Comments on: Give Me Steam! http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/ Trusted Insights and Conversations on the Next Wave of Technology Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:01:23 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Dale Beshears http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-926548 Dale Beshears Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:12:52 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-926548 <p>I may not OWN any of the games I have, but I have purchased the RIGHTS to PLAY THEM! Steam, which began as a promising means of software distribution and protection, is now a major problem. A person shouldn't have to "check in" to the "Company" whenever they want to play a game! I have valid copies of my games, and their respective cd keys. That should be ALL that is necessary to play a game. But not with Steam. The program (Steam) conflicts with so many different software packages that are common on user computers that it's not funny. I used to be able to play my games when Steam was first implimented because it wasn't so finicky. Now, with the newer Steam "upgrades", I can't start ANY of my games! They have also changed major file structures in the game itself... I can see the differences between a CD install and a Steam install. I'll tell you what... if Valve insists on taking away my ability to play their games... games in which I have a LEGAL license to play... then I should be able to send their game CDs back to them for a FULL refund! I own SEVERAL Valve games, so the amount of money I would receive would be substantial. Then I would buy a competitors games out of spite using the refund money! Did you notice the "Steam Numbers" above... "Total Steam Users: 8 million total, 5 million active". I would be willing to bet that LARGE number of the 3 MILLION non-active "users" are folks like me which have been burned by Valve! That's a LOT of lost business! Well, if they don't change things PRONTO I will be joining the "non-active" list! What am I saying? I am ALREADY part of this list since I CAN'T PLAY MY GAMES!!!!</p> I may not OWN any of the games I have, but I have purchased the RIGHTS to PLAY THEM! Steam, which began as a promising means of software distribution and protection, is now a major problem. A person shouldn’t have to “check in” to the “Company” whenever they want to play a game! I have valid copies of my games, and their respective cd keys. That should be ALL that is necessary to play a game. But not with Steam. The program (Steam) conflicts with so many different software packages that are common on user computers that it’s not funny. I used to be able to play my games when Steam was first implimented because it wasn’t so finicky. Now, with the newer Steam “upgrades”, I can’t start ANY of my games! They have also changed major file structures in the game itself… I can see the differences between a CD install and a Steam install. I’ll tell you what… if Valve insists on taking away my ability to play their games… games in which I have a LEGAL license to play… then I should be able to send their game CDs back to them for a FULL refund! I own SEVERAL Valve games, so the amount of money I would receive would be substantial. Then I would buy a competitors games out of spite using the refund money! Did you notice the “Steam Numbers” above… “Total Steam Users: 8 million total, 5 million active”. I would be willing to bet that LARGE number of the 3 MILLION non-active “users” are folks like me which have been burned by Valve! That’s a LOT of lost business! Well, if they don’t change things PRONTO I will be joining the “non-active” list! What am I saying? I am ALREADY part of this list since I CAN’T PLAY MY GAMES!!!!

]]> By: Do Zero Punctuation Video Game Reviews Influence Video Game Sales? « NewTeeVee http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-913272 Do Zero Punctuation Video Game Reviews Influence Video Game Sales? « NewTeeVee Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:54:16 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-913272 <p>[...] to know is there is a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning”) showed up as an ad on Steam, the game download service, generating big gamer acclaim. On Amazon, sales of the old game immediately jumped 7,400 [...]</p> [...] to know is there is a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning”) showed up as an ad on Steam, the game download service, generating big gamer acclaim. On Amazon, sales of the old game immediately jumped 7,400 [...]

]]> By: Updated: Why Google Would Want to Buy Valve - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-900044 Updated: Why Google Would Want to Buy Valve - GigaOM Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:46:02 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-900044 <p>[...] Give Me Steam [...]</p> [...] Give Me Steam [...]

]]> By: Will Gamers Pay For Optimized Connectivity? - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-872318 Will Gamers Pay For Optimized Connectivity? - GigaOM Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:13:45 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-872318 <p>[...] first-person shooter fans, the pickings are going to be slim: A large number of them already use Valve’s Steam download software (it currently boasts 15 million accounts), and are thus disinclined to download another service on [...]</p> [...] first-person shooter fans, the pickings are going to be slim: A large number of them already use Valve’s Steam download software (it currently boasts 15 million accounts), and are thus disinclined to download another service on [...]

]]> By: What the GameSpot Debacle Means for Tech - GigaOM http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-748021 What the GameSpot Debacle Means for Tech - GigaOM Thu, 06 Dec 2007 23:53:54 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-748021 <p>[...] when your potential audience is so small. Established indie game studios like Valve (which has its own distribution network) will keep pumping out hardcore titles, but publishers will defray their risks by largely getting [...]</p> [...] when your potential audience is so small. Established indie game studios like Valve (which has its own distribution network) will keep pumping out hardcore titles, but publishers will defray their risks by largely getting [...]

