The Steam discussion topic! Joy and happiness, right here, folks.

[quote name='Megazell']Nay!

Consoles means paying more for less.[/QUOTE]

How the hell you going to say that? Most of my console games I pick up for like $5-$15 no problem and none of them ever have securom.

Personally Iv always been primarly a console gamer but steams convenience and consoles becoming more and more PC like means I find myself playing on PCs more and more over time. With that said id love to see more of my fav console games hit steam both new and old.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']How the hell you going to say that? Most of my console games I pick up for like $5-$15 no problem and none of them ever have securom.

Personally Iv always been primarly a console gamer but steams convenience and consoles becoming more and more PC like means I find myself playing on PCs more and more over time. With that said id love to see more of my fav console games hit steam both new and old.[/QUOTE]

I can say that since I get my PC games for free.

When I do pay I get them for $0.99 to $4.99. Starcraft Battlechest was the last game I got that went to $19.99 which was about 2001-ish

I can say that since unlike console my games don't lose support or get abandoned. Community Servers, Mods, Models, Mutators and more...in the end if I like a game...I can stay without for as long as I wish.

I can say that since I can get a controller for my PC for as low as $3.99.

I can say that since unlike console I can modify my PC without being punished by the makers.
 
[quote name='Megazell']I can say that since I get my PC games for free.

When I do pay I get them for $0.99 to $4.99. Starcraft Battlechest was the last game I got that went to $19.99 which was about 2001-ish

I can say that since unlike console my games don't lose support or get abandoned. Community Servers, Mods, Models, Mutators and more...in the end if I like a game...I can stay without for as long as I wish.

I can say that since I can get a controller for my PC for as low as $3.99.

I can say that since unlike console I can modify my PC without being punished by the makers.[/QUOTE]

Still dont agree on the price thing and as for less it just depends on genres. For stuff like shooters ya it might be true, but show me kart racers, JRPGs, plat-formers etc that are as good on the console. Most are watered down indy titles. In general I really don't agree and think its pretty silly to say any console games ported to the PC are going to mean your going to spend a higher price for less.....then again asking this question I did expect since Steam is a PC service id probably get some hardcore PC people responding with console hate ;)

Ill end it with saying more console stuff really does not hurt steam in any way, it just gives more games for people to play and more variety in general.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Still dont agree on the price thing and as for less it just depends on genres. For stuff like shooters ya it might be true, but show me kart racers, JRPGs, plat-formers etc that are as good on the console. Most are watered down indy titles. In general I really don't agree and think its pretty silly to say any console games ported to the PC are going to mean your going to spend a higher price for less.....then again asking this question I did expect since Steam is a PC service id probably get some hardcore PC people responding with console hate ;)

Ill end it with saying more console stuff really does not hurt steam in any way, it just gives more games for people to play and more variety in general.[/QUOTE]

Take a look @ my Free And Legal PC Games list - Then let's talk.
 
If the port from Console is good, I wouldn't care.

And we're going to see cheaper prices too on those games, since PC games tend to fall for less than their console ports.

Plus more, much more support.

Consider PS3 Orange box to PC Orange box....

UT3 vs PC UT3?


More options should never be considered a bad thing. so Yay!
 
A big yay. I'd love to see Gears of War 1+2 on Steam, as well as Lost Odyssey. I'm sure there is more, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind.
 
Why not? Some ports are usually rehashed and "upgraded" versions of their consoles selves (I'm looking at you, Ass' Creed), and coupled with some weekend deals, doesn't do any bit of harm on the Steam platform. Hell, I have a copy of the original Prince of Persia trilogy somewhere in the apt, and with a gamepad, I'll be enjoying some platforming goodness while my 12 year old yells at other 12 year olds in Modern Warfare 2.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']I have. I already did talk ;)[/QUOTE]

Then you must have missed some great post.

STEAM can do as it likes.

So far with the exception of a very few...most console games that get ported come with gimps....match making being the biggest for me. No way will I ever pay more for less features.
 
Yay! There are a lot of games coming out all the time to justify spending $50-$60 on each one. I have Gamefly, so I rent all the ones I have a slight interest in and I'll play through it. Then depending on how much I enjoyed the game, I'll consider getting the PC version down the road during a midweek/weekend/holiday deal. This saves me a lot of money in the long run and enables me to stay current with game releases.

