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Game Distribution Platforms Becoming Annoyingly Common
The Escapist's Shamus Young recently posted an article complaining about the proliferation of distribution platforms and social networks for video games. None of the companies who make these are "quite sure how games will be sold and played ten years from now," he writes, "but they all know they want to be the ones running the community or selling the titles." Young continues,
"Remember how these systems usually work: The program sets itself up to run when Windows starts, and it must be running if you want to play the game. If you follow this scheme to its logical conclusion, you'll see that the system tray of every gaming PC would eventually end up clogged with loaders, patchers, helpers, and monitors. Every publisher would have a program for serving up content, connecting players, managing digital licenses, performing patches, and (most importantly) selling stuff. Some people don't mind having 'just one more' program running in the background. But what happens when you have programs from Valve, Stardock, Activision, 2k Games, Take-Two, Codemasters, Microsoft, Eidos, and Ubisoft? Sure, you could disable them. But then when you fire the thing up to play a game, it will want to spend fifteen minutes patching itself and the game before it will let you in. And imagine how fun it would be juggling accounts for all of them."
Actually for once EA is doing it correctly. You have 4 ways to buy their games (that I know of):
1) Physical product from store
2) Steam (where you get the goodness of Steam services and social aspects)
3) Direct2Drive
4) EA's own store and download manager
You can buy your game from any place you prefer. If you buy from other places, you won't get EA's own download manager or things. That's how it should - buyer can choose the platform he prefers. For me that is (unsurprisingly) Steam.
I'm sure not all people like the social gaming aspects of Steam and other platforms, but I do enjoy them. It's easy to play with friends or chat in-game (good with multiplayer games). But for those who don't like them, they can be turned off. I never buy from physical stores anymore, it's a lot more convenient to buy from Steam and almost instantly get to play it. I always keep wishing I could do the same with my PS3 or 360, but they usually only have the smaller games in their stores and I have to order the "real" games via post.
Good example of social aspects in Steam is also that via MW2 I've got many interesting players on my friend list so that theres always someone to play with, but they don't bother me if I'm not playing. It's more fun to play with the people you somewhat, even if very vaguely know.
Another thing to worry about is that in 10+ years we will have a whole generation of games (not just MMOs) that will no longer be able to be played on emulators, etc. because the networks they connect with will be gone.
I think people will get fed up with it and the game publishers will have to change eventually, but not before a lot of damage will be done.
Game distribution
A tragic solution
The most horrid trick
Since the disposable Bic
Burma Shave
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
Steam is such a huge PITA! Right-click > Exit. The nerve of them! And if I don't want it to load at startup? I have to (again) right-click, go to Settings, and uncheck that option. All this just so I can download games at almost 9Mb/s, whenever I want, at really competitive prices? BS, says I!
body massage!
Who said 4gb of memory would be enough for anyone?
One of the reasons I quit PC gaming.
Greedy motherfucking bastards, that's why.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
I own a Nintendo, Super Nintendo and tons of games I loved when I was a kid. I still play with my Nintendo and Super Nintendo, which still work almost 25 years later. When the systems eventually don't work anymore, I have Emulators and ROMs for all my games that let me play the games on my laptop and PS3 (with Linux installed on it). Let me know in 20 years how all those Steam games are working and what you can play them on. Should be interesting.
If I double-click awesomegame.exe I DO NOT either expect or agree to awesomegame.exe launching three other TSR applications, modifying my system start up, filling up my taskbar, or anything else.
The cracked / pirated version is simply superior.
As long as game companies give me ZERO options, at any price bracket, just ZERO options, as though they are administrator of my computers and I am a mere user, then this will continue to be my policy.
http://slashdot.org/~GuyFawkes/journal
I didn't think the Stardock games needed the Stardock client running when you play the game?
(I'd check but it's been a few months since I played GalCiv and I deleted it just the other day to save space.)
Typical /. kneejerk reaction comment from someone too lazy to read even the summary.
If you did so, you'd have found out that what the guy complains about is in fact the lack of unification of the process, where every other game company seems to be rolling their own distribution platform with the assorted bundle of crapware to run the games on it.
