Steam, Playstaion Network and other digital distribution platforms...

[Zoraptor]

One feature Steam has that most others don't is the community. There are groups, achievements, trading cards(which aren't the same anymore), Steam greenlight(which isn't what most people thought it would be but hey...) and Steam Workshop(which is a great idea that has its own share of flaws in execution).

 

I don't know how good GOG Galaxy works but one reason it was introduced was that it wanted to attract people that are into community features. I am not sure if you can do both 100% DRM free and the 'optional client' thing at the same time. 

[..]

 

 

Meh, all those features are about lock in primarily, and Greenlight doesn't exist any more having been replaced by Steam Direct. Plus it was near universally disliked. The monetisation attempt made it clear why Workshop was established, and it wasn't to benefit modders nor mod users but to monetise something which was previously free- Valve even wanted a cut larger than the modders themselves would get. The stuff which would really benefit customers as opposed to Valve always gets short shrift, hence the mess that is their support, curation etc. It's outsourced to the community or woefully under resourced.

 

(As long as you keep the client optional you can do DRM free and a client fine, you just choose to run the game through the client or direct from the exe. Multiplayer and DRM free, that's more difficult though)

 

 

Where else would I get a replacement for my Eye of the Beholder 2 disks?

 

 

HOTU? I mean, it and similar were where everyone used to get their old abandoned game fix before GOG. I like GOG, but a lot of their old games are just DOSBOX bundles.

 

 

 

This is only easy to say because you know it won't happen, nobody said or is acting like Valve is the savior to PC gaming but it's more ignorant to act like PC gaming would be anything without Steam.

You do realize that you just contradicted yourself in the same sentence?

Steam isn't Valve and I never said that Valve saved PC gaming so no, I didn't. However, PC gaming is where it's at because of Steam, whether people want to admit that or not, that's up to them.

 

 

The difference in meaning between 'Valve not saving PC gaming' and 'PC gaming not being anywhere if Valve weren't involved' is minimal. It's also incorrect, Valve did nothing unique except force people to use steam if they wanted to play HL2, and that's the sum total of it. I bought my first download game 4 years before HL2, and download Doom and the like were even older. Starting off with 4 million forced subscriptions gave Steam critical mass. Per top, everything since then has been Embrace, Extend, Extinguish, just as Gabe learned at MS.

[SonicMage117]

 

Steam isn't Valve and I never said that Valve saved PC gaming so no, I didn't. However, PC gaming is where it's at because of Steam, whether people want to admit that or not, that's up to them.

PC gaming is where it's at because of rise of digital distribution, which Valve most certainly did not invent. It's like saying there would be no computers without IBM. Attributing success of PC as a platform to Valve is completely ignoring evolution of the platform itself. A different company would rise with the same concept if it weren't for Valve, and indeed, even back at the inception of Steam there were several competing digital distribution platforms - Valve just had Counter Strike and Half-Life so they had position on the market they could abuse.

I'm looking at it this way... Judging by all the evidence of developers/publishers treating PC ports already, if Steam were to suddenly vanish, then that would cause a cataclysm for PC gaming as a whole. Developers/Publishers would pretty much abandon PC gamers realistically - instead of going to GoG/Galaxy or Origin. I mean, Steam is the giant of PC gaming, why in earth would they want to stay if the mighty leader has fallen?

 

I think Digital distribution is only a part of it though, not everything of PC gaming's success is due to Digital Distribution, It's more of the busibessman who sells it and how they are able to entice the audience. Steam pressed new features that had never really been done before, Valve pretty much invented the Social Gaming aspect of what makes gaming today and the (PC gaming) online competitive market space - flash sales, etc... Without Steam, it all would have never existed and that's what keeps PC gaming afloat.

 

Like Katphood said, the community aspect is a huge thing. Alot of GoG-only users tend to forget that devs actually talk to people on Steam forums. That's a huge thing of why Steam is evolving and keeping PC gaming afloat. Of course there are other reasons - marketplace, Greenlight, things like this are what makes PC gaming thrive. So Steam has really been the only ones to not only keep PC gaming afloat but also evolve it. I am not trying to sound biased, just giving credit where it is due.

 

I won't say that Valve saved gaming because PC gaming never died. Steam is definitely the only catalyst for PC gaming though but asking that question to people on other forums brings about interesting results with valid detail and lush reason:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916373-pc/69281273?page=1

[SonicMage117]

The difference in meaning between 'Valve not saving PC gaming' and 'PC gaming not being anywhere if Valve weren't involved' is minimal. It's also incorrect, Valve did nothing unique except force people to use steam if they wanted to play HL2, and that's the sum total of it. I bought my first download game 4 years before HL2, and download Doom and the like were even older. Starting off with 4 million forced subscriptions gave Steam critical mass. Per top, everything since then has been Embrace, Extend, Extinguish, just as Gabe learned at MS.