Can't really do that on PC unless I either a) bought all the games I have a slight interest in at $40-$50 instead of renting them or b) pirated them instead.
 
[quote name='DukeEdwardI']

Can't really do that on PC unless I either a) bought all the games I have a slight interest in at $40-$50 instead of renting them or b) pirated them instead.[/QUOTE]

Well this is not 100% correct. STEAM and other DL services offer free time periods for games. On top of this you have DEMOs and Free Trials.

Also, if you know where to look...Or if you make a Search Bot you can find those $40 to $50 games for much much much much more affordable prices.
 
[quote name='Megazell']Well this is not 100% correct. STEAM and other DL services offer free time periods for games. On top of this you have DEMOs and Free Trials.

Also, if you know where to look...Or if you make a Search Bot you can find those $40 to $50 games for much much much much more affordable prices.[/QUOTE]

Sure, they offer free periods on games. But not many and they're mainly multiplayer (I can only think of UT3, TF2, Killing Floor, Dreamkiller and currently Zero Gear). Could I have played all the games I did by waiting for a free weekend from Steam or other DL services? Probably not. And demos and free trials are nice, but if I want to complete the game, then I have to BUY it. I'm already spending $25/month (less than a PC new release) and I get to finish that game and any other new releases I have an interest in.

Even with a Search Bot, I don't think I could find a just released PC game for less than $40. 1-2 year old games I could probably find for a great price, but not a game that JUST came out, unless it was during the holiday sales (I think I remember seeing Borderlands around $20-$30 on Amazon around Black Friday).
 
[quote name='DukeEdwardI']
Even with a Search Bot, I don't think I could find a just released PC game for less than $40. 1-2 year old games I could probably find for a great price, but not a game that JUST came out, unless it was during the holiday sales (I think I remember seeing Borderlands around $20-$30 on Amazon around Black Friday).[/QUOTE]

Well this may not work for everyone but I run a lot of reward programs...Greenpoints, StrandPoints and so on.

With my bank reward points...I get recent PC titles that I want...For free.

Citibank - Thankyou Rewards

You can do it through their site or when you stop by your local bank take a look at their promotions. Even if you already have an account you can gain access to what they are dishing out. I picked up L4D and L4D 2 like that...same day as they were released.
 
[quote name='Megazell']Well this may not work for everyone but I run a lot of reward programs...Greenpoints, StrandPoints and so on.

With my bank reward points...I get recent PC titles that I want...For free.

Citibank - Thankyou Rewards

You can do it through their site or when you stop by your local bank take a look at their promotions. Even if you already have an account you can gain access to what they are dishing out. I picked up L4D and L4D 2 like that...same day as they were released.[/QUOTE]

Yes and you can do this same kind of stuff with console games.....really this just boils down to you being a PC fan and refusing to given consoles/console gamers their due. Both PC and Consoles and major ups and major downs so I dont understand why anyone argues the subject....let alone in this topic. Yes the topic of the day is on console games.....but it doesn't mean you need to use it to try and make over the top claims that their inferior to what you play.

feel free to get the last word in....but personally
*drops the subject*
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Yes and you can do this same kind of stuff with console games.....really this just boils down to you being a PC fan and refusing to given consoles/console gamers their due. Both PC and Consoles and major ups and major downs so I dont understand why anyone argues the subject....let alone in this topic. Yes the topic of the day is on console games.....but it doesn't mean you need to use it to try and make over the top claims that their inferior to what you play.

feel free to get the last word in....but personally
*drops the subject*[/QUOTE]

I don't understand all of the emotions you are putting in. I only stated what I do for myself and what I believe. If you don't agree that's fine. But if you make a point I can always make a counter point. The bolded text is incorrect. One can not get consoles games free and legally without a purchase somewhere down the chain.
 
[quote name='Megazell']I don't understand all of the emotions you are putting in. I only stated what I do for myself and what I believe. If you don't agree that's fine. But if you make a point I can always make a counter point. The bolded text is incorrect. One can not get consoles games free and legally without a purchase somewhere down the chain.[/QUOTE]

The funny thing is you're the one getting all worked up over nothing. Sure, you can make a counterpoint, but you won't necessarily be right (as is the case here).