Heck, you can even run into these problems even if you install games only from steam.
I don't really go in for early adoption of anything so I found my perfect game distributor in the shape of gog.com. Since I've been a member I've picked up DRM free versions of: Tex Murphy - Mean Streets, Martian Memorandum, Under A Killing Moon, The Pandora Directive and Overseer. Myst Masterpiece Edition, Riven, RealMyst and Uru Chronicles:Complete Collection. The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition (for the tripped-out stoner kid in me) and three freebies, the latter two I downloaded just for the hell of it - Beneath a Steel Sky, Lure of the Temptress and Teenagent. All this for about $40. Sometimes I do splash out though; I've bought all the Neverwinter Nights games and add-ons on release. MW2? What's that?
Todd: I hope it proves as delicious as the farmers that grew them
being able to transfer games to another client without media
That may work between PCs connected to the same Steam account. But the last time we discussed this, a licensee of a Steam game could not transfer a game to another Steam account. So I don't see buying a game on Steam as wise unless A. the game has substantial replay value, or B. the game is on sale for under $10 like a console game rental.
They seem well worth the risk of losing the Steam servers.
Copyrights last 95 years. Archives have to make sure that the authentic copies that they buy are usable at least until after the copyright has expired.
Ah but what about the games that use Impulse, Direct2Drive, etc. The problem isn't Steam per se, the problem is that each publisher has at least one option, and sometimes two or three. For example, I own Red Alert 3, which I bought through Steam. But in order to play multiplayer, I need some stupid Gamespy program as well? I have Supreme commander, which I bought through Impulse, and which also requires Games for Windows Live. Why do I need 4 helper apps for 2 games?
Two hour movie ticket with popcorn and cola costs at least $10 per person.
Here, physical media still have the advantage: DVD rental + 2-liter soda cost no more than $3 at any grocery store with a Redbox. And you don't have to worry about cell phones, crying small children, etc.
Ah, memories of having to sign up for, and have running, both "Games for Windows" and "
This sort of junk reduces my willingness to pay good money for games. Going to the pub or buying a cheap DVD are both much less hassle ways to spend a little free time...
Where did Shamus Young ever get the idea this was about publishers wanting to be the leader in 'serving content'. Nothing could be further from reality. I think he has fallen for the public relations excuses. If there was a list of priorities for these various systems, being the leader is way down the list.
These so called distributors or publishers want two or three main things from this.
1) Increased Profits. Only this tops the list and is the prime motivator. There are several things to follow that help ensure they reach the prime motive.
Following that come other reasons for the creation of these customer frustrating systems. Publishers are moving to the rental model for games. You don't ever get a complete copy of the game you paid for and are always under the control of their authentication system. This may at the moment primarily be if you wish to go online to play but is slowly extending those tentacles to every game. Even now some games you purchase on cd require you either login or phone to have the game authorized before it will play. They have even demonstrated cd versions lacking extra content unless you register before you may download. The obvious next step goes beyond authentication into missing content required just to start the game.
The importance of getting the public to accept these streaming authentication systems, is key to exercising full control over their product. They have had the desire for many years to enforce the part of the license where you don't own the game, but only license to use it. As this has progressed we have seen companies like EA begin to turn off games like the madden series. If people just think that only online support is where it ends they are living in a dream world. This is all about pay to play and finding business models that keep the revenue steam coming in. It is easy to see other entertainment industries moving in this same direction by controlling what you can do with content and where and when you may use/view that content you paid for.
Copy protection, cd lock, server authentication, or a combination there of have made PC games more annoying then fun over the years. I miss the old days when shareware was everywhere and games were just more fun to play.
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
But what happens when you have programs from Valve, Stardock, Activision, 2k Games, Take-Two, Codemasters, Microsoft, Eidos, and Ubisoft?
You check yourself into a video game addiction clinic.
Simple solution: Just buy Valve/Steam games :D
Jan
It seems every little crappy program or tool these days wants to install their own "helper" thingy, either hidden or in the task bar. I wish all software companies would be a little more responsible about the cruft they load our computers down with.
