In 10 years, what will we have to show for Steam?

[Dreakon13]

Steam is great, I love the low prices, convenience and I have more games available to me now than I have on pretty much any platform (and I've been gaming since the original NES)... but in 10 years, what will we have to show for this?

I was looking in my closet at all the game boxes I collected back when I used to game on the PC in the 90's. Games like Carmageddon, Tribes, the rare trapezoid shaped Final Fantasy 7 PC box, EverQuest, Splinter Cell. A closet full of memories. Games you'll never see in game stores again. What will even happen to our games if Steam goes down (nothing lasts forever)? Just an abrupt end to the money and time invested?

Does this kind of bother anyone else, or am I just overthinking it?

Note: I'm not complaining, or talking trash about Steam. I actually really like Steam. So try to avoid just dismissing me as some troll. I'm just speaking philosophically from the perspective of a pseudo-game collector about the transition to digital downloads vs. physical copies of games.

[BossGalaga]

引用自 Dreakon13：

Steam is great, I love the low prices, convenience and I have more games available to me now than I have on pretty much any platform (and I've been gaming since the original NES)... but in 10 years, what will we have to show for this?

Same thing we had to show 10 years ago?

[walrus aka aschliov]

this post reminds me of want happened to STAR WARS GALAXY'S i was there from beta loved the game we lived in that for game for more like 10+ yrs then came some bright spark at sony and the NGE and over night the game lost hundreds if not thousands of players . this happened almost the same time when warcraft was starting out. the loss of the game was hard very hard we loved it but more was the player's we used to team up with from across the world. over night i lost contact with over 100 + players as we used non real names lucky i have found some back this is so much like STEAM witch is fantastic platform has good player input yet suffers from hackers and sometimes very poor one time sales when some games are a lot cheaper in GAME stores.

If steam ever did go down the loss of the game's i have (purchased) would be great as most are no longer sold in shop's esp in the uk where most shop's have closed anyway. i would hope a digital copy would be nice but god knows wot hard drive i would need as fallout 4 is touching 50 gig on it own lol. now we have ORIGIN witch now gives out free game's witch is nice but i hate the platform but forced to use it . a good EG is mass effect dlc's it's buy tokens this then go here spend there log in here blah blah blah nightmare just release a bloodly game of year ed.

one thing i would like to ask others here wot's your angle on the beta games or early access games do you like them or do you think it makes steam look cheap like a facebook browser site?.

[TheStoryteller01]

Steam is a convenience that I use. Less each year but still.

But for every game that is famous for modding (NWN, Fallout, TES etc.) I buy either a disk or a DRM-free copy once a Gold/Platinum/Legendary edition (with all DLCs and no more patches to expect) comes out. I do some modding myself and I would never risk to put tons of manhours into something that's not 100% under my control. Imo it's worth an extra 20 bucks from time to time.

And eveything digital (games, DLCs, updates, patches, mods,....) gets stored on an external harddrive. I even have several 100 GBs of mods I don't have time to play yet stored, just in case the industry puts a lid on modding and sites like the Nexus get the status of torrent pirates.

That reflects how much I 'trust' the internet (including Steam and the likes) to keep the current status.

EDIT - To the OP: I recently renovated my apartment and reorganized my stuff. And I couldn't help but to spend quite some time going through 30 years of PC games. Opening that box of "Wing Commander 2" with the 3.5 disks brought back some nice memories.

[僕の名前 (仮)]

Fast food restraunt.

[Gina]

引用自 walrus aka aschliov：

this post reminds me of want happened to STAR WARS GALAXY'S i was there from beta loved the game we lived in that for game for more like 10+ yrs then came some bright spark at sony and the NGE and over night the game lost hundreds if not thousands of players . this happened almost the same time when warcraft was starting out. the loss of the game was hard very hard we loved it but more was the player's we used to team up with from across the world. over night i lost contact with over 100 + players as we used non real names lucky i have found some back this is so much like STEAM witch is fantastic platform has good player input yet suffers from hackers and sometimes very poor one time sales when some games are a lot cheaper in GAME stores.

one thing i would like to ask others here wot's your angle on the beta games or early access games do you like them or do you think it makes steam look cheap like a facebook browser site?.

I thought about Star Wars Galaxies when I replied to the post earlier as well. I played when it first came out. I, along with a bunch of my real life friends, were looking for a replacement for EverQuest. Unfortunately (or fortunately) by the time Star Wars Galaxies ceased to exist, I had all ready stopped playing (finding one game that all 7 of us liked to play after EverQuest was impossible). If it was just me, I would have stuck with Star Wars Galaxies. There were great things about that game. The amount of options you had for characters was fantastic.

I don't know if the early access games make Steam look cheap or not, but I don't play them. I have friends who do, but I just as soon wait until they actually release. I have more than enough games to play without adding games that aren't finished.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Perhaps it will all have...

...gone up in smoke

[Naota]

I can't stop laughing at the people saying that throwing their money in the garbage can is okay with them . Well - it's not okay with me. There better be a way to keep my Steam games if this rapidly deteriorating company goes belly up.



On the other hand - I have SNES games, PS1 games, PS2 games, etc, that have lasted decades. If Sony or Nintendo go out of business - all those games will still work just fine, just like they do now.

