Poll: Steam only gamers?

[Gameguy20100]

I have never bought games from Steam. I don't buy games digitally there are rare exceptions but overall its physical media for me.

 

[SweetShark]

I am part of the well-known species "cheap-ass gamer".
I always wait to buy specific games VERY cheap, so I don't care were I buy the games.
I have accounts in Steam, GoG, BattleNet and Desura. Plus I have the physical DVDs of many old/new games I really like and No-DRM digital games.
It just happens to have many games on Steams I will NEVER play....

I never understood why so many people want to have ONLY games on Steam.....

Plus every single game I play, I just simple put it in my "PC Videogames I Played" List and I move on.

http://www.listal.com/list/finished-videogames-for-pc

 

[Pinkamena]

It's been years since I bought a game from somewhere else than Steam. I realize it's risky, but the ease of access makes it worth it.

 

[SweetShark]

I have never bought games from Steam. I don't buy games digitally there are rare exceptions but overall its physical media for me.

I feel you...
I was like that in the past, but saddly I break and I decided to take a small taste of digital downloadable games......
Now nearly every game I buy is digital just only how much cheaper these games are.....
I wish I had the money to buy every single game physical, but I can't....

 

[Teoes]

Probably 'mostly' although I've toned down of late and been hoovering loads of cheap games from GOG and Humble Bundles. Of course the games bought from Humble end up in my Steam library so that I can keep as many games in one place as possible..

Steam is very convenient, although I should keep a closer eye on GMG. I haven't bought a retail game in years, with the exception of DS/3DS titles.

 

[Aris Khandr]

Mostly Steam, but far from exclusively with them. I've got no problem with Origin, and quite a few of my games come from there. I like the clients. I'll happily take either over things like GOG and Direct2Drive. I picked up a few games from somewhere (I can't remember where anymore), and quite enjoyed the games. A few years later, I formatted my computer. Now I've got an itch to play one of them again, and can't remember where I bought it from. Which is half of the use of going digital, not having to keep track of things. So Steam, Origin, and Amazon are my go-to shops, simply because I want my things in as few places as possible while still getting a good deal.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

I only use Steam when I have to, which is rarely ever.

GoG > steam. I don't like dRm of any kind. And I also prefer older games in many cases (Etrian series excluded)

Pretty much this. The only reason I have a Steam account at all is because I needed one to register the copy of Civ 5 I'd just paid for, and if I'd known it needed a Steam registration before buying it I wouldn't have. I mean, Civ 5 was developed by Firaxis and published by 2K - at what point then does Valve need to know that I'm playing this game and when I'm playing it? Mind you, I do find the name of Steam ironic, considering what they say about frogs and boiling water...

Although that is pretty much griping for griping's sake. I'm much more of a retro-gamer anyway, and the massive majority of my gaming library comes from the first half of the 90's, so I very rarely find myself troubled with DRM. Hell, the active message on most of the games back then was "Make a copy and give it to a friend!". Ah, shareware, I miss you.

 

[lunavixen]

For PC games, I mostly get them from steam, but that's only because they are usually cheaper than disc copies from EB, and i've become a recent aquaintance of gog, and seeing as a lot of the games i play are older ones, it's good to have options. I do like DRM free games, so that i can play them when my net goes down (which is not an unusual occurance, but still bloody annoying). I will admit i prefer digital PC games in MOST cases because lugging all the discs around is a pain (but this is only for PC, not my consoles).

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

The vast majority of my games are Steam, though I've bought Steam keys from other sites, like GMG and those shadier ones from Russia or wherever. Have a few on GoG, mostly old favourites I've bought not for the DRM-free aspect (though I do love that), but for the guaranteed compatibility with modern OSs.

The only exceptions are Squeenix games which I get physically from a friend who works for them and can get staff discount (£5 for just released Tomb Raider, Hitman, etc) though these are activated on Steam. I'll be buying Thi4f in physical copy too, as I do with Bethesda games and the X series. I actually like having things available in my Steam library as it makes it so easy to install them whenever I want. It's also great for modding as a mistake can be rectified by simply "Verifying" files to put them back to normal again.