5 Simple rules:
- only run stuff in the background if there's a good reason for the job to run continuously.
- for stuff that doesn't need to run all the time (and checking for updates most definitely belongs in this category), perform the task(s) when the associated program itself starts.
- if it runs in the background, it goes on the task bar (so we know it's there)
- if it runs at startup, there's a simple way (config setting) to disable it.
- if running at startup is disabled but the job is essential for the associated program, the job is started automatically when the program is launched.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
The natural conclusion from the article is that Game Distribution Platforms seem to be affected by networking effects - buyers gravitate to the one with the most games, sellers gravitate to the one where most buyers go to. This means that the market will move towards a situation where there are only one or two winners.
This might seem like a good thing (fewer random background tasks running in people's PCs) until you think about those people that bought games in what turned out not to be one of the winning platforms: the games that they bought in that/those platforms typically will stop working when the servers are turned off (or, at best, you won't be able to do a new install ever again due to online activation).
This is a bit like VHS vs Betamax (or HD-DVD vs Blueray) only much worse: anybody that bought movies in Betamax format can still play them as long as their Betamax player works, but anybody that buys a game that authenticates with a platform that later goes down will quite likelly be unable to play that game ever again once the authentication servers are stopped.
Considering that the really good games are still played 5 or 10 years later (pretty much any gamer over 30 will be well aquainted with the experience of rediscovering an "oldy but goody" and playing it again), and that the game publishers rarelly have any interest in keeping the game going once they stop selling it, even those whose games which where bought in a platform that is still going 5 of 10 years in the future still run the risk of having their games killed by after-sale, arbitrary planned obsolescence.
Me, I vote with my wallet and refuse to buy any games that have online activation and/or authentication for single player gaming (currently playing "X3:Terran Conflict" on the PC, bought after they removed DRM with patch 2.5): if others did the same the industry would give up on this.
...that will probably exist to meet the needs of us gamers who can't be bothered with having to jump through hoops to play a game. For example, I'm frequently on the go, my gaming PC is a laptop, and there is nothing more annoying than having to rely on finding a sketchy wi-fi signal coming from somewhere just to be able to play my Steam-powered games. (And no, realistically, offline mode in steam is simply not reliable). So, given the choice to buy say for example Bioshock off of steam or from a system such as Direct2Drive that gives me a download and an install key, I'll avoid Steam when I can.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw
Old school emulation suffers from this too :
- most of the original purchased magnetic-media have bit-rotten by now and/or the necessary hardware to read them (ALONG WITH all the protection weirdness - not just any reading drive, but one producing exactly the glitches on which the protection scheme relies) might be broken.
Meanwhile
- all the pirated versions are still around fully enjoying digital mortality (once a soft is only a bunch of bits - with no physical media or protection attached - it costs almost zero to copy it). Want to rediscover some long-lost gem ? No problem, just don't pay much attention to the "crack-tro" tacked at the beginning. And, as a bonus, you usually even got a "trainer" built-it so you can still enjoy the game even if our modern-day tastes are less into games were you constantly die.
"Pirates" are todays most corporate-hated criminal, but tomorrow people-loved archivists.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
I think the scenario could play out that way, and it would truly suck for gaming.
But we should keep perspective. Here are some ways you can still have fun even if/when this nightmare scenario occurs:
Or even a good, DRM-free e-book.
Pirate Party UK
That's the most depressing list I've ever read.
I loved the original - I met a guy playing it in an apartment I rented in Amsterdam's red light district after Expedia failed to book my hotel - thought "wow, someone made an awesome looking 40k game!" and thus my foray into RTS' began. Didn't play a great deal online, mostly over the LAN with friends and beer, had a great time, and this served as a nice intro to Relic's superb WW2 RTS Company of Heroes, which I also love.
I was looking forward to the DoW sequel... until I found out that it would not only require Steam but also the obnoxious Games for Windows bullshit; not one but two annoying programs wanting to run and check up on me every time I want to boot into a game just to watch a 20 minute replay. Bioshock 2 was going to be a sure fire purchase until I found out it was getting Games for Windows as well - for a single player game?!