He's dropped the subject, you should do the same.
 
[quote name='kilm']The funny thing is you're the one getting all worked up over nothing. Sure, you can make a counterpoint, but you won't necessarily be right (as is the case here).

He's dropped the subject, you should do the same.[/QUOTE]

I'll dropped the subject but if I was wrong about a topic, please feel free to point it out.
 
I don't mind console games being ported to the pc because I know that eventually I can get a cheap copy through steam and not have to worry about the disc. If the PSN and Xbox Marketplace had a big holiday sale like steam where I could get full digital games for 0.99 - 9.99 then I would be all over that too.
 
Topic updated...still no new steam news or games. New QotD posted though.

Yesterdays QotD - Would you like to see more console games hit steam or are you pretty strictly a PC gamer and wouldnt care if we saw newer console games like Dead Rising or older consoles games like Sonic hit Steam?
 
MechWarrior Series - Individually - I would say MechWarrior 4 - Be nice to have some new players discover that gem.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I know it'll never happen in a million years but Blizzard on Steam would be shweet.[/QUOTE]

Ill see your Blizzard and raise you a Nintendo. Yep Nintendo, as long as we are going big I might as well dream that Nintendo gets out of the console business(their last 3 consoles have been jokes anyways but I still love their games!)and focuses exclusively on software. In this process they decide to include Steam and we see not only new games hitting steam but tons of classics like Super Mario World for $3ish on Steam.

Yes total dream, but hey in the QotD description I never said it had t be realistic ;)
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Ill see your Blizzard and raise you a Nintendo. Yep Nintendo, as long as we are going big I might as well dream that Nintendo gets out of the console business(their last 3 consoles have been jokes anyways but I still love their games!)and focuses exclusively on software. In this process they decide to include Steam and we see not only new games hitting steam but tons of classics like Super Mario World for $3ish on Steam.

Yes total dream, but hey in the QotD description I never said it had t be realistic ;)[/QUOTE]

I have to take umbrage with the last three consoles were jokes comment, but I have no objections to fantasizing about getting a Virtual Console like series of ports on Steam.
 
[quote name='foltzie']I have to take umbrage with the last three consoles were jokes comment, but I have no objections to fantasizing about getting a Virtual Console like series of ports on Steam.[/QUOTE]

In my opinion the N64 was great (mucho bettero than PS1o). It was back when Rare was an actual developer, we got Nintendo masterpieces, and Ogre Battle 64, which in my eyes is better than any PS1 game (And I did like some PS1 games).

On developers on steam. I would go with Blizzard (obvious). I love all of their games and would love another way to buy them (not through their own store).

And for Nintendo, they are a console company through and through. I would not want to see them work on PC. Their goal is to be innovative and rip off their customers, which would be much harder on the PC market.

I would rather see Sony (or the companies that develop for them) than Nintendo.
 
[quote name='Kaltic']In my opinion the N64 was great (mucho bettero than PS1o). It was back when Rare was an actual developer, we got Nintendo masterpieces, and Ogre Battle 64, which in my eyes is better than any PS1 game (And I did like some PS1 games).

On developers on steam. I would go with Blizzard (obvious). I love all of their games and would love another way to buy them (not through their own store).

And for Nintendo, they are a console company through and through. I would not want to see them work on PC. Their goal is to be innovative and rip off their customers, which would be much harder on the PC market.

I would rather see Sony (or the companies that develop for them) than Nintendo.[/QUOTE]

Dont want to get too off topic so ill make 1 post on the subject and then let you get the last word in if you want to respond(or we can keep it to PMs after that response).

I really don't see how anyone could claim with a straight face that the N64 was better then the PSX. I don't think that the N64 even came close to competitive let alone besting the PSX. For every good N64 game someone can name I can probaly name several on the PSX. Even just going by big titles alone the PSX would trounce the N64 but then you start getting into stuff like Tactics Ogre, Suikoden, Wild Arms, Klonoa, Poy Poy and Point Blank that most people dont even know about....I wouldn't be surprised if the actual ratio wasnt 3-1 PSX but more like 6-1 or even higher.