The difference is huge, PC gaming cannot be "saved" if it didn't die, and it didn't. It's not like Valve resurrected PC gaming but to deny that PC gaming would be what it is and where it is today without Steam would be to deny that the sky is blue. Do you realize how many indies would have never saw the light of day if it wasn't for Steam?

 

Steam may only have started out as simple but it evolved and yes, it did change the industry. You can't take away credit from what it became and grew over the years just because of what or how it originated. That's like saying "A Doctor who's been practicing medicine for 40 years hasn't actually ever done so because they were born an infant child who couldn't possibly realize they were going to be a doctor when they grow up." It doesn't make sense.

[Katphood]

Believe it or not, the most fair and user-friendly platform so far has been PlayStation Network and I've been using it for the past 9 years. It has its share of stupid flaws(You can never change the region of your account or your username and lets not forget about that hack...) but at the end of the day it is a whole lot easier to use PSN over any other digital platform. Buy pre-paid card, charge your account, buy the game, download, play. 

 

Sony also has one major winning card:

 

 

Exclusives! 

[redneckdevil]

Steam, gog, and psn. Have no complaints about steam and gog (they both cancel out any bad between), and the only issue I have with psn with psn video for any movies or TV shows u may acquire.

I cannot for the life of me ever get 2 movies or 2 TV shows to play back to back without restarting my PS4. And u have to have psn to play any free games u may have gotten or games on sale u paid for. One..two areas I wish PlayStation would follow Microsoft on.

1. Free games are yours on Xbox even when ur live goes up, PS u don't have access to them anymore if ur time goes out.

2. Cross platform, it's PS fault for not joining in on cross platforming with Xbox and switch. Damn them.

[SonicMage117]

Believe it or not, the most fair and user-friendly platform so far has been PlayStation Network and I've been using it for the past 9 years. It has its share of stupid flaws(You can never change the region of your account or your username and lets not forget about that hack...) but at the end of the day it is a whole lot easier to use PSN over any other digital platform. Buy pre-paid card, charge your account, buy the game, download, play.

 

Sony also has one major winning card:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV5Fjokx17c

 

Exclusives!

I have a question for you about PS+

 

Do they still disable users from playing digital games they got free from PSN when tje subscription runs out? They used to do that with PS3. Not sure if it's the same, thought I'd ask. That was the only thing I didn't like about PSN.

[Fenixp]

I'm looking at it this way... Judging by all the evidence of developers/publishers treating PC ports already, if Steam were to suddenly vanish, then that would cause a cataclysm for PC gaming as a whole.

I'm pretty sure crappy PC ports existed before Steam.

 

First of all,

mighty leader

I am not trying to sound biased, just giving credit where it is due.

With that out of the way...

 

Developers/Publishers would pretty much abandon PC gamers realistically - instead of going to GoG/Galaxy or Origin. I mean, Steam is the giant of PC gaming, why in earth would they want to stay if the mighty leader has fallen?

They would want to stay for the same reason they arrived in the first place - PC users possess credit cards and use them to purchase videogames. But yes, you are of course right - if we have learned anything from history, when there's an obvious hole in the market, nobody ever steps in to fill it.

 

Steam pressed new features that had never really been done before, Valve pretty much invented the Social Gaming aspect of what makes gaming today and the (PC gaming) online competitive market space - flash sales, etc... Without Steam, it all would have never existed and that's what keeps PC gaming afloat.

Yes, there have never been communities of likeminded individuals talking and bragging on the internet before. Gamespy, Xbox Live (that also existed for PC) and similar services are also just figments of our collective imaginations. There have been areas in which Steam was innovative, yes - but none of the major ones. Majority of Steam's most popular features can be traced much further into the past. That's one of the things Steam fans tend to forget - nothing exists in a vacuum and Steam didn't create a new market, it just stepped into a quickly growing one.

 

Incidentally, the community features you're talking about have not been Steam's integral part until later in its development (indeed, Steam community first launched in 2007, largely copying Xbox live's features)

 

Alot of GoG-only users tend to forget that devs actually talk to people on Steam forums.

Yes, game devs also talk to people on GOG forums. Shockingly.

 

Anyway, considering I'm pretty sure I've made my case (like a post ago, admittedly) I'm done derailing the thread.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Fenixp

[Katphood]

Do they still disable users from playing digital games they got free from PSN when tje subscription runs out?

Yes, it's still the same deal. Though nowadays you pay 59.99 instead of 49.99. PS Plus is mandatory if you want to play online games on the PS4 but it's still free on the PS3. The games they offer for free aren't always hot either, sometimes they offer indie games such as Broken Age or Rocket League, other times they might offer AAA titles such as Transformers Devastation, Killing Floor 2 and such. The deals were obviously a whole lot more appealing during the PS3 era since there were more AAA games and less shovelware indie titles.