Fuck this whole "we'll dictate the terms in which we'll allow you to get value for the money you give us from now until the end of time!" attitude, games publishes seem to have contracted an acute case of Zeus syndrome; they think they're gods, they love playing absurd little mind games with all their paeons, they expect worship and sacrifice and they'll fuck you in the arse if they don't get it.
Console gaming is getting just as bad; my the next gen of consoles everything will be "rental" only, whether it's delivered on physical media or not.
Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
The biggest problem is that you buy a game and you have the a PC of more than the minimum spec ..and then you spend ages getting it to run because of all the verification, patches, upgrades it needs to run
What happened to the games you could run from the disk, or install in 5 minutes ....
And on the day you internet connection goes down you cannot play them not because you no longer have a licence or it is unpatched, but simply because it cannot get access to the server to verify itself
Puteulanus fenestra mortis
...would eventually end up clogged with loaders, patchers, helpers, and monitors.
They'd have to join the queue, then. This has long been a headache with all software and device drivers, not just games.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
It runs in systray.exe under last gen Windows. Even Microsoft calls it a system tray at several places, like http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310578 & http://support.microsoft.com/kb/176085 & http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/bonuspack/powertoys.aspx#traycontrol to just name a few.
Don't forget that companies are already shutting down their own game servers to get people to play the newer games. Madden 07 and 08 are already being shut down...
If you want a platform where a single entity controls everything, even the right to run a game, so you can't play game A, because you have the creator of the platform to authorize it. There are consoles.
If you want freedom, you have the PC.
And withouth options, freedom is meaningless. I use Steam, because is the best (read: more convenient, run smooth) system. But there are other options, so If I don't like Steam because whatever reason, I can switch to any other digital shop, like Impulse, or D2D.
FREEDOOM!. If you don't like FREEDOOM, you will not like the proliferation of systems. If you hate freedom, you buy a console.
-Woof woof woof!
Of course, when you run your nice, DRM-free, cracked awesomegame.exe, what also often happens is that three separate bits of actual (not figurative) bits of malware that were included in the cracked awesomegame.exe also start up. These have the wonderful side-benefits of installing a keylogger (allowing for innovative social-network-style sharing of all of your passwords etc), giving you exciting NSFW pop-ups 24/7 (no need to go browsing for your dirty pictures any more) and reducing your system performance even more than Norton does (which I admit takes some doing).
Seriously, I do semi-regular tech-support for a variety of friends, relatives and acquaintances and cracked games and applications are probably the most common vector these days for the swarms of malware the consistently infect their PCs. The last thing you should assume is that a cracked game won't be starting off any processes you don't want it to.
The proliferation of game distribution platforms is very annoying. Which is why I am the CEO of a company that is introducing an innovative new product that distributes and manages game distribution platforms.
... and then they built the supercollider.
Two points.
1/ I fail to see the difference between crapware from the game company and crapware from the kiddies.
2/ Non sequitur, if I am tech savvy enough to not allow one, I am tech savvy enough to not allow either.
http://slashdot.org/~GuyFawkes/journal
So disable the auto start-up for each of the services, then schedule them all to run overnight once a week to get your updates. I'm not a fan of the proliferation of these services either, but this isn't rocket science.
There's not much use moaning about it. These things aren't going to amalgamate into one big service any time soon. Sure, it'd be easy enough technically, and great for the end-user, but it doesn't allow gaming companies to grab extra money from you in the short term, so no-one will even considering implementing it.
... for those of you who don't recall
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612
"If you ain't got a camel, you ain't Shiite."
I wished Windows or Linux had a feature to allow you to specify application sets in a special profile. When you logged in you could which machine configuration you wanted to log into. Then it would only run the apps specified in that profile (minus all the extra services etc from other software).
So I would have a Game profile which would have most extras turned off. AV scanners, Printer driver etc.. And a Work profile (SQL, Visual Studio, IntelliJ) etc...
The biggest sinner of all is rockstar games.
...
... but the fucking punchline is that this fucker also installs SecuROM.
..and no. Steam users are not off the hook. With the steam version you get all that, and also a Steam dependency!