The GC and the PS2 was pretty damn lop sided too and now it looks like while the PS3 isnt receiving good games every day like the past systems its certainly running circles around the Wii......

On a separate note I called the place I had ordered my new PC from since it had been 11 days since placing the order and it still hadnt even updated it to being built...just credit card charged. They said my PC wouldnt even ship out untill the freaking 28th! So I just went ahead and cancled the order.....I might try building my own PC after all....but I really am terrified of doing that....
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Dont want to get too off topic so ill make 1 post on the subject and then let you get the last word in if you want to respond(or we can keep it to PMs after that response).

I really don't see how anyone could claim with a straight face that the N64 was better then the PSX. I don't think that the N64 even came close to competitive let alone besting the PSX. For every good N64 game someone can name I can probaly name several on the PSX. Even just going by big titles alone the PSX would trounce the N64 but then you start getting into stuff like Tactics Ogre, Suikoden, Wild Arms, Klonoa, Poy Poy and Point Blank that most people dont even know about....I wouldn't be surprised if the actual ratio wasnt 3-1 PSX but more like 6-1 or even higher.

The GC and the PS2 was pretty damn lop sided too and now it looks like while the PS3 isnt receiving good games every day like the past systems its certainly running circles around the Wii......

On a separate note I called the place I had ordered my new PC from since it had been 11 days since placing the order and it still hadnt even updated it to being built...just credit card charged. They said my PC wouldnt even ship out untill the freaking 28th! So I just went ahead and cancled the order.....I might try building my own PC after all....but I really am terrified of doing that....[/QUOTE]

Well I didn't play all that many games for the PSX, which sucks because I love RPGs, but was too young to have money to buy them or know they existed. But i found way more enjoyment from what I played on N64 than what I did from PSX. I loved Banjo, PDZ, Goldeneye, Starcraft 64 (which is odd), Ogre Battle 64, Quest 64 (odd yet again), Gauntlet 64, Rouge Squadron, Shadows of the Empire, Podracing, Super Smash Bros, Road Rash 64.

Yet for PSX the only thing memorable to me is Final Fantasy 7 (which i despised until now), FF 8, Legends of Dragon, Metal Gear Solid (only memorable because I couldn't stand/still do the genre), Tekken 3, and Twisted Metal, and Dave Mirras BMX (Slim Jim guy is freaking awesome).

So yes it probably is unfair judgement considering how much less I played the PSX, and how many less games we had in general. And that doesn't me I don't love to death Legend of Dragon and Final Fantasy 8 (and now 7). But because I didn't have much to play on PSX (and how much later we got it, which was years after release) it is easy for me to say with a straight face that I liked the N64 that much more.

And the only reason I wanted to "get the last word in", I am fine if you respond, this isn't an argument or anything (at least not to me), is because I figured I should explain why I didn't like the PSX. I didn't get to play much and when I did I usually disliked it (unless it was an RPG and the few exceptions). Also you have to understand that I was heavy PC gamer at the time (and was up to the Xbox). I was at a friends house, who had a PSX, and we decided to play PC games instead (he had 2 PCs next to each other). To me at the time it was PC and N64 for me. It was almost like Sega and Nintendo to me, I didn't know Sega was a company until the Dreamcast. It was about the same for Nintendo and Sony, to me it was almost only Nintendo for games even though we did own a PSX. Also all my cousins had N64s so when we got together we would play PDZ, Goldneye, or Super Smash Bros. We didn't move away from N64 until the gamecube (and SSBM), but that lasted only a few times before we got bored of the gamecube). So I have a lot of fond memories of experiences with the N64.

Again respond if you want to, I understand how my stance in unfair and not unfair at the same time (considering the fact I didn't have much choice in the matter of what systems we had). Also I am trying to build my PSX library right now because now I can appreciate games more (not back at the age (under 10 yrs old) when almost any game was a good game) and understand games better. Nostalgia still makes me like the N64 more though.