 

 

I cannot for the life of me ever get 2 movies or 2 TV shows to play back to back without restarting my PS4.

Don't know anything about that, I mostly use PSN for gaming. Movies are a different story but I can imagine that Sony's streaming services for movies can't be any better than PS Now.

 

1. Free games are yours on Xbox even when ur live goes up, PS u don't have access to them anymore if ur time goes out.

Agreed, that's a greedy move by Sony especially since most of the freebies nowadays are indie games and let's face it: some of them aren't good! Still, PSN offers great deals from time to time, even if you don't have Plus. I bought both Zone of Enders games for the PS3 for 15 bucks a few days ago.

 

 

2. Cross platform, it's PS fault for not joining in on cross platforming with Xbox and switch. Damn them.

They won't, and they shouldn't(if they are smart). Why on earth would they help Xbox/Steam sell more games?! They are competitors. They would rather attract a new customer to their own user-base.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Katphood

[Chilloutman]

that typpo is killing me - mods please fix it!

[Mamoulian War]

 

2. Cross platform, it's PS fault for not joining in on cross platforming with Xbox and switch. Damn them.

They won't, and they shouldn't(if they are smart). Why on earth would they help Xbox/Steam sell more games?! They are competitors. They would rather attract a new customer to their user-base.

Well tbh in my oppinions this decision costs them more sales than it brings them.

 

I can give you only my own example though. You mnetioned Rocket League. I have friends which have Steam and would never ever think about buying a console. I have PS4, and there is absolutely no chance, that I would give my money to Valve. Few my firends already own the game on Steam, but not enough to have full-fledged fun with the game. I would love to purchase Rocket League, but because there is no crossplay, I will not give my money to Sony. I rather put my **** into bee-hive, than playing again any multiplayer game with random toxic brodudes.

 

No crossplay no sale. If I ever purchase Nintendo Switch, I can safely buy Rocket League, knowing that I can play MP with my real friends.

[SonicMage117]

I'm pretty sure crappy PC ports existed before Steam.

Really? Nah... the crapy ports were no where what they have been the last 5 years.

With that out of the way...

 

Yes... the "Mighty Leader" comment wasn't biased because Steam is the leader in gaming today, so I'm not sure why anyone would consider that biased. The lead that Steam has vs GoG/Origin is marginally huge.

They would want to stay for the same reason they arrived in the first place - PC users possess credit cards and use them to purchase videogames. But yes, you are of course right - if we have learned anything from history, when there's an obvious hole in the market, nobody ever steps in to fill it.

More importantly PC users also possess the ability to pirate easily which is the reason that developers/publishers would leave in the first place. Nobody would step up to lead that hole in tje market, it's pretty obvious by now - not even Microsoft or Amazon with all their money will dare to compete with Steam.

Yes, there have never been communities of likeminded individuals talking and bragging on the internet before. Gamespy, Xbox Live (that also existed for PC) and similar services are also just figments of our collective imaginations. There have been areas in which Steam was innovative, yes - but none of the major ones. Majority of Steam's most popular features can be traced much further into the past. That's one of the things Steam fans tend to forget - nothing exists in a vacuum and Steam didn't create a new market, it just stepped into a quickly growing one.

 

Incidentally, the community features you're talking about have not been Steam's integral part until later in its development (indeed, Steam community first launched in 2007, largely copying Xbox live's features)

I'm not sure what you mean by the first sentence, if you're implying that Steam is a toxic community, it's no more toxic than here or anywhere else...

 

Xbox Live didn't have a mobile app til long after Steam, Xbox Live doesn't have a community market, Xbox Live doesn't have groups or self-hosts. Gamespy isn't a marketplace... Neither of them are formats of which Steam is so I don't count them to compete or compare against them....

Yes, game devs also talk to people on GOG forums. Shockingly.

The lack between communication between devs and the player base on GoG is something to think about and treat seriously. Sure you may get one here and there but I didn't think it was worth mentioning because it's almost non-existent compared to what's available on Steam. Edited June 27, 2017 by SonicMage117

[SonicMage117]

Yes, it's still the same deal. Though nowadays you pay 59.99 instead of 49.99. PS Plus is mandatory if you want to play online games on the PS4 but it's still free on the PS3. The games they offer for free aren't always hot either, sometimes they offer indie games such as Broken Age or Rocket League, other times they might offer AAA titles such as Transformers Devastation, Killing Floor 2 and such. The deals were obviously a whole lot more appealing during the PS3 era since there were more AAA games and less shovelware indie titles.

Ah. Thanks.

 

Yeah, I don't like that :-L That's why I'll never do PS+ again.