Consider the PC release of GTA4. If you purchased the retail copy then it requires Games For Windows Live and Rockstar Social Club/b>
With that said.. I like Steam. Of the the nice things about steam is that they disclose the existence of any other DRM (besides Steamworks) prior to purchase. Steamworks is the least obnoxious of all the mainsteam DRM's out there, and you get a good bit of added value (unlimited downloads, no digging around for CD keys and the like..) for the trouble of dealing with it.
"His name was James Damore."
When Steam first came out it was horribly broken.
I avoided CS 1.6 because of it.
then I bought Half-Life 2 and was forced to use Steam.
In the beginning it sucked, then things got better.
By the time The Orange Box came out, it was rock-solid and just too freaking easy. (Disclaimer, I'm in the US)
I maintain a copy of SteamApps on my file server (currently ~80GB). I can reload my game rig with impunity and just copy the files back. Or just let steam sit open overnight and all day when I'm at work. By the time 5pm rolls around I have a slew of games installed without me having to juggle discs and keys.
I used to be a devout follower of Westwood (RIP) and Maxis (RIP) then they started to suck after EA bought them out and everything got DRM'ed to hell.
I vote with my dollars these days. Steam may not be perfect, but is has the virtue of being GOOD ENOUGH.
Hell, I could even reload HL 1 (ancient game that it is) and play that if I wanted.
I recently went about loading up my old standbys, Quake, DooM and Red Alert (1). Gameplay sucked from what I've become accustomed to.
Yes, nostalgia is a wonderful thing, but for things like FPS and RTS games, progress is better.
What I really miss are the flight sims, mostly X-Wing, TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance. Those don't play well on Windows 7. I have the discs, just no way to really play em.
When Valve created Steam, they did it because there was no system for distributing games over internet and everyone said that the technology is 5-10 years in the future, not now. So we have had Steam now for several years and it's the most used games distribution system over internet.
What comes to the game updating, internet connection speeds get faster. PC's get faster. Systems are online more and more daily so if everything is automatic and game gets a patch, it's not a very long waiting period when you have that downloaded. Of course it depends from your own internet connection.
Some of these digital distributing services will either go down or will be bought by another but the faster these things start working together and putting up more games into the catalogs, the less issues there will be in the future.
in Germany EULAs are only legally binding if you were already presented with them while buying the software. Eulas presented while installing the software or just present in the packaging are unenforcable.
Retail packages of Microsoft software conspicuously display the URL of the EULA so that the buyer is encouraged to read the terms on a Web terminal inside the store. Does this count as the buyer having been "already presented with them"?
Yeah, I bought GTA IV through steam the other day. As well as it running like a bag of shite I also have to have the rockstar social club running (as well as steam). Also I had to sign up for the social club just to play the game. And then link that account to a windows Live games account. I tried using my existing windows Live account but it wouldn't let me link them (for some reason...it didn't tell me why) so I had to create a new one. So two new accounts in two software systems that are duplicating the functionality of Steam WHICH I'M ALREADY USING AS WELL!
Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
You actually don't own the games you buy physically either.
In the United States, "the owner of a lawfully made copy of a computer program" has specific rights under copyright law. These include reselling the copy (17 USC 109), installing the copy onto a computer's storage (17 USC 117), and loading the copy into RAM (17 USC 117).
I played a free MMORPG (runes of magic) for a number of weeks, but I gave up after a while because:
1) they seemed to require massive downloads way too often. They'd screw up their patches too. My internet connection isn't fast, so having to wait hours to download 1GB or 4GB just to play their game is rather deterring.
You'd have thought they'd put a lot more effort into reducing the bandwidth used for updates to cut their costs and increase their user base.
2) the game lags a lot at the wrong times (e.g. when there are more than a few enemies) - maybe it's my internet connection - but a lot of people in certain areas of the game (not the "real world") seemed to complain about the lag too.
My favorite game distribution platform is the internet.
A bunch of these guys are doomed...
Stardock? I got bad news for impulse powered... They can't even get the demo version of Demigod working on my machine... I'm not buying anything through their service.