EDIT: Also building a PC is not that hard (besides the reading and understanding, which is 90% of it). I would suggest using google to search for good build for PCs just to see what the good stuff is (and get a general idea of what you need), unless you already know about that stuff and are worried you may break something while putting it together. If that is the reason then I can assure you that you won't unless you are accident prone.

EDIT 2: Holy crap I forgot Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario 64 in my list of games............. I can't believe I missed those....
 
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[quote name='Kaltic']Well I didn't play all that many games for the PSX, which sucks because I love RPGs, but was too young to have money to buy them or know they existed. But i found way more enjoyment from what I played on N64 than what I did from PSX. I loved Banjo, PDZ, Goldeneye, Starcraft 64 (which is odd), Ogre Battle 64, Quest 64 (odd yet again), Gauntlet 64, Rouge Squadron, Shadows of the Empire, Podracing, Super Smash Bros, Road Rash 64.

Yet for PSX the only thing memorable to me is Final Fantasy 7 (which i despised until now), FF 8, Legends of Dragon, Metal Gear Solid (only memorable because I couldn't stand/still do the genre), Tekken 3, and Twisted Metal, and Dave Mirras BMX (Slim Jim guy is freaking awesome).

So yes it probably is unfair judgement considering how much less I played the PSX, and how many less games we had in general. And that doesn't me I don't love to death Legend of Dragon and Final Fantasy 8 (and now 7). But because I didn't have much to play on PSX (and how much later we got it, which was years after release) it is easy for me to say with a straight face that I liked the N64 that much more.

And the only reason I wanted to "get the last word in", I am fine if you respond, this isn't an argument or anything (at least not to me), is because I figured I should explain why I didn't like the PSX. I didn't get to play much and when I did I usually disliked it (unless it was an RPG and the few exceptions). Also you have to understand that I was heavy PC gamer at the time (and was up to the Xbox). I was at a friends house, who had a PSX, and we decided to play PC games instead (he had 2 PCs next to each other). To me at the time it was PC and N64 for me. It was almost like Sega and Nintendo to me, I didn't know Sega was a company until the Dreamcast. It was about the same for Nintendo and Sony, to me it was almost only Nintendo for games even though we did own a PSX. Also all my cousins had N64s so when we got together we would play PDZ, Goldneye, or Super Smash Bros. We didn't move away from N64 until the gamecube (and SSBM), but that lasted only a few times before we got bored of the gamecube). So I have a lot of fond memories of experiences with the N64.

Again respond if you want to, I understand how my stance in unfair and not unfair at the same time (considering the fact I didn't have much choice in the matter of what systems we had). Also I am trying to build my PSX library right now because now I can appreciate games more (not back at the age (under 10 yrs old) when almost any game was a good game) and understand games better. Nostalgia still makes me like the N64 more though.

EDIT: Also building a PC is not that hard (besides the reading and understanding, which is 90% of it). I would suggest using google to search for good build for PCs just to see what the good stuff is (and get a general idea of what you need), unless you already know about that stuff and are worried you may break something while putting it together. If that is the reason then I can assure you that you won't unless you are accident prone.[/QUOTE]

Heh see your one of the rare logical people. Im used to people like Dr Mario Kart or whatever the guys name is that wigs out and has all sorts of crazy theories just to keep his console listed as better. You played more n64 games and you love you some n64 and thats good enough!

And Jesse why miss the SNES, just buy an old one of ebay or use a PSP or PC to relive old times(or guess you could overpay for Wii virtual console).
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']I miss my Super NES.[/QUOTE]

I did too, and then I bought one off ebay.

[quote name='MSI Magus']Heh see your one of the rare logical people. Im used to people like Dr Mario Kart or whatever the guys name is that wigs out and has all sorts of crazy theories just to keep his console listed as better. You played more n64 games and you love you some n64 and thats good enough!

