL-titles on Steam already. Dirt 2, DoWII and BioShock 2 to name a few.

Fable III is the first Microsoft-published game on Steam though.

edit: maybe that was your point? was confused over the GFWL-part

 

[drizzle]

Brink uses Steamworks, so all ya gotta do is input the code into Steam and voila, you have a copy just as if you bought it directly from Steam (even if you bought it from D2D, etc).

you'd be paying $15 extra just for fun buying that game from Steam right now.

Steamworks titles can be bought anywhere ...just drop the code into Steam and away you go.

I didn't know Brink was a Steamworks game, so that argument, on my part, is invalid. If I can register the game on Steam, I don't care where I bought it from. I just don't care about Brink, particularly. Here's a better argument: I rather pay 14.99 for Bad Company 2 on Steam than 7.50 on EA Digital store, only because it'll be tied to my Steam account forever. (because Bad Company 2 is not a Steamworks game).

GreenManGaming.com (or something to that extent) provides legit Steam keys for games, and has monthly sales and stuff. I even bought some Steam keys from shady Poland-based websites. I care about the service Valve provides and the safety that, in my opinion, it gives me. I don't care who I give my money to.

most games that are of any importance will have those features built in ...like Bulletstorm for example. it uses Games for Windows Live, so it auto updates through that, has xbox live achievements through that, chat, friends list, etc ...are all present via Games for Windows Live.

There's people in this very thread RAGING about games for windows and how they WON'T buy a game that has Games for Windows built in. I rarely see people questioning that attitude, however there's always somebody wondering "why won't you buy it somewhere else?" when it comes to Steam preference. I also can't download the game from Games for Windows live if I bought it on Direct2Drive (or on Steam, for that matter) - I can only download the patches/DLC for it.

It's indeed a good thing that more games are providing built in updates. But that's still not the case for every game. I have a Games for Windows account (since I have an XBox Live account), but I'd never buy a game through Games for Windows, if the same game is available on Steam. I did buy a couple of games on the 99 cents promotion (like Shadowrun, Age of Empires and Viva Piñata), which I can re-download as many times as I want from the GFW servers, but I still rather have everything into one place, whenever possible (which is not the case with these specific games).

want access to your Steam buddy list? just add those games via shortcut into Steam. I don't see the problem, but if you do, then that's fine.

That's why I was saying that those features are not something that matters. The most used argument on buying games from other places is "just add it to Steam and you'll have all the services a game bough from steam gives you", and I was using that example to demonstrate that this affirmation is, obviously, not true.

I always back them up on DVDs too, so i don't have to worry too much about redownloading titles again. but places like D2D have unlimited downloads if needed, just like Steam.

I don't want to ever use optical media ever again. Really, it just uses a shitload of space around the house and it's actually cheaper to just buy bigger, slower HDs to store your backups. I'm not willing to do either, so re-downloading is my preferred choice. Again, I know D2D provides downloads, but, as I said earlier on my thread, what assures me that Direct2Drive is not gonna be sold to somebody that's going to provide lesser quality service? That almost happened with "Good Old Games" (as a prank) and people were venting like there was no tomorrow. Like I said earlier, not long ago Direct2Drive didn't even allowed me to buy games from them, and still doesn't on some cases. I bet my Steam account on the fact that Valve is not going anywhere for a while .

It's a matter of preference. Like I said, I prefer Steam. I won't ever buy anything off Direct2Drive or EA Digital Store (unless I can register said games to my Steam account), because I don't trust them with providing me my digital purchase. I don't have a problem with buying really cheap games from the Games for Windows store, since most Microsoft First Party titles won't come out on Steam anyway (except now they do, with Fable 3), and they're also not going anywhere.

If it costs me 15 bucks more to have a game tied to my Steam account, as "buying it through Steam" is not what's being discussed here, I'm ok with that. It's worth the extra money, imo. It gives me peace of mind knowing that my games will be there for as long as Valve exists. Sure, everything could go down tomorrow (and the world is ending in 2012, so I won't have access to my digital purchases then), but I trust Valve more than those other companies.

 

[flsh]

One great reason to hate GfWL (or at least some publishers who abuse it) is region blocking. If there's no live service in your country, you wont be able to buy some games on DD services. I can't see Bulletstorm and Fable 3 on steam. I would either have to ask a gaffer to gift me Bulletstorm when it's on sale or I'll just pass on the game if I forget about it, which is the likeliest scenario at this point.
I know it's considered a very effective DRM against pirates but at this point it's also a fantastic DRM against people from countries without live.