]]> By: Waiting for Mac OS X Leopard: Why no digital download option ? - raanan.com http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-635618 Waiting for Mac OS X Leopard: Why no digital download option ? - raanan.com Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:37:19 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-635618 <p>[...] evolve over the last few years into a really impressive offering. They have a service called Steam (gigaom review) which essentially allows you to purchase games and download them instantly. They also use the [...]</p> [...] evolve over the last few years into a really impressive offering. They have a service called Steam (gigaom review) which essentially allows you to purchase games and download them instantly. They also use the [...]

]]> By: GigaOM Game dev scores $30 mil to do something or other « http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-331817 GigaOM Game dev scores $30 mil to do something or other « Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:25:25 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-331817 <p>[...] best of games, broadband, and traditional media” on a variety of platforms.Will it be like Steam, but with Warner Brothers movies and NBC sitcoms gamers can download? Xbox Live, but with Random [...]</p> [...] best of games, broadband, and traditional media” on a variety of platforms.Will it be like Steam, but with Warner Brothers movies and NBC sitcoms gamers can download? Xbox Live, but with Random [...]

]]> By: Tony http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57943 Tony Thu, 23 Nov 2006 17:16:07 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57943 <p>Are you retarded?</p> <p>You're forgetting that you are only <em>obtaining limited rights</em> to play the game. Yes, this boils down to <em>renting</em>, because Valve refuses to transfer the rights to the software it created for your enjoyment.</p> <p>Please keep in mind that, although you've paid for the game, it doesn't mean you OWN the game. If this pisses you off at Valve, then you must not play <em>ANY</em> video games. Every manufacturer has the same TOA in their license pre-install. Go ahead. We'll give you 48 hrs to read the legal-ese.</p> <p>Sorry, no pictures.</p> <p>You read right. Nearly every popular game made in the last 15 years has a statement in its agreement that states that THE COMPANY and NOT the USER retains all legal rights to the software, regardless of how much you paid to purchase the rights to use it.</p> Are you retarded?

You’re forgetting that you are only obtaining limited rights to play the game. Yes, this boils down to renting, because Valve refuses to transfer the rights to the software it created for your enjoyment.

Please keep in mind that, although you’ve paid for the game, it doesn’t mean you OWN the game. If this pisses you off at Valve, then you must not play ANY video games. Every manufacturer has the same TOA in their license pre-install. Go ahead. We’ll give you 48 hrs to read the legal-ese.

Sorry, no pictures.

You read right. Nearly every popular game made in the last 15 years has a statement in its agreement that states that THE COMPANY and NOT the USER retains all legal rights to the software, regardless of how much you paid to purchase the rights to use it.

]]> By: Don http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57929 Don Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:15:39 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57929 <p>Steam is not for everyone. Valve has forgotten that many PC users don't have DSL or Cable internet; many people do not like having a third party app on their machine simply to be able to play a game, and I don't think it's cool to feel like you've rented a game and not purchased it. It's very frustrating to not be able to play a game you bought from the store for over two hours because Valve forces an update. </p> <p>They should take a cue from their former employers (Mircosoft) and consider making the validation process easier (Win XP has a fast validation process) so people can get to playing quicker. I know many gamers who no longer purchase Valve products because of this. Their sales would be even higher if they fixed this system and made it quicker and less invasive. </p> <p>Until then, I won't purchase any more Valve products and I will tell fellow gamers not to as well. I'm not against online verification or the downloading of games, but the process should be easier, faster and less of a pain in the neck.</p> Steam is not for everyone. Valve has forgotten that many PC users don’t have DSL or Cable internet; many people do not like having a third party app on their machine simply to be able to play a game, and I don’t think it’s cool to feel like you’ve rented a game and not purchased it. It’s very frustrating to not be able to play a game you bought from the store for over two hours because Valve forces an update.

They should take a cue from their former employers (Mircosoft) and consider making the validation process easier (Win XP has a fast validation process) so people can get to playing quicker. I know many gamers who no longer purchase Valve products because of this. Their sales would be even higher if they fixed this system and made it quicker and less invasive.

Until then, I won’t purchase any more Valve products and I will tell fellow gamers not to as well. I’m not against online verification or the downloading of games, but the process should be easier, faster and less of a pain in the neck.

]]> By: Ashish Saboo http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57927 Ashish Saboo Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:12:15 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57927 <p>Steam’s, subscription model has hit a bull’s eye as a piracy prevention system. In Asia, they have priced very well & it has received good response. Cyber cafes can't afford to buy the packages - pay as go wroks fine and adds a significant breakthrough into an untapped market. </p> <p>But there is one catch, collecting subscription form vastly dispersed cyber cafes is a tough task.</p> Steam’s, subscription model has hit a bull’s eye as a piracy prevention system. In Asia, they have priced very well & it has received good response. Cyber cafes can’t afford to buy the packages – pay as go wroks fine and adds a significant breakthrough into an untapped market.

But there is one catch, collecting subscription form vastly dispersed cyber cafes is a tough task.