[BossGalaga]

引用自 Naota：

I can't stop laughing at the people saying that throwing their money in the garbage can is okay with them . Well - it's not okay with me. There better be a way to keep my Steam games if this rapidly deteriorating company goes belly up.

The general statement has been echoed by Steam Support numerous times that if Steam were to shut down that there are "measures in place" to ensure users have continued access to their library of games. Presumably, many people have taken that to mean some sort of removal of the Steam DRM and a chance to download your purchased games for a limited period of time.

Many Steam games can actually be played already independent of Steam (online too) by simply going to the game directory and launching the exe/game launcher.

That said, you don't own a physical copy of the game. You only own a digital license. There is no iron-clad until the end of time guarantee on these games.

[Omen3608]

引用自 Dreakon13：

I was looking in my closet at all the game boxes I collected back when I used to game on the PC in the 90's. Games like Carmageddon, Tribes, the rare trapezoid shaped Final Fantasy 7 PC box, EverQuest, Splinter Cell. A closet full of memories. Games you'll never see in game stores again. What will even happen to our games if Steam goes down (nothing lasts forever)? Just an abrupt end to the money and time invested?

Haha! :)

How about looking a bit further back?! What happened to all my Atari2600 games, my C64 games, Amiga500, Atari1040... well, outdated... gone! :D

But are they really gone? We call them "pixel art" nowadays, and I still like and buy those games at times.

There is a "best before" date on everything, I don't see Steam reaching it anytime too soon though.

[kaboomboom]

I have a ton of games too. What will we have to show for all of this in ten years?

Nothing!

Why? Games are a frivolous pass time. A distraction. You are not meant to 'get anything to show for it' except for some fun and a way to kill time.

As useless a use of time gaming is, I love it and I find it very fun. However, there are a hundred things I could be doing to be more productive. Still, I like to game.

We are a wealthy society, and the wealthy need distractions so they don't need to think too deeply about things. That is why wealth tends to lead to decadence, and eventually moral corruption, and finally weakness (because everyone has become so privilaged they are useless people). Then, a poorer but more vibrant culture comes on the scene and is hungry, they see the weakness and go for the throat! That is how Rome fell. But I digress. So long as we stay prosperous there will always be a Steam or something like it. We will be able to enjoy our decadence!

What I really think about is how many of the games in my library will work on windows 10? and later on windows 11 and 12?

Windows will destroy my game library way before Steam goes out of business.

[Omen3608]

引用自 kaboomboom：

... As useless a use of time gaming is ...

It is not useless at all. Playing games has always, and always will make people happy. Be it a card game, a computer game, or a game you have to make up because of the circumstances. :)

[Chilled Nomi]

引用自 kaboomboom：

I have a ton of games too. What will we have to show for all of this in ten years?

Nothing!

As long as the games I buy are fun I dont mind that

Why? Games are a frivolous pass time. A distraction. You are not meant to 'get anything to show for it' except for some fun and a way to kill time.

As useless a use of time gaming is, I love it and I find it very fun. However, there are a hundred things I could be doing to be more productive. Still, I like to game.

E-Sports and large fighting game tournaments like EVO beg to differ on that first part. Even ESPN has shown Esports now and then as well as the obvious physical ones.

Though yes video games as a whole are a hobby. A slightly expensive one (at least in comparison to several other hobbies) but a fun hobby to help pass time and see vibrant creative worlds from other peoples minds come to life and be interacted with in our own way.

What I really think about is how many of the games in my library will work on windows 10? and later on windows 11 and 12?

Windows will destroy my game library way before Steam goes out of business.

I have games on disc still from back when Windows 98 and XP were king and they still install just fine, some dont though. Thankfully thats what re-releases exist for.

Well that and the original company going under and fan demand for game they made making another company re-release it in their place if possible.

[Naota]

引用自 BossGalaga：

引用自 Naota：

I can't stop laughing at the people saying that throwing their money in the garbage can is okay with them . Well - it's not okay with me. There better be a way to keep my Steam games if this rapidly deteriorating company goes belly up.

The general statement has been echoed by Steam Support numerous times that if Steam were to shut down that there are "measures in place" to ensure users have continued access to their library of games. Presumably, many people have taken that to mean some sort of removal of the Steam DRM and a chance to download your purchased games for a limited period of time.

Many Steam games can actually be played already independent of Steam (online too) by simply going to the game directory and launching the exe/game launcher.

That said, you don't own a physical copy of the game. You only own a digital license. There is no iron-clad until the end of time guarantee on these games.

I guess you don't know what I'm talking about .

I'm talking about the people that said they wouldn't care if they lost access to their games if Steam went out of business.
I didn't say it - THEY DID.

Having said that - you actually believe what Valve says? Really? . . . . that's funny.

[nightsoft]

Well, for me.....in ten years I have nothing to show for it. No games I can play now though I purchased them long ago, Steam has been next to worthless for ten years, and I expect it to remain so for the foreseeable future.

[Omen3608]

引用自 nightsoft：

Well, for me.....in ten years I have nothing to show for it. No games I can play now though I purchased them long ago, Steam has been next to worthless for ten years, and I expect it to remain so for the foreseeable future.

Wouldn't you have to buy some games first to not be able to play them? :)