Steam required to play every game?

[73vwtodd]

Hey guys, I love steam, so don't get me wrong. But I'm also somewhat old-school. My first computer when I was 5 or 6 was a KayPro 8088 with Hercules monochrome monitor. Throught most of my childhood, the only requirement for me to play a game was to enter the passcode or use the original floppies.

I realize Steam is a great place for me to pretty much get anything and everything I want on-demand. But what happens if Steam goes away? I don't like the fact that I'm purchasing games that require me to register them with Steam. That means that I don't truly own them. I've got two huge case-logic cases with over 500 CDs and DVDs full of computer games (all original CDs). I tossed out all the original boxes, but I kept all the games. Complete Ultima, Wing Commander Collection, the complete AD&D Gold Box Series games... System Shock, blah blah. At any time, I can turn on a computer and install this game from the CD. I don't have to log into any online system... basically, I don't have to rely on an environment to survive in order for me to get my game.

Case in point, I just bought XCOM Declassified (I know everyone says it sucks... hah), but what if in 10 years I feel like playing it again and I don't remember my account, or Steam was bought out by someone else and the rules of ownership change. These DVDs for The Bureau basically become worthless, do they not?

Why should I automatically be willing to accept this?

[Blue Palmetto]

Because it is the future. There's nothing we can do about it, really. Computers ship without disc drives now. Digital is just the way we are headed.

[cinedine]

Originally posted by 73vwtodd:

At any time, I can turn on a computer and install this game from the CD. I don't have to log into any online system... basically, I don't have to rely on an environment to survive in order for me to get my game.

Patently false
First you will run into major issues with hardware and OS incompatibilites. Without emulators like DOSBox it's mostly impossible to play such old games. And then there is the major issue of DRM on disc based games. Many older solutions are extinct today. Unless you back this stuff, you are dependent on on the workarounds and needed patches to be available just as you are with Steam. Also good luck activating some games with CD-Keys where the servers are long down.
Seriously, about half of my physical game collection - which is a lot, btw - is virtually useless today.

... And discs age, no matter how well you keep them. DVDs and CD have an expected life span of around 30 years. Your copy of Rebel Assault that made you buy a CD drive might already be unreadable.

[Forcen]

On the other hand...

If your house burns down you will never loose all your steam games, all your physical games will be destroyed however.
Downloads doesn't take physical space in your house, just space in your harddrive. And if you run out of harddrive space you can always uninstall them and redownload them again and again.
Games on disks rely on your physical environment.

If you really care that much you could buy games from other retailers that are DRM free and you could burn those to DVDs. A good one is http://humblebundle.com, they often include both steamkeys and DRM free downloads which is the best of both worlds.

[Narcoleptic Marshmallow]

Well, you're not automatically forced to accept this, but if you think this is a practice you don't agree with and wish not to support, you will be self locked out of pretty much every single digital distribution platform that exists, and will be limited to physical copies of games that, as mentioned, have a limited life span, and are limited in quantity, or getting DRM-free versions of games directly from developers that still make them available. A lot of digitally purchased games, even if you buy them directly from a developer's website, will still require you to register it on Steam, Origin, etc, in order to play. Because that's how things work these days.

That being said, if Steam was to be shut down or sold out, I'm sure they (both Valve and whoever buys Valve/Steam from their owners) would be able to come up with a solution to avoid simply erasing everyone's licenses to games from existence. I feel like these people with well over 5000 games on their accounts, not to mention people with game inventories worth thousands of dollars, would be quite upset if everything was just lost like this, and lawsuits from all over the world would rain upon them. If I had to take a guess, either we would be able to trade our games/inventories for the new platform currency, have the choice, limited by time or not, to register the games elsewhere free of charge, or, what I find most likely, nothing would change, except the name of the platform we use.

[Dyne]

Digital is the way to go. The number of games and music albums I've lost over the years simply because the CD degraded is disgusting. Thousands of dollars, I'd imagine. Now some day an atomic bomb might nuke Valve's servers and we lose all of our games anyway, but we'll have other things to worry about than finally getting around to finishing Super Meat Boy.

I remember about 10 years ago I built an old DOS pc out of parts from eBay and made a dedicated Warcraft 1 machine. You can always do that. :)

[73vwtodd]

Hahah... I don't mean to get anyone riled up over this.

The vast majority of the games I have, don't require any kind of online registering. I'm in my late 30s, and basically stopped playing new games after the mid 2000s. With the exception of BioShock 1/2, and the new X-COM games... I pretty much don't play anything except the random indie game that shows up on GOG. All the games I'm talking about are from 1984-2002.

Totally understand it's a choice that I have to buy a game or not.
Totally understand the benefits of Steam.
Totally understand incompatibility of old games in new systems, I have old hardware for that.

I was just annoyed that when I buy a game, I have to register it to Steam, and that I never truly own the game. Not a fan of DRM... but oh well...

[Snapjak]

If you don't want DRM but don't mind digital, then GOG is about the only way to go.

There are some games on Steam that don't require Steam to actually be running, but those are in the minority.