And Jesse why miss the SNES, just buy an old one of ebay or use a PSP or PC to relive old times(or guess you could overpay for Wii virtual console).[/QUOTE]

I always try to be logical (and unbiased, well in this case it was near impossible) in my posts, well unless I am making fun of someone over at the forums at gamespot.com. Even then I try to be as logical as possible, but some of those people make it so hard to be with the idiotic things they say.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']And Jesse why miss the SNES, just buy an old one of ebay or use a PSP or PC to relive old times(or guess you could overpay for Wii virtual console).[/QUOTE]

I've still got my trusty old SNES and a Super Famicom to boot! :) And an emulator on PSP... I think what I miss is the excitement of it all. That was an amazing time in my life, when I got my SNES.
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']I've still got my trusty old SNES and a Super Famicom to boot! :) And an emulator on PSP... I think what I miss is the excitement of it all. That was an amazing time in my life, when I got my SNES.[/QUOTE]

/nod your probaly about my age(late mid to late 20s)so I can totally relate. I recall at the time I didnt even need to freaking play games to get excited! I can recall that I used to just open my game case and read off the titles and have fun back in the day. Or having the boring ass Christmas recital and since I was in 5th grade but my brother was in 3rd grade I was stuck there for the whole freaking show since we would have to be there early for him....then wait for me to sing. Only thing that made it tolerable was sneaking a Nintendo Power with me and sitting and reading over the Soul Blazer item list for the 50th time in a month.
 
Yep, I'm 28 this month... :)

I feel like I missed out on the 8-bit days cause I wasn't quite old enough. But that SNES era is just magic to me.

Never did finish Soul Blazer.

I hope Retro Game Challenge 2 comes out soon... I should check. I loved the first one, but this second one is late 8-bit/early 16-bit era!!
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']Yep, I'm 28 this month... :)

I feel like I missed out on the 8-bit days cause I wasn't quite old enough. But that SNES era is just magic to me.

Never did finish Soul Blazer.

I hope Retro Game Challenge 2 comes out soon... I should check. I loved the first one, but this second one is late 8-bit/early 16-bit era!![/QUOTE]

Alas, it isnt likely to be localized due to lackluster sales of the first installment.
 
I saw that... I won't give up hope tho. I bought at least three copies of the first one. Yeesh.

If I have to, I'll just play the Japanese version, but my Japanese still sucks after all these years.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I know it'll never happen in a million years but Blizzard on Steam would be shweet.[/QUOTE]

You can actually tie your Starcraft/Diablo2/Warcraft3/WoW cd keys to your Battle.net account which allows you to download the game client and install from there. Don't know what the speeds are like, but having that option is nice. My CDs for those games are getting scratched to hell with how many times I've used them.
 
[quote name='DukeEdwardI']You can actually tie your Starcraft/Diablo2/Warcraft3/WoW cd keys to your Battle.net account which allows you to download the game client and install from there. Don't know what the speeds are like, but having that option is nice. My CDs for those games are getting scratched to hell with how many times I've used them.[/QUOTE]

That is what I did and the DL speeds are quite good. I Dled Starcraft at a LAN party with 18 other computers accessing the internet (the internet was so slow people were having trouble using it) and also with disconnection (4 times) and it downloaded in about 5 hours. So just imagine not having all that stuff... you can download it in probably 1 or less easily. I just wish they added Diablo 1 to the list of games downloadable off Battle.net.

However being able to download your games from retail over battle.net is different then the product being on steam.

I am also not quite sure, but think that if you do tie the CD Keys to your battle.net account you pretty much void the option of selling it (Like a GFWL CD Key.... once you use it and tie it to your account it only works with your account). Of course who is going to sell a Blizzard game?
 
The topic yesterday brought up an interesting point to me from some of the things MSI was saying which makes sense, I just hadn't thought about it. He embodies the console gamer dipping his toe in the sea of the mighty PC perfectly.

Steam really needs to keep pandering to the console crowd. With the recent holiday sales bringing in a ton of new customers, we have an influx of console-based gamers. Steam is already a platform designed for accessibility and convenience. Whereas I take delight in keeping my own programs up to date and being able to choose which versions I install or not, I can see where the simplicity of the Steam system is appealing to console gamers. It does everything for you much like a console update.

