Steamy Future

Steam is the future of gaming and here’s why:

Gamers have always wanted a way to get around the retailer. While I enjoyed, in the past, going to EB Games and GameStop (back when they weren’t the same company) there was always the problem of actually going to the store. I had to get dressed and leave my house, which cuts into the all important gaming time, which nowadays is extremely limited (curse become an actual adult instead of just one on the outside). Steam eliminates that trip that now I would rather not make. It also removed the middle man, the overeager salesperson whose sole job is to try to get me (the customer) to buy a bunch of useless crap I really don’t need (like pre-owned games, magazine subscriptions, and company “bonus” cards). Steam doesn’t sell me crap I don’t need. Sure, there are the bundle packs that give you a handful of games from the same company or same genre, but you can also buy each of those games individually or get them all much, much cheaper in the bundle. This is drastic change from the retail bundles, which usually contain very little stuff you actually want, trick you into thinking you are getting more than you actually are, and only save you $5 to $10 than if you purchased each item you wanted individually. I hated these things about retailers, but with Steam they are eliminated.

Granted, they are also eliminated with Amazon.com, and granted that is where I buy all my console titles, but digital distribution is a godsend to me.

I don’t have to store countless (and mainly useless) boxes, manuals, and extra crap that came with the game. I don’t have to worry about scratching the disk or losing it. That has always been the biggest worry for me, that I would lose or scratch that one disk beyond usability. I would, more or less, lose the game I paid for if that happened. This has become more of an issue with all the new anti-pirating software that is making copying disks to make back-ups for that exact reason more difficult to do. The industry doesn’t trust us. There was a great article by an adventure game company; the lead developer basically said they don’t use any copy protection or anti-pirating software because it doesn’t matter. This is absolutely true; no amount of copy protection will stop hackers and pirates from getting their hands on your game and redistributing it everywhere. I actually love Steam’s anti-piracy software compared to other games. I would much rather just have to connect to the internet once, to verify my game and download any patches, and be done with it. Anti-piracy on PC games today does nothing but inconvenience the customer, the person who actually paid for your game. It doesn’t stop pirates. At best, it just slows them down a few days until they crack it and that’s the end of it.

Another great thing about Steam is the way it updates all my games at the same time without me having to individually find and apply all the latest patches. I can’t imagine how much time and frustration that saves me. I open Steam (connected to the internet) and “poof”; all the patches start downloading and applying in the background. I can cancel them if I really wanted to (like if I needed the extra bandwidth because I’m getting lag in Team Fortress 2), but I rarely, or rather never, do. It is just something else I enjoy about Steam.

Steam is also a godsend to independent developers and indie games. The biggest problem with these companies and games is exposure. They don’t have the marketing resources to put their game in every store and on the best spot on the shelves. Steam delivers their game extremely cheaply to a large audience (very similar to the way I-Tunes do to new upcoming artists). I like being able to find these games much easier. Audiosurf was an awesome find. It is probably one of my favorite games at the moment (I’m fickle).

Audiosurf Formula:

Games with the ability to add your own soundtrack = Great!

Games that are about your own soundtrack = Totally Awesome!

It’s like Guitar Hero/Rock Band/DDR but with only songs you actually like . . . which I’m sure Rock Band/Guitar Hero/DDR will quickly copy.

Back to Steam, I also really enjoy the community services they offer. The friends list, voice chat, text chat, and all that jazz are a great addition. I’m not going to hype them too much, because at this point in online gaming they are pretty much required and expected.

Now, I’ve heard all the negative stories about Steam. I’ve heard the myth that you have to connect to the internet every time you play the game, which is false, you can play nearly every game in “offline mode”. I’ve heard the myth that you can’t make copies of your game, which is also false, you can. You can create backup copies of the games you’ve purchased, you just can’t play them (if you install it from the backup) until you connect to Steam once to verify the game.

I’ve heard everything there is to hear about the reasons Steam is “evil”. But, like most things in life, it is mostly bullshit spouted by people who would complain about something no matter how flawless the system was. The same thing is happening with Vista, granted a good number of those problems are, in fact, real problems but I would say 80% of Vista’s “problems” are user error blamed on Vista. I’m not supporting Vista, at all (I actually think it was released way too soon with too many flaws and bugs), but I am supporting the fact that most people saying bad things about products online are completely full of shit. A great example is: “Vista fried my motherboard.” That just makes me laugh. I find it extremely unlikely “Vista” had anything to do with it. Having the wrong drivers (or not updating your drivers) would not “fry” the motherboard, ever (unless you had some completely ridiculous and improperly set-up over-clocking going on – which again would be “user error”), and that’s pretty much the only thing Vista would screw up on the motherboard to begin with. The same thing happens a lot with Steam. Users are usually pretty stupid and if they can’t figure out what the real problem is right away, then it must be Steam (or Vista).

The success of Steam can be seen in the new “services” popping up that more or less just copy Steam’s method of delivery. The only problem is . . . they aren’t Steam. They don’t have the reputation, the stability, the games, or the player-base to compete (right now at least). I don’t understand why companies are trying to start their own version of Steam, just use Steam, period. I really don’t want to have logins, passwords, and my account information tied to more services than I need to. Steam works, and it works great for most people, including myself.

These upstart Steam knock-offs are only going to create panic over digital distribution. All it is going to take is one of these “B” services to fall through, and the players to lose the games they paid for, to cause panic in the entire market. The main reason people don’t use Steam is because “what happens if the company goes under? Will I still be able to play my game?” With Steam, they have a system in place in case that ever happens. They plan to release a patch that removes the need to connect to their servers to verify your game, effectively removing the need for Steam, if they ever get to that point. The other companies don’t all have this contingency plan (some due to some level) and that is, in the end, going to ruin these types of services.

If I were working on Steam I would be doing everything I can to get as many companies and games on the service as fast as possible. Digital distribution would work much, much better if there were only one or two (or three) different services to go through. My money is on Steam, and I hope that is the winning bet.

So, to all you PC gamers out there: Use Steam, it is totally worth it.