]]> By: quanta http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57925 quanta Fri, 21 Jul 2006 02:28:39 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57925 <p>Reluctance to even explore an online distribution channel is probably because it would pose a lose-lose scenario for the game publishers - basically the record labels of the gaming industry - and the game developers (the recording artists). </p> <p>Few developers can enjoy the luxury of deploying a way to cut out the middleman - Valve, on the other hand, is flush with cash thanks to several blockbuster titles.</p> <p>Nevertheless, there have been baby steps. Another online distribution system called Triton was recently used for 3DRealm's FPS "Prey". Even EA, the uberpublisher that rakes in the cash by lording over its developer houses and the one with the most to lose, has experimented with selling expansion packs to "Battlefield 2" online.</p> Reluctance to even explore an online distribution channel is probably because it would pose a lose-lose scenario for the game publishers – basically the record labels of the gaming industry – and the game developers (the recording artists).

Few developers can enjoy the luxury of deploying a way to cut out the middleman – Valve, on the other hand, is flush with cash thanks to several blockbuster titles.

Nevertheless, there have been baby steps. Another online distribution system called Triton was recently used for 3DRealm’s FPS “Prey”. Even EA, the uberpublisher that rakes in the cash by lording over its developer houses and the one with the most to lose, has experimented with selling expansion packs to “Battlefield 2″ online.

]]> By: Daniel Spisak http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57922 Daniel Spisak Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:12:08 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57922 <p>The most valuable resource that Steam provides to Valve is the massive amount of imofrmation about what kind of level of hardware gamers have in their PCs. If you look at the stats generate by the Steam survey here:</p> <p>http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html</p> <p>You can easily pick out the trends in PC hardware.</p> The most valuable resource that Steam provides to Valve is the massive amount of imofrmation about what kind of level of hardware gamers have in their PCs. If you look at the stats generate by the Steam survey here:

http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html

You can easily pick out the trends in PC hardware.

]]> By: Jake http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57920 Jake Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:31:00 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57920 <p>Is there a media conflict of interest in reporting on this with News Corp FIM owning the IGN network of game news properties and the GameSpy network - popular purveyor of networked gaming middleware - which has its own plans for digital distribution of gaming content?</p> <p>Do you have comparisons of Steam vs GameSpy?</p> Is there a media conflict of interest in reporting on this with News Corp FIM owning the IGN network of game news properties and the GameSpy network – popular purveyor of networked gaming middleware – which has its own plans for digital distribution of gaming content?

Do you have comparisons of Steam vs GameSpy?

]]> By: Bob Aman http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57918 Bob Aman Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:29:18 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57918 <p>Steam is wonderful, but I have one <strong>big</strong> complaint. I can't transfer games between accounts. That means I can't sell my games to someone else, I can't get a new email address and switch my account to use that, etc, etc. It's really annoying. Oh, and I can't figure out how to get demos for games I don't care about out of the "My Games" list.</p> <p>Don't get me wrong, Steam is brilliant, and I love it to death — their strategy for CyberCafes was inspired — but they seem to have stopped implementing features and improvements some time ago and I'm really not keen on this account lockin.</p> Steam is wonderful, but I have one big complaint. I can’t transfer games between accounts. That means I can’t sell my games to someone else, I can’t get a new email address and switch my account to use that, etc, etc. It’s really annoying. Oh, and I can’t figure out how to get demos for games I don’t care about out of the “My Games” list.

Don’t get me wrong, Steam is brilliant, and I love it to death — their strategy for CyberCafes was inspired — but they seem to have stopped implementing features and improvements some time ago and I’m really not keen on this account lockin.

]]> By: Niall O'Brien http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57916 Niall O'Brien Thu, 20 Jul 2006 13:22:11 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57916 <p>Yeah, everyone knows it loads at startup, if you don't want it to - disable it, simple as that. Personally this is one service that I don't mind automatically starting up because I then get all of the latest news from Valve instantly, I can see if my buddies are online and make a decision if I'm going to get some real work done, or kill some damn terrorists! The choice is yours. I have always stuck behind Valve with this distribution mechanism and the figures above show that it is indeed paying off for them. How many of you actually pre-loaded Half Life 2 and had that nail-biting moment of unlocking it on release day? That was fun!</p> <p>Overall, I say "Congrats Valve!" and keep up the fantastic work!</p> <p>Niall.</p> Yeah, everyone knows it loads at startup, if you don’t want it to – disable it, simple as that. Personally this is one service that I don’t mind automatically starting up because I then get all of the latest news from Valve instantly, I can see if my buddies are online and make a decision if I’m going to get some real work done, or kill some damn terrorists! The choice is yours. I have always stuck behind Valve with this distribution mechanism and the figures above show that it is indeed paying off for them. How many of you actually pre-loaded Half Life 2 and had that nail-biting moment of unlocking it on release day? That was fun!

Overall, I say “Congrats Valve!” and keep up the fantastic work!

Niall.

]]> By: Tom http://gigaom.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57913 Tom Thu, 20 Jul 2006 08:24:00 +0000 http://gigaom.wordpress.com/2006/07/19/steam-half-life/#comment-57913 <p>The figures for the number of users who've logged into Steam in the last 30 days is probably related to the fact that it installs itself in the Startup folder so when you turn on your PC you automatically log in.</p> The figures for the number of users who’ve logged into Steam in the last 30 days is probably related to the fact that it installs itself in the Startup folder so when you turn on your PC you automatically log in.

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