I'm glad that EA got out of digital distribution. Their old terms of service were HORRIBLE. You had to buy the game, and then give them additional money to keep your license so you could re-download it later. Talk about not understanding the basics of customer service.
Valve/Steam really seems to understand this is about customer service. That said, I think there are too many ads for my liking. If I want to buy a game, I know where to go. That said, the nice thing is that I don't think they advertise anything I already own.
~D
This sig has been enciphered with a one-time pad. It could say almost anything.
they'll get bought out by some corporation, which will prevent the publication of such a patch
Unless the patch is already in escrow.
This is the problem with frikkin cloud computing. Everybody and their brother wants to reach down from that cloud and stick their finger in your pie. When they are done they just give you the finger and you are left with a useless mess in your pie-tin.
Just imagine a sick cross between Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and American Pie.
I'm sorry you're not satisfied with the analogy. I will be happy to send you a full refund if you send me all of your contact information including date of birth and SSN.
You are welcome on my lawn.
The tons of "abandonware" games out there attest to this reality. For commercial apps as well, there should be "end-of-life" terms right at the time of purchase, and put into the EULA. At a minimum, access to binaries and some sort of new-users-enabling license after the product is no longer sold. Ideally, the source should become accessible, under some sort of license, after a number of years, to allow updates etc. Smaller publishers would perhaps include an agreement to open-source it after a certain amount in sales. Source to the community features, system applets, and servers need to be included for some products. Basically the EULA agreements, as contracts, have to be reviewed to include rights for users too, not just publishers, or they should be refused. Shall we shart demanding user-sponsored lawyers to rewrite publishers EULA contracts before certain user groups recommend the products "fair EULA terms" ?
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
I had installed Steam back in the days of CS 1.6 when they made the transition to using Steam. I know there are currently a lot of interesting independent games sold and distributed by Steam, and not to mention some of the major games. But I just don't want to install and load software onto my system that way. The whole idea that I use a content access system where I log in with an ID (wtf?!?) in order to browse and install games as "modules" is just freaking me out. I'm not in control of what is happening, although I'm the admin of my machine. That's just plain weird and wrong.
Exactly. I can't tell if he's being serious or sarcastic. Yes there are some other fun ways to spend time, but that list is just boring.
Now here's a better list:
* Drink beer
* Go around and have sex with as many girls as you can
Repeat.
I don't know where your friends and family get their cracks from, but it seems to be the wrong place.
Lets see whose games will last longer.
Ok, the bet is on!
The battle for my system tray is getting crazy lately in general. I don't subscribe to any of the digital distribution channels (except iTunes), but things keep filling my system tray and I don't like it.
Why does everything have to have a quick start agent? It's one of the first things I disable. I know for a fact I'm not going to use the program everytime I turn on my computer, so why waste the time when booting?! Also, if I wanted to load the program, then I don't mind waiting for the program to load, is it that hard of a concept?
And if your program takes THAT LONG TO LOAD that you have to have a QUICKSTART feature, I think it's time to rethink your program's requirements and efficiency!
I suppose the fact that they download updates in the background is handy for some people, but I really don't want my PC doing anything that I didn't tell it to do. In fact, I don't like patching things all willy-nilly either.
-=JML=-
And what happens when Valve gets bought?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
And then there is the Wii offering older games through the Wii shopping channel.
Let me know when any of the three Mother games show up on the North American Wii Shop Channel. English translations of the first two are known to exist; Nintendo even published the second one as Earthbound.
The theoretical buyer will dissolve Valve's most lucrative strategic property. Duh.
Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
I enjoy buying everything second-hand because I want the game industry (as it exists today) to collapse. Unless the developer releases source code for older games, I don't give a rat's ass about them. Most of these people just want to install malware on my PC to make my disks wear out.
I still buy new games from id Software. They are the only ones who treat customers with a shred of respect.
I recently installed Knights of the Old Republic on my Windows 7 box and could not, for the life of me, get it to work properly. I tried various patches from dead websites after applying the most "recent" patch from Bioware. After giving up on that, I ponied up $5 for the Steam version, which installed and works flawlessly (it has a newer version number than any of my attempts). Chalk one up for the cloud version being better than actually owning the discs.
