GOG, Stream or Humble Bundle?

[Story]

So I decided to cave and buy/download some PC exclusive games on my shitty school owned Mac. There have been so many Indie games I've wanted to play lately and I'm not holding my breath for my home console Xbox 360 to host any of them.
So my question is, who should I buy games from GOG, Stream, or Humble Bundle?

Keep in mind, I have a small computer and small budget. I'll mostly be playing the games my computer can handle.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Edit:
Here are the specs as far as I know:
Mac OS X version 10.6.8
It's a laptop...yeah I'm not too good at this PC gamer thing. Not yet anyway.

 

[The Madman]

If it's older games you're looking for, then GOG is your best option.

If it's newer games you're looking for, Steam is your best option.

Haven't tried the Humble store yet myself so can't really vouch for its quality.

 

[PFCboom]

GOG is great for having loads of old-school games from the 80's and 90's. You just can't go wrong with the Quest for Glory series.

Steam has zillions of easy-to-run indie titles, but the cost can add up. Definitely wait for a seasonal sale.

Humble Bundle... I'm not very familiar with it, I'm afraid. Upon first glance though, I would say that maybe it doesn't have the sheer library size that Steam has. On the other hand, it seems like your purchases help out charity, so if you wanna get the warm-and-fuzzies, that's the way to go.

 

[Genocidicles]

I've only used the Humble store a couple of times. I don't really know how good they are... But out of Steam and GOG, I say go with GOG.

It has no DRM, frequent sales, and 30 day refunds (great for when you cant get a game working on your PC).

Steam only has sales really... and maybe the community if that's your thing.

 

[Clowndoe]

Everything else being equal, I always go with GOG, just for the convenience of no DRM. But the main thing is just go where the games are. If something's only on Steam or it's on 90% sale, I don't mind going with Steam.

 

[klaynexas3]

If it's on either Humble or GoG, go with one of those. If it's not, then Steam. I have little against Steam, I love it actually, I just prefer GoG and Humble. But don't stick with one store or anything. Use all the stores that you need to get what you want.

 

[Ratty]

I'd suggest adding Desura to your mix. And just be aware that with Gog you can make physical back ups and stuff if you want to, which might help you save space/migrate your saved games to a new computer etc. Steam has the largest library and usually has unbeatable seasonal sales though.

 

[MysticSlayer]

If it is available on GOG, then I would always go there unless you can get the game cheaper on Steam, which sometimes happens during sales. Steam is also a great service and its large library should allow you to find whatever you want, but you do have the Steam DRM, and its offline mode can be a little unpredictable (some games work, some don't), which is a major downside compared to GOG. Overall, though, both are incredible. I just prefer GOG.

Outside of those two, though, I haven't had enough experience to really comment.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Everything else being equal, I always go with GOG, just for the convenience of no DRM. But the main thing is just go where the games are. If something's only on Steam or it's on 90% sale, I don't mind going with Steam.

This. I'm not a big PC gamer, but whatever you can get on GOG, GET ON GOG! It's sooooo bloody convenient.

Beyond that, Steam, and I've only ever used Humble Bundle when they got a thing going and I can snatch up their games for pennys. Yeah, I'm that guy, wanna fight about it? Nah, you're not big enough.

 

[Weaver]

GOG is DRM free, but that said sometimes games update first on Steam and later (sometimes, like, a lot later) on GOG (Don't Starve, for example).

 

[Neverhoodian]

Pssst, you can get the original Dungeon Keeper for free right now on GOG for a limited time, so you might want to grab that while you can. Just sayin'.[footnote]This message was in no way endorsed by GOG[/footnote]

I use both GOG and Steam for my purchases. To be honest, both are excellent services in their own right. They both offer a wide variety of games that run well on older systems and have absolutely amazing sales and specials. GOG earns extra points for its no-DRM policy, but this is offset by its more limited selection of titles.