 

[Salsa]

One great reason to hate GfWL (or at least some publishers who abuse it) is region blocking. If there's no live service in your country, you wont be able to buy some games on DD services. I can't see Bulletstorm and Fable 3 on steam. I would either have to ask a gaffer to gift me Bulletstorm when it's on sale or I'll just pass on the game if I forget about it, which is the likeliest scenario at this point.
I know it's considered a very effective DRM against pirates but at this point it's also a fantastic DRM against people from countries without live.

To be fair Steam also has region blocking, although its getting better. For example i couldnt see any Rockstar game in the Steam Store until like 2 months ago.

 

[flsh]

Are there still region locked steam games, though?
I noticed the R* games became available here too and bought all of them (despite playing most of them already before). Now GfWL is the reason I can't purchase some games.

If Steam had gift cards it would solve the problem but right now I'll probably have to hope some gaffer will be nice enough to trust me to pay him back for Bulletstorm whenever it'll be on sale.

 

[Slo]

For me...beacuse i have my friends on steam and is the only decent place I can buy PC games for Mexico in a fast and reliable way...

You do not understand. If it's a steamworks title, you can buy it anywhere and when you register it, it becomes part of your steam games list. So you can play with all your Steam friends.

 

[blanky]

steam on my mac is looping, i press login and it goes away comes back to the login menu. What's up with that?

 

[Syphon Filter]

You guys think if Fable III does well on Steam that Microsoft will cancel gfwl and just sell their games on Steam?

 

[Salsa]

Are there still region locked steam games, though?

Well i own Sid Meier's Pirates!

but it doesnt show up in the store page for me

 

[XeroSauce]

just out of curiosity, and i'm not trying to be an arsehole or anything, but why the extreme loyalty to Steam?

you're missing out on some great deals elsewhere.

Direct2Drive is great for pre orders and new releases because they often have 20% (or more) off everything sales.

like for example, Brink is $37 on D2D now, while its $49 on Steam. the game even uses Steamworks (it requires Steam to play), so why the heck not buy it from D2D instead of Steam?


i can see not wanting to have your games spread across all kinds of different digital distribution sites, but using a couple isn't bad.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm canceling my Steam pre-order and getting D2D instead (i the website ever loads).

 

[flsh]

Hmmm.. you're right. I wonder why it isn't available.

I know that Anno 1404 is unavailable but Dawn of Discovery (non- EU version) is, but that is because of Ubisoft's reluctance to patch the game IIRC. It could be a similar reason.

 

[Epix]

Might be a little OT, but if anyone wants to play some Portal 2 coop who hasn't played it yet let me know.

SteamID = Epix

 

[EternalGamer]

Something is up with that Supreme Commander 2 link on Amazon:

"Steam = Racketeering fraud treason industry at work, Retarded Monkey Mimic Utopia up up and away, the usual con game from standard intelligence. Pfft to the jungle sounds grand if the chimps are going to be to aloud to take over Civilization again. Ew look destructive code for my PC how nice thanks for that Amazon should come with a warning label *Caution Treason Inside This Package*. Good job good job, anyway. Thanks for ripping me off.

And I was really liking this download thing Amazon *****Warning LABELS**** Fraud in this package, spyware in this package, this package is illegal,


According to these laws and so many more, bye.
[...]

It also says "torrent" really quick in a link before it redirects you to amazon.

 

[Lasthope106]

You guys think if Fable III does well on Steam that Microsoft will cancel gfwl and just sell their games on Steam?

Steam is simply too big of juggernaut for any publisher to ignore. Just by being offered on Steam, the game is already guaranteed to sell more than if Microsoft had restricted the game to their GFW store and retail.

When you factor the higher day one sales, and the eventual "long tail" due to sales, I believe MS won't be able to resist putting their entire catalog on Steam.

Microsoft doesn't need to cancel GFWL, on the contrary, offering games with the functionality on Steam could attract gamers to their own store, but only if they try to improve it. If I recall correctly, all recent EA games contain a key code that can be redeemed on the EA store, so the games can be downloaded from both places. A similar tactic could be used by Microsoft.

 

[SapientWolf]

Something is up with that Supreme Commander 2 link on Amazon:




It also says "torrent" really quick in a link before it redirects you to amazon.

That review sounds like it was written by a spam bot and 4 people said it was unhelpful. Where does the word torrent come up?

 

[Ionic]

Steam is simply too big of juggernaut for any publisher to ignore. Just by being offered on Steam, the game is already guaranteed to sell more than if Microsoft had restricted the game to their GFW store and retail.

When you factor the higher day one sales, and the eventual "long tail" due to sales, I believe MS won't be able to resist putting their entire catalog on Steam.