The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.
MW2 only has to work until MW3 gets out. Then Activision will be happy if Steam disconnects it.
Just look at Metal Gear Solid 3:
Emphasis mine.
Dilbert RSS feed
But all of those require me to use a different distribution platform! So, I can't go for a walk and read a book and cook at the same time!
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
"Where did Shamus Young ever get the idea this was about publishers wanting to be the leader in 'serving content'. Nothing could be further from reality.",/em>
They could want to be teddy bears dancing like adorable ballerinas with candy cane umbrellas and sugar floss wigs.
Is that further enough from reality for you?
You missed the whole point.
It's not a unified process. It's a dozen competing "unified processes". Some of which are going to fail. At which point you loose access to what you paid for.
Would you buy a TV with the clause that Best Buy could come into your house and take it back at any time?
I find being offended by me offensive.
I p2p all my games. I let the fools who buy deal with all of the bullshit.
system tray out of hand? CBF to do into the msconfig and set what starts up? go here :http://www.docsdownloads.com/Tier1/enditall.htm
download enditall
when you start your pc, run it a few times
system tray empty
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Considering I can already play all my Steam games without Steam, the weak PC DRM's been cracked already, heck the strong PC DRM's been cracked already. Now lets see about the Xbox/Playstation games that are expecting hardware DRM, emulating a Sega Master System or SNES is easy, the Xbox is so locked up and DRMed up the Wazoo I don't think we'll ever see a decent emulator.
I also still own a SNES, bought it from Ebay a few years ago. I also have an N64 for Mario Kart/Goldeneye (had since 1997). I've just retired an Xbox 1 that's played all of 1 game, it got moded and spent it's life playing movies.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
I find the funny thing is I have a bunch of Nintendo & Super Nintendo games and quite a few PS1 and PS2 games. I've owned my PS3 since the week after it was released, but I only own two games for it. Little Big Planet (My wife wanted) and Folklore. I love my PS3 because of all the other things I can do with it besides play games. I'm not a first person shooter, racing, or sports game person. One of the things I've always thought the Play Stations were good for were their RPGs, but there haven't been any besides Folklore up to this year (FF 13 and White Knight Chronicles) that I've even remotely wanted to buy.
All the PS1 and PS2 games I own. I'd be pissed if I bought one of the new PS3s that wouldn't let me play them. When they do eventually come out with a PS4 unless it's backward compatible with all three systems Sony can bit me.
I don't want anyone to get me wrong. I've used Steam before and I did like it. I haven't used my account for probably almost a year. I have a habit of playing a game for awhile, not touching it for a very long time, then pulling it out again and enjoying it.
So how long will my steam account remain active?
Just last week I started a game of Dragon Worrier for the Nintendo, first game I ever owned and I haven't played it for going on 15 years at least. Will steam keep games I've bought that long?
I'm not worried about the amount of money I spend on games, what I'm concerned with is will I be able to play those games in the many years to come and eventually share them with my kids? Most of the crap that's coming out today I won't be able to. I find a lot of stuff has DLC after you buy the game. If I owned Fallout 3 (a game I hear has lots of pay for DLC) in 20 years will I be able to get the DLC I've previously paid for back... Probably not. That's how I view services like Steam, but only time will tell if I'm correct, so...
Let me know in 20 years how all those Steam games are working and what you can play them on
The cracked / pirated version OF THE EXE is simply superior.
If you're not buying the game, you're part of the reason why were here in the first place.
Cd-check algorithms, I'm sorry I ever complained about you. In fact, you're still here. Problem is you're not alone.
I expect that steam will start to deprecate games that are not longer "worth it". Then we will say to all the steam fans, "told you so".
The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
we need is to figure out a way to get some money for people to do more work on open source. perhaps a model where a title is published initially for-pay, and when it reaches a particular sales level, goes open-source. it should encourage people to buy it now, knowing they are actually contributing toward a soon-to-be open source product. it doesn't provide for the programmer while he's working however. another model could be to organize vacations, camps or trips for programmers to nice locations to go and stay for a while and work on a particular product while they're there, and whatever comes out of it becomes open source.
Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/