With a further streamlining of the service (limit options and configurations to those that will run for sure on a particular set of hardware), Steam could bring the familiarity of the console to the PC more effectively. We've already got achievements that are key to creating that "look at what I can do!" atmosphere of console gaming. Charging for online would be a great way to provide that "at home" feeling for our 360 users! (don't mind the jab lads I joke because I love...
to laugh at people paying for xbox live[
)

But ck64!, you might say, I don't want my service dumbed down for console gamers! I make use of those advanced command line parameters in all my Steam games! Of course, Steam would provide multiple interfaces like the skins of other programs. So as not to offend anyone, they would be called Simple and Advanced skins instead of console and normal.

As for developers I would love to see most on Steam, I don't really care. Steam is just an annoying platform, a necessary evil for Valve games. I do appreciate the simplicity of it, but I'd rather just have a standalone game with no nonsense. I do know how to update my own games. Any developer releasing a game on the PC is fine with me regardless of where they decide to release.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']The topic yesterday brought up an interesting point to me from some of the things MSI was saying which makes sense, I just hadn't thought about it. He embodies the console gamer dipping his toe in the sea of the mighty PC perfectly.

Steam really needs to keep pandering to the console crowd. With the recent holiday sales bringing in a ton of new customers, we have an influx of console-based gamers. Steam is already a platform designed for accessibility and convenience. Whereas I take delight in keeping my own programs up to date and being able to choose which versions I install or not, I can see where the simplicity of the Steam system is appealing to console gamers. It does everything for you much like a console update.

With a further streamlining of the service (limit options and configurations to those that will run for sure on a particular set of hardware), Steam could bring the familiarity of the console to the PC more effectively. We've already got achievements that are key to creating that "look at what I can do!" atmosphere of console gaming. Charging for online would be a great way to provide that "at home" feeling for our 360 users! (don't mind the jab lads I joke because I love...
to laugh at people paying for xbox live[
)

But ck64!, you might say, I don't want my service dumbed down for console gamers! I make use of those advanced command line parameters in all my Steam games! Of course, Steam would provide multiple interfaces like the skins of other programs. So as not to offend anyone, they would be called Simple and Advanced skins instead of console and normal.

As for developers I would love to see most on Steam, I don't really care. Steam is just an annoying platform, a necessary evil for Valve games. I do appreciate the simplicity of it, but I'd rather just have a standalone game with no nonsense. I do know how to update my own games. Any developer releasing a game on the PC is fine with me regardless of where they decide to release.[/QUOTE]

This is dead on. Iv always hated PC gaming because it was such a headache getting everything to work right. Recently it seems like things are becoming more stream lined in the PC gaming world/parts world and Steam is certainly helping. PC's have always been nothing more then my Porn and Diablo machines and every once and awhile id get my feet wet with a random game like Planescape Torment. Steam though with a mix of their huge sales and its ease of use has reminded me of console games and got me playing more and more PC games..hell im getting ready to attempt to build my first rig.

So yeah I know the cool thing for many PC gamers to do is piss on console gamers and lament the good old days....but as far as I and millions of others are concerned its not that the PC is being dumbed down, its just catching up in the ease of use department after the last 20 years of being way behind.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']
So yeah I know the cool thing for many PC gamers to do is piss on console gamers and lament the good old days....but as far as I and millions of others are concerned its not that the PC is being dumbed down, its just catching up in the ease of use department after the last 20 years of being way behind.[/QUOTE]

PC Gaming has changed ever since Direct X 9.0 (I think it was B that cracked it all) and up came out. Many of the drivers issues of the past were gone with the way API's (the way video cards interacted with Direct X) were streamlined. STEAM adds a certain appeal but overall the structure of how PC games were made is what made it...'easier.'

The only problem with the new streamlining for the masses is that you lose a lot of choice or your ability to choose.

It's not about the 'good old days' it's about choice. The more choices a consumer has the better. When those choices are taken away it's bad for the consumer, whether they know it or not.

Personally, I don't mess with STEAM purchases too much...I am more like crystalklear64, prefer to the ability to play my games how I want.

When I purchase a product I want to do with it as I will and not be penalized for not conforming to a standard. Sure, I need to make sure my hardware is up to snuff but that should be end of it. Having to go online? Having to install background software? No thanks.

Thankfully, on the PC my choices are endless.
 