Microsoft doesn't need to cancel GFWL, on the contrary, offering games with the functionality on Steam could attract gamers to their own store, but only if they try to improve it. If I recall correctly, all recent EA games contain a key code that can be redeemed on the EA store, so the games can be downloaded from both places. A similar tactic could be used by Microsoft.

What Microsoft could do is release their new games on both GFWL Marketplace and Steam, but make all DLC have to be bought off of GFWL. So, I buy Alan Wake 2 on Steam, but see these cool new stories as DLC and buy some credit for GFWL Marketplace to get it. Everybody wins.

 

[Blizzard]

steam on my mac is looping, i press login and it goes away comes back to the login menu. What's up with that?

I had something like that on a Windows laptop and it drove me nuts. I think deleting ClientRegistry.blob and then launching Steam fixed it. Can you try that? I don't know where the file is on a Mac.

 

[blanky]

I had something like that on a Windows laptop and it drove me nuts. I think deleting ClientRegistry.blob and then launching Steam fixed it. Can you try that? I don't know where the file is on a Mac.

can't find anything that's named that way.

 

[MacGurcules]

can't find anything that's named that way.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7241-EYON-2343

Mac OSX

Completely exit from the Steam client.
Go to /Users/[Username]/Library/Application Support/Steam
Locate ClientRegistry.blob and rename this file to ClientRegistryOld.blob.
Restart Steam to allow the file to be recreated.
Test the issue once more.

 

[Daigoro]

What Microsoft could do is release their new games on both GFWL Marketplace and Steam, but make all DLC have to be bought off of GFWL. So, I buy Alan Wake 2 on Steam, but see these cool new stories as DLC and buy some credit for GFWL Marketplace to get it. Everybody wins.

that sounds like the exact opposite of everyone winning.

 

[blanky]

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7241-EYON-2343

thanks, but still occurring

deleting it doesn't help either, maybe i should just reinstall steam altogether?

 

[Ionic]

that sounds like the exact opposite of everyone winning.

Valve starts getting new Microsoft published games added to their service, Microsoft's games reach a larger audience with Steam, Microsoft gets a lot of people looking at their service for extra content. Looks good to me.

 

[Echoplx]

I really want BF3 to go up for pre-order on Steam soon, although I doubt it will happen thanks to EA.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Valve starts getting new Microsoft published games added to their service, Microsoft's games reach a larger audience with Steam, Microsoft gets a lot of people looking at their service for extra content. Looks good to me.

WTF!? You working for MS or something? I haven't met anyone on this forum that has had anything good to say about GFWL.

It's broken. Plain and simple. I have a hard time playing games I own cause it has to link to fucking GFWL.

 

[Cipherr]

Valve starts getting new Microsoft published games added to their service, Microsoft's games reach a larger audience with Steam, Microsoft gets a lot of people looking at their service for extra content. Looks good to me.

Or rather Steam gets a glut of games that gamers previously thought they wouldnt be able to get via steam thereby solidifying steam as their go to service. I just dont see this working in MS favor much, GFWL was handled so poorly at its inception, the mark that has left will endure, I assure you.

 

[Syphon Filter]

I think Microsoft should just forget about gfwl and sell their titles on Steam. They will still make money. It's obvious they don't care about gfwl,they barely update it.

 

[blanky]

This seems broken =/, reinstalled, recent version etc. Nothing seems to work. At one point with the version from the website it actually failed to update because it said I had no internet connection. I dont know whats going on here

 

[Snuggles]

Just finished Crysis tonight <3, will probably buy Warhead from Steam soon.

Just curious, does it continue directly from the ending of Crysis?

 

[darthbob]

Just finished Crysis tonight <3, will probably buy Warhead from Steam soon.

Just curious, does it continue directly from the ending of Crysis?

Nope, you're in Psycho's perspective during the events on the Island.

 

[John]

Just finished Crysis tonight <3, will probably buy Warhead from Steam soon.

Just curious, does it continue directly from the ending of Crysis?

not exactly, but it's the same mission yeah

 

[Ionic]

WTF!? You working for MS or something? I haven't met anyone on this forum that has had anything good to say about GFWL.

It's broken. Plain and simple. I have a hard time playing games I own cause it has to link to fucking GFWL.

Well, that was surprisingly reactionary to a post trying to rationalize Microsoft's decision to put a game on the competitor's service. I didn't even comment on my opinions of their service, positive or negative. I'm just hypothesizing ways this could work well in Microsoft's and their platform's favor. You don't need to go on some hate rant at the mere mention of GFWL. Microsoft isn't just going to give up on GFWL as much as many of us would like for them to, and with this in mind there is nothing bad that can come from Microsoft getting more of their new games to people than they would have otherwise. Oh, and I had just as much fun trying to initially play Arkham Asylum with GFWL nagging me as the next guy, so cool down.