I recommend making a list of games you're interested in and check in on both services periodically. With all the sales they have, you'll have a good chance of getting what you want for a fraction of the price.

CAPTCHA: "Last Minute Deals." See, even it knows GOG is great.

 

[Dalisclock]

Steam has a huge library and they have newer games. GOG tends to be(but not always) have older games(They will occasionally get adventure games at the same time as steam).

Humble bundle is a good deal, but I rarely use it because 90% of the time if they offer I game I want I've already purchased it from Steam or GOG.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Go humble bundle when you can as part of the profits go to charity, and you'd be supporting indie developers which is good for the industry as a whole.

 

[Zontar]

I tend to use all three, and tend to have the hierarchy of buying be: GoG, Humble, Steam. Though given the larger number of games and more frequent sales Steam is the one I have the most games on. Beauty of PC gaming though, you can get all three (hell, because I got the EA bundle I'm not that ashamed to admit I also use Origin).

 

[BeeGeenie]

They're all good, it just depends what you're looking for. If it's on GOG or Humble, get it there. If not, Steam is also awesome for holiday sales and shear variety.

 

[frobalt]

I'd say your best bet is to find a game you want and then see how much it costs on all 3 (or whichever it's available on) then buy from the cheapest supplier.

If it's on steam and too expensive for you, add it to your wishlist so you're told when it goes on sale.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

For me right now its Humble/Steam and GOG third, mainly because I have already bought all the nostalgia titles I really wanted off them.

For the most part I just wait for either Humble Bundles or the annual Steam Sale, but always remember to check some other sites before committing any money as places like Green Man Gaming can undercut Steam even when its doing a promotion.

 

[gorfias]

Humble bundle = Random bundles of games, usually goes to charity and is a very good choice for packs to build up a library. Usually gives you origin, uplay, or steam game codes.

I have seen price creep. They recently did a bundle with Civilization and it was like $15. But I've gotten a ton of games there, DRM free for as little as $1. Not per game. For an entire bundle. Some sales, like their Origin sale, are off the hook. But they come at another price: I had to have Origin on my computer for the Origin bundle that came with Dead Space 1, 3, Medal of Honor, Crisis 2, Sims 3 with 2 expansions, Populus, Red Alert 3 Uprising, Burnout Paradise and Mirrors edge, all for $5 TOTAL. Another Bundle made me link my Humblebundle with the Steam account It was worth it as I only use an account with very limited funds to steal if I had to worry about that.

There's a lot of MAC and Android games there. I've even bought, for $5, 11 audio books that are good to listen to on my long commutes on my phone over my car radio.

There is a humblebundle store, weekly sale and bi-weekly sale tab at the website www.humblebundle.com . If you buy in on a sale early, you'll get the lowest price. They often, toward the 2 week mark, add more games to their bundles.

Definitely worth checking out.

 

[Story]

Thanks for the advice everyone. All of it was actually extremely helpful. I know next to nothing about PC gaming. I decided to go with GOG for now if only because the place has quite a few smaller/older titles that my Mac can run. I bought Papers, Please and it's running quite well. It's good to know there is a backlog too.

Now a word of warning for mac, some games don't have the quality ports that Windows enjoys. So you end up having to brute force it because Steve Job doesn't care about gamer people.

Also, post specs.

Thanks for the heads up. I was kinda disappointed that I couldn't get Nidhogg. Figures I would get the computer equivalent of the Xbox 360.

Also I edited my OP with what I think are my specs? I should have posted what version I had at least earlier.

 

[babinro]

Humble Bundle first then the others.

Humble Bundles allow you to support charity or the devs directly. You have more control over who benefits from your purchase and that's great. Admittedly though, anything I buy on humble bundle just gets unlocked on Steam. They pretty much co-exist using steam as a game hub and launcher but giving humble bundle charity and devs all the money.

I've never purchased a truly old game on humble bundle though. I'd imagine GoG is still your source for 80's and 90's software where compatibility might be a concern.