[quote name='Megazell']PC Gaming has changed ever since Direct X 9.0 (I think it was B that cracked it all) and up came out. Many of the drivers issues of the past were gone with the way API's (the way video cards interacted with Direct X) were streamlined. STEAM adds a certain appeal but overall the structure of how PC games were made is what made it...'easier.'

The only problem with the new streamlining for the masses is that you lose a lot of choice or your ability to choose.

It's not about the 'good old days' it's about choice. The more choices a consumer has the better. When those choices are taken away it's bad for the consumer, whether they know it or not.

Personally, I don't mess with STEAM purchases too much...I am more like crystalklear64, prefer to the ability to play my games how I want.

When I purchase a product I want to do with it as I will and not be penalized for not conforming to a standard. Sure, I need to make sure my hardware is up to snuff but that should be end of it. Having to go online? Having to install background software? No thanks.

Thankfully, on the PC my choices are endless.[/QUOTE]

No its not about you having the will to make it do what you want....unless you program your own games its about the developers. I have seen numerous developers state that they hate messing with the PC end of things because of all those endless choices as you put them to them just equal extra programing and bug testing. Think about it, on a console the developer is always programing and getting familiar with the exact same hardware.....vs the PC end where the developers are naturally going to have more problems because every freaking month there are how many related parts hitting the market they need to take into acount?

Yes its nice as a consumer to have choices, but ill take stream lined and running near perfect every time to tons of options but buggy and full of headaches!
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']No its not about you having the will to make it do what you want....unless you program your own games its about the developers. I have seen numerous developers state that they hate messing with the PC end of things because of all those endless choices as you put them to them just equal extra programing and bug testing. Think about it, on a console the developer is always programing and getting familiar with the exact same hardware.....vs the PC end where the developers are naturally going to have more problems because every freaking month there are how many related parts hitting the market they need to take into acount?

Yes its nice as a consumer to have choices, but ill take stream lined and running near perfect every time to tons of options but buggy and full of headaches![/QUOTE]

I hope you are not saying that consoles don't have bugs because consoles games have been bugged since day 1.

Perhaps, not as bad as PC gaming (1995 to 2000).

Most of the bugs you speak of came from ambitious design that developers failed to live up to. Not all bugs simply came out of 'faulty' platform.

A good designer/engineer can overcome great obstacles.

If the developers don't like the platform...I hope they do leave. I hope they never come back.

I rather deal with the developers that make the games that challenge and engage me on the platform of my choices with the options I want.
 
Topic updated

Yesterdays QotD
Which developer would you like to see have their catalog(both new and old)hit steam? Feel free to name a developer that already has their games on steam, just not their complete catalog.
 
Dedicated server would be great. I think in the long run it may not be cost effective. It would be nice if they just allowed server browser abilities.
 
I was just talking to someone on LiveJournal about the Christmas sale. I have SO MANY GAMES to play now. It's really exciting.

But I also kind of miss the Christmas sale. I still want Fallout 3 GotY for $20 or less.

And Shaq Fuing Blood Bowl!!
 
As far as the QotD goes, I'm not really well-informed enough about the subject, but thought I'd answer anyways:
I see it as the more options, the better...plus, this is assuming there is some form of VAC or anticheating software on there as well. I'm not a super heavy FPS player, so I haven't really experienced too many instances of cheating, but I have once in TF2, and it was quite frustrating (a cheating-bastard sniper)...which is funny, since it did have VAC on the server, but was caught by a mod after killing people for hours, and someone complained...but that point aside, I don't think there is a downside to having more options, unless its a secret move by steam to start charging for access to their servers, and somehow everyone started to depend solely on steam providing servers for games...
 
[quote name='Jesse_Dylan']I was just talking to someone on LiveJournal about the Christmas sale. I have SO MANY GAMES to play now. It's really exciting.

But I also kind of miss the Christmas sale. I still want Fallout 3 GotY for $20 or less.

And Shaq Fuing Blood Bowl!![/QUOTE]
Heh, I'm in the same boat. I bought quite a few of bioware RPG's too, and I've been putting them off because I've been intimidated in starting them, and going for the quick-and-dirty type games instead, which is strange, since I think I was most excited about purchasing them in the first place.
The game I've played most since the steam sale? Killing Floor :)
 
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