 

Other than that, I really like PSN as a service and how it's set up.

[Mamoulian War]

That the PC piracy is leading is bull****, moded consoles in most of the other parts of the world were always prevalent to PC games, because it was safer (no viruses), and there were and still are even companies who will give you two years waranty and free service for your modded console.

 

The consoles were always more convenient, for legit customers, and pirates as well. That's why most consoles had huge profits, despite all the rampant piracy.

[SonicMage117]

Times have changed I think. Consoles are far harder to pirate games for though, even with a modded system. That's why there will always be less pirates on consoles than PC and maybe that's why devs/pubes feel safer on consoles now days.

 

Only just recently have people learned to mod the PS4 and I doubt it will lasts since PS4 does often updates, it would probably only brick the console or ban the account. The Xbox One still hasn't been jailbroken. This generation is far different from the ones before it seems.

[Mamoulian War]

It really depends on the country, most people in the world do not need PS4 or XB1 for their entertainment. PS2 and PS3 still have thousands of games to play. People in US and most EU, just are unable to grasp the idea, that the most modern and hip thing is not needed to have fun. Lot of people who I know are still sticking to XB360 or PS3, because there are tons of good games on it, and can get very cheap games on it, and with them lot of fun.

 

Same goes with modded consoles. If people cannot afford PS4 and big tv, they just purchase old modded console for under 100USD, and get thousands of games for cheap or free. And good PC even for few years old, still costs more than modded console. Therefore the console piracy will always be more widespread in the world, even if it is almost nonexistant in "western" world.

[Katphood]

730 games added to steam in the past 4 weeks...good lord!

 

Welcome to Steam Direct!

[SonicMage117]

730 games added to steam in the past 4 weeks...good lord!

 

Welcome to Steam Direct!

Welp... GoG eletists can't really complain about "crappy games" being added to Steam anymore.

 

Looks like Grimoire was the last "crappy" one and now, looking at the upcoming section, these new indie games being made by 16 and 17 year olds out of high schook actually look phenomenal.

 

Steam Direct was a great choice, while nobody believed Greenlight would ever actually die, Steam always redeems themselves in a way that the competitors can not.

 

Better catalogue of games, more diverse games, better quality games. We welcome back Steam and it's DRM with open arms because options for the consumer is never a bad thing

[Bartimaeus]

730 games added to steam in the past 4 weeks...good lord!

 

Welcome to Steam Direct!

 

and the off-rail train disaster that is steam's storefront keeps rolling on

[SonicMage117]

To be honest, (I'm probably going to sound like a jerk) but I would rather take my chances on playing something new on Steam made by a 16 year old than reverting and reclusing to classics being brought into a catalogue. The best games I've played this year are on Steam and nowhere else.

 

There might be alot of "crap" on Steam but it's up to the buyer to do proper research on the game as info is always readily available, we have that ability. Still, the chances of finding unknown gems on Steam are far greater than finding some on GoG, Origin or other pc marketpkaces. For that I am greatful at least.

[Katphood]

 Still, the chances of finding unknown gems on Steam are far greater than finding some on GoG, Origin or other pc marketpkaces. For that I am greatful at least.

 

 

Because unlike Steam, their games actually work. Try Knights of the old Republic on both Steam and GOG and see which one runs on your system. 

[SonicMage117]

Usually it's something simple like going into your properties and checking "Run as administrator", Disabling high dpi, and maybe changing the compatibility settings.

 

While that may seem like alot, it's really not. It's the simplest thing in the world but I've seen a few peeps complain about altering a game's text document file on Steam too.

 

Once you do this stuff though, the results are usually much better than Origin or GoG's performance. I'm not sure why that is.

 

I think it's because Steam's audience beung much wider and the overlay function resetting the game's contents to work with newer machines vs ancient hardware and os.

[Obsidian sucks]

I dont buy digital games for my PS3, it sorta defeats the purpose. I have all my GOG games backed up on an external HD and also burned onto DVD's, along with my original Win 7 DVD installer. I also have a PS1, PS2 and PS3, but the 2 and 3 both play ps1 games so that stays in the box.

I quit buying most games on Steam after having a game I was really enjoying force an update on me and make changes I did not care for, now its used primarily to play multiplayer games. 

I was impressed with the Pillars release when they gave thier game an actual exe. instead of sending me some Steam or GoG key, every other kickstarter broke thier promise and at best force you to get your game through GoG. 

[Katphood]

I was going to give A Vampyre Story a try right now but guess what! Not compatible with Windows 10 or 7. Goddammit, either fix the games or remove them from the Steam Store.

[Mamoulian War]

Stop being GOG Elitist and enjoy what Steam has to offer!

[Katphood]

I don't use GOG at all for the time being, just once back in the days because I wanted to play Planescape: Torment and Steam didn't have it back then.