Also you've never truly owned any game, just a license. You buy a game in a store and you own the actual physical goods, but not the software.

[Aahzmandias]

Originally posted by Blue Palmetto:

Because it is the future. There's nothing we can do about it, really. Computers ship without disc drives now. Digital is just the way we are headed.

GOG.com started the connect program, allowing some games you bought on steam to be downloaded as DRM free version from their site.

I hope they free more and more games from Steam this way. Digital downloads are the future. That is correct. But that does not include automatic DRM, that is a fail by design, into that concept.

The difference between Steam and GOG is, that in steam you can only borrow a license, in GOG you own it.This is a very important difference, because Staem forces updates on the user, like deleting songs in a 10 year old GTA title.

[Forcen]

Just want to point out again, humble store offers both steam codes and drm free downloads of many new games.
And their superb humble indie bundles are always great and always DRM free+steam keys.
I like gog and their ideas, I just prefer Steam and if I can combine that with DRM free copies of games then I'm happy.

Originally posted by mkess:

The difference between Steam and GOG is, that in steam you can only borrow a license, in GOG you own it.

I think you own the installers yes, the rest like installing and usage and sharing of them is licensed to you when you agree to the EULA in the installer.
Still, you are right they can't stop you from using the installers however you want but they can still tell you what you can and can't do and you have to "agree" to it.

Like this EULA from one gog installer: (parts of it)

By installing, copying, or otherwise using the Program, you acknowledge that you have read this Agreement and agree to be bound by the terms. If you do not accept or agree to the terms of this Agreement, do not install or use the Program.

1.License. Company grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Program, but retains all property rights in the Program and all copies thereof. This Program is licensed, not sold, for your personal, non-commercial use. Your license confers no title or ownership in this Program and should not be construed as any sale of any rights in this Program.

Termination. Without prejudice to any other rights of Company, this Agreement and your right to use the Program may automatically terminate without notice from Company if you fail to comply with any provision of this Agreement or any terms and conditions associated with the Program. In such event, you must destroy all copies of this Program and all of its component parts.

You agree to this kind of stuff, the installers can't stop you from using the installers however you want but you still don't "own" the games.

Steam could take games from you unlike gog, but you could save the files and use them without steam theoretically. Steam also lets users keep games they can't sell anymore in their accounts, I think they have never removed access to a game entirely for everyone?

Yes, the GTA SA thing is a sad example of this how licensing can bite users in the behind but i would not be so sure if gog would do things that differently if they where forced to.

[FPS]

You can create backup copies of your games right from the main menu, then store them on CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays or other storage devices. I didn't use it once, but I think you'll be thus able to install games even in autonomous mode if the servers are offline.

[«Gғм» Kid Of The Century]

Originally posted by 73vwtodd:

I was just annoyed that when I buy a game, I have to register it to Steam, and that I never truly own the game. Not a fan of DRM... but oh well...

Technically speaking, no one ever owned a game but a license to play it. And this is so since the Quake days, not just a couple years ago - read any user manual from that era.

What has changed is the method of enforcing such distinction.

About the need to be registered... well there are its up and downs I guess.

I love the fact that there are cloud features available and auto-updates, and even if I don't have CDs/DVDs anymore to install my games at least I've the ability to make backup copies and an offline mode that allows me to play even if I've no internet connection.

[BossGalaga]

Steam is not required to play *EVERY* game. Many/certain (not all) games can be run simply by navigating to their folder in Steamapps and running the program from there.

[73vwtodd]

Originally posted by «Gғм» Kid Of The Century:

Technically speaking, no one ever owned a game but a license to play it. And this is so since the Quake days, not just a couple years ago - read any user manual from that era.

Hah, this post makes me realize how old I am... when you refer to Quake as if it's some kind of historic relic. Quake was so 1999, but that to me doesn't seem that long ago, ahah.

I used to play games like Test Drive 1 and 2 (3 was amazing), the Sierra games, AD&D gold box series games... man.

[Vin.]

I'd be more concerned that other companies have required software for their games other than Steam are becoming more and more common such as: UPlay, Origin, Battle.net App, ETC.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by 73vwtodd:

I was just annoyed that when I buy a game, I have to register it to Steam, and that I never truly own the game. Not a fan of DRM... but oh well...

Even in the past, you never truely owned the games. What you were buying was the license to play it. If you read through the agreement in those boxes, you will see there are even limitations for transfering that license, such as having to include all the original papers (even the registration forms).

You could't make copies and sell/give them away, you couldn't alter the program, ect. Nothing one could do if they truly owned the game.

The only real diffrence is that they can better enforce these agreements.

I found my old 5.25 in floppies the other day, for Kings Quest 3. If I was only relying on those, I wouldn't be able to play as I don't have a 5.25 in floppy drive. Thankfully we now have digital, so no matter how the media changes, we always have a copy we can access.

Originally posted by 𝓕𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓁.:

I'd be more concerned that other companies have required software for their games other than Steam are becoming more and more common such as: UPlay, Origin, Battle.net App, ETC.

I'm not. It is good for the maket and keeps all the eggs out of one basket.