 

[Zzoram]

Just finished Crysis tonight <3, will probably buy Warhead from Steam soon.

Just curious, does it continue directly from the ending of Crysis?

During Crysis, Psycho splits off from your group early in the game, then rejoins you at the end. Crysis Warhead is about what he did during that time. He had some solo mission objectives that tie into what you're doing in Crysis.

 

[Mr_Guillotine]

I have a question, my friend just bought Mount & Blade:Warband from the Amazon deal and is wondering where he can redeem the key on steam. Does he download the demo from steam and enter the code there or is there another option on the website?

 

[Zero-Crescent]

I have a question, my friend just bought Mount & Blade:Warband from the Amazon deal and is wondering where he can redeem the key on steam. Does he download the demo from steam and enter the code there or is there another option on the website?

I'm guessing that it's like other codes, in the Steam application's menu bar:
Games > Activate a Product on Steam

 

[Mr_Guillotine]

I'm guessing that it's like other codes, in the Steam application's menu bar:
Games > Activate a Product on Steam

He tried that, didn't work though.

 

[Zero-Crescent]

He tried that, didn't work though.

I can't say that I've tried activating a retail M&BW myself, but it is on Steam's big list. The only advice I can offer is to check for any possible errors in the entering of the key (Formatting, typos).
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601

Mount & Blade: Warband CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q

 

[Mr_Guillotine]

Yeah, I checked that. For whatever reason the Amazon deal gave him a 4X4 key and it's not redeemable on steam, I'm trying to see of there's some kind of converter.

 

[Snuggles]

During Crysis, Psycho splits off from your group early in the game, then rejoins you at the end. Crysis Warhead is about what he did during that time. He had some solo mission objectives that tie into what you're doing in Crysis.

I see, thanks.

it was such a cliffhanger

Sounds awesome, though, can't wait to buy/play it.

 

[Zero-Crescent]

Yeah, I checked that. For whatever reason the Amazon deal gave him a 4X4 key and it's not redeemable on steam, I'm trying to see of there's some kind of converter.

It sounds like the 4x4 key is TaleWorlds' key, while the 5x5 keys were meant for Steam, probably included in the boxed retail release. Unfortunately, the only converter I found from a search did it in the opposite direction (5x5 to 4x4); put up due to a Steam error back in November when buyers during that time were getting a 5x5 key instead of a 4x4 key.

 

[garath]

WTF!? You working for MS or something? I haven't met anyone on this forum that has had anything good to say about GFWL.

It's broken. Plain and simple. I have a hard time playing games I own cause it has to link to fucking GFWL.

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but I don't mind GFWL games at all. A less-than computer saavy friend and I love playing co-op games together. We've played all sorts of them on PS3 and PC. So many games are nothing but headaches to try and set up. Need to open ports, have to browse server lists, no good friend finding, etc etc.

Borderlands is the perfect example of this. It's a game that's built from the ground up with co-op in mind. However, gamespy is terrible. If you've played the game, you understand the pain. But if you haven't, let's talk about losing friend lists, friend invites not going through, inability to lock down a game and have a friend join (was an early bug), the whole service going down, port issues, etc. It took a year of patches to be anything called consistent. Even then I still wouldn't call it seamless.

On the flip side, you take a game like Resident Evil 5. Sure you have to download a separate program and create a GFWL account if you don't have one from Xbox, but we have never had an easier time playing a co-op game. It was install, sign in, install again (lol), and sign in again. Once that initial install was done it was as simple as loading up the game, bringing up the overlay and inviting my friend. He joined and we were playing seamlessly. The whole game experience was that easy.

Native steam games are pretty darn good too but other than the annoying extra installs, I'm actually a fan of the GFWL service. Certainly more than something like Gamespy.

 

[sixclaws]

I was wondering if anyone has ever encountered this problem. I'm trying to play Bio
Shock 2, but GFWL is causing me problems. I don't believe its a problem of GFWL needing to be updated since I already went through that nightmare in playing Dead Rising 2. BioShock 2 wants me to download an update for the game, but the thing is annoyingly slow and about a quarter of the way through my laptop just shuts right off. I don't believe its a problem of my laptop not being strong enough since I met the requirements already.

 

[Rufus]

Sure your laptop is not just going into standby?

 

[poppabk]

Or overheating. GFWL patching takes 100% of both cores on my C2D and patching can take 30-60 mins, making my laptop into a toaster unless I make sure it is well ventilated.