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Digital game distribution

Discussion in 'Playground' started by Apeman, Oct 20, 2004.

  1. Apeman Gems: 25/31
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    In the light of Halflife II going gold and lying in stores 16 november, I saw this article on CNN.com

    Half life sees the light

    I for one am psyched to see this game finally completed but a certain detail in the article caught my attention.

    Seemingly Valve has some digital distribution system called Steam. Which let you automatically download games and a bunch of other features, kind of a chat some other games etc. etc.
    But I can't see any advantage. I haven't read into the system entirely but I couldn't find the following issues:

    Does this mean that you won't have a hardcopy of the game?

    No printed manual either I presume?

    No extra special addition material - it seems hard to print out a T-shirt.

    I can't seem to find a good reason for such a system. Sure it's fast and easy but still where are the days where games came with huge printed boxes and manuals. What if your computer crashes, do you have to pay again? what if Valve goes bankrupt there are no hardcopies.

    The issue is that if this goes well more and more companies want to work with such system. I'm thoroughly against it though, I just want to pick up that game at my local retailer with a huge box and full colour 300 pages manual.

    Your thoughts?
     
    Apeman, Oct 20, 2004
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  2. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    300 page manual for a shooter? Err... pretty much every manual for a FPS I've seen consisted of about 20 pages to explain the interface, and that was it. FPS are really pretty much the only type of games where the absence of a manual (or manual in pdf form) is not something that'd make much of a difference.

    I assume Steam is cheaper than buying the game in a store, so that should be one advantage.
     
    Taluntain, Oct 20, 2004
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  3. Kam Gems: 15/31
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    Most systems like this store your payment info, so if your computer implodes, just let them know and they'll let you re-dl it. And of course, once you have dld it, what's stopping you from burning it as a backup? That's what I'd do, especially considering how large any kind of recent game is. And quite frankly, I don't see hard copies of games dying any time soon. For one thing, like you said, there's always collector's editions and stuff.
     
    Kam, Oct 20, 2004
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  4. Apeman Gems: 25/31
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    I didn't mean a manual of 300 pages for a shooter, I was talking in general and since my general gaming collection consists of RPG mostly....well.

    Well I don't like the whole concept, even if you burn a hardcopy it's not the same as a printed cd-rom, box and manual. It feels like getting a ripped version of the internet but you are actually paying for it. Special editions are always more expensive and usually not worth the extra bucks.
     
    Apeman, Oct 20, 2004
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  5. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Well, there's also the issue of speed. Steam users will be able to start playing H-L2 the second it's released, since they can preload all the game content in encrypted form beforehand... I know there are also several other goodies which come with Steam, but I'm sure that's explained on the official site.
     
    Taluntain, Oct 21, 2004
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  6. Rednik Gems: 21/31
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    They won't alienate the fans who use dial-up. It's still very common. There is a collectors edition in a box that I'm pretty sure comes with Half-Life 2, Half-Life Source and Counterstrike Source. It also comes with a T-shirt I think.
     
    Rednik, Oct 21, 2004
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