Roger L.S. Griffiths wrote:Inverness wrote:The purpose of Steam isn't to be DRM. It's a useful service for both players and developers.
I have tried arguing this point before; However, many people who are anti-Steam do not accept it as a valid argument.
I certainly appreciate the position of Ebany but without knowing the exact details of the overcharging incident it is difficult to say if Ebany's view point is correct. Certainly, if it is correct then it would be pursuable in a small claims court if Ebany was so inclined.
I don't believe I'm correct as such, but I won't change my opinion no matter how good the argument. It was no "one" thing which makes me dislike Steam, its an accumulation of events over an extended period of time.
e.g. The Witcher 2 (just before its release) had its viewer rating changed and Steam suddenly decided they wouldn't release the "Mature" version so took it off their store site. They refused to give refunds to people who pre-purchased (changing their copies to the "child-safe" version) until enough people complained and threaten to get the Australian Consumer Affairs people involved.
e.g. Harebrained Studio's just launched their Shadowrun Returns game. This was my rpg back in the 80's & 90's so I helped out at Kickstarter. There is a forum full of Steam customers who couldn't download it, or received corrupted copies, Steam was still looking into it last I checked .... after I had completed the game.
Steam is like religion, for some its bought joy, inner peace and beauty. For the others it's bought horror, bloodshed and pain.
I am a simple creature but will not forgive Steam their authoritarian attitude. Some companies (Steam) believe they're to big to fail so start treating their customers like an Automated Cash Dispenser, there purely for the financial gain of Steam.
Now Steam is just the playground for others of a like mind, they're ushering in the DLC era, no longer content to make money off a product sale (and an expansion every year) now we have DLC crap flooding the market in an attempt to siphon more money out of consumers. Don't get me wrong, making money is great and all but like eating a person must know when enough is enough.
Again, I understand why a development would use Steam to market their product, I just don't understand why a developer would ONLY use Steam.
Oh, and Steam can ban/cancel you account at any-time so losing access to all your games wont just happen if Steam folds or if another company buys them out. Steam classifies themselves as Social Networking, much like Facebook.