It is insulting that I have to use their services to play a game that they didn't make, publish, or touch in any way.

They provide Steamworks services which the publisher incorporates into it. It is no different than 360 games using XBox Live services for multiplayer and community features which Microsoft provide (to Gold subscribers only) despite having no other involvement in the game's development.

Steamworks provides a publisher with a distribution platform, easy patch/update deployment, community and voice chat, match-making, copy protection and is already in use by many millions, costs nothing to the end user (unlike Live Gold or PSN+) and offers a store page for sales as well. The publisher chose to use it and pays Valve for those services.

What do you have against it anyway? I can assure you that I've been using it for some years now and it's a brilliant system for buying, installing and playing games, particularly multiplayer. Frequent sales, wide choice and competition (you don't even have to buy steam keys from steam) with an easy to use UI and negligible performance impact. It is actually better than piracy, which is saying something.

 

[Tayh]

I'd rather not support the largest game DRM company/monopoly in the world, so I get my games from alternate distributors.

I've made the mistake of buying a few steam-tied retail games over the years, which has only fuelled my utter hate for the company.

 

[hutchy27]

I voted mostly as I have used other sources including amazon, gamergate, gog etc. I'm also going to be getting a few games on origins later this year too.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I use steam, GOG and the humble bundles.

 

[babinro]

90% Steam
8% Origin
2% Blizzard

I've been tempted to try GoG or GMG but I'm trying to keep my gaming sites to a minimum. Adding yet another program/username/password to the many I currently have acts as an annoyance barrier to entry. Only a truly must have exclusive game will make me go to another site at this point.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

I haven't bought anything off Steam. I don't like the DRM. You don't own Steam games, simple as. It's right there in the User Agreement when you go to sign up. I still prefer physical discs but when it comes to downloading games for PC I would go GOG or an Official Website so I can avoid all that DRM. The only situation I can really think of where I would get a game off Steam (it hasn't happened yet) is when there is nowhere else to get it. Even then I would question how much I want it.

All that said I still play the majority of games on console and I do use the Playstation Store.

 

[neppakyo]

Steam, gog.com for my digital stuff. When i can I'll buy retail, for the collecters edtion for artwork books, soundtrack cd's, making of DVD's. Love that stuff.

People who use origin are weenies. If I have to get an EA game, I'll get a crack that removes the need for origin (SP games).

captcha: can't have nice things. I blame you EA...

 

[Dismal purple]

I try to get drm free copies if I can; It gives me a fuzzy feeling inside when I realize I can do whatever I want with it. So I guess I have a bias against Steam. But if it's super cheap or hard to find I might overlook that.

 

[Echo136]

green man gaming has good sales, and they activate on steam

 

[SpAc3man]

If I can get it on Steam I will. If not then I get it wherever is most convenient.
If a physical copy is cheaper I will possibly go for that. Doesn't happen often though. I will normally wait for the Steam version to be cheaper if the physical version doesn't use Steamworks.

 

[Something Amyss]

They buy back the same 60$ game at 5-15 dollars, then put it back on the shelf only 5$ off, which makes it a 55$ game. Which is an insultingly small discount for the price they paid for the game.

A step that would be unnecessary if publishers didn't leave them with an unsustainable markup. The same publishers who were behind price fixing in the 80s and 90s, mind. The same publishers who have already affected an entire medium.

Also, Gamestop does give the publishers (developers aren't the ones getting the money) a steady stream of income. You may not like them, but they're one of the biggest new game retailers in the world, regardless of their other practices.

 

[romxxii]

I'd have voted for the 100% Steam option, were it not for GOG's very recent sale. I got Torchlight for free, and Arcanum for $3. Couldn't pass up the chance. I'd have gotten Witcher 2 at $5 too, were I not already turned off by the first Witcher's torturously needless clickathon combat and arcane interface.