Brian The Dog on 12/12/2009 at 18:49
Personally I'm a bit paranoid that the company will go bust and then I won't be able to play the games I've bought. I still play games from the 80's & 90's, and most of the software companies that made them have gone bust (as well as some of the retailers!), and since I like these games I would still want to play them. So the only one I go for is GoG, since you can burn the files to a CD, install them and then file the CD away in a safe place, only bringing it out to make backup copies :) I have a Steam account but only to let me play Half-Life2.
CCCToad on 13/12/2009 at 03:06
Yes and No. For newer games, I like having a physical copy I can use.
However, digital distribution is where its at. Thanks to digital Distribution, I have copies of a few older games that are near-impossible to find in stores nowadays. Most recently, I bought the Jedi Knight collection on STEAM. Good luck finding a physical copy of Dark Forces or Jedi Knight(let alone the expansion).
Its also a huge boon to indie game makers, who can now directly sell their games online instead of having to work through a publisher. Even then, its easier to get an indie game published on Steam or Impulse than to get EA or Ubi to sell discs.
Enchantermon on 13/12/2009 at 03:42
Plus, it's cheaper. There's no paying for printing and duplication. The price can be lessened and fewer copies have to be sold to break even, which can be especially good for indie titles.
EvaUnit02 on 13/12/2009 at 04:15
Quote Posted by CCCToad
However, digital distribution is where its at. Thanks to digital Distribution, I have copies of a few older games that are near-impossible to find in stores nowadays. Most recently, I bought the Jedi Knight collection on STEAM. Good luck finding a physical copy of Dark Forces or Jedi Knight(let alone the expansion).
Bad example, there's a fairly common budget release of JK1 + MotS on one disc, just an Ebay search away.
Do the Steam versions even have the redbook audio soundtracks? I highly doubt it.
Tonamel on 13/12/2009 at 07:35
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I've only used Steam and one other which was ad supported to get Rogue Trooper free. I can't remember the name but I think other people will know it.
90% chance you're talking about GameTap, which was nice until they switched to a web interface that was so horribly implemented that I haven't been able to play a game on it since.
Al_B on 13/12/2009 at 17:35
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
Do the Steam versions even have the redbook audio soundtracks? I highly doubt it.
No - and that's obviously a problem for any game which relied on a physical CD. What Lucasarts
should have done is spend the time and money to allow the game to use digital music files. Or alternatively, included a CD image that could be used for the soundtrack. (e.g. (
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=996112) as someone appears to have done anyway). To not do so and still make money from selling a re-release is a pretty poor showing.
CCCToad on 13/12/2009 at 17:50
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
Bad example, there's a fairly common budget release of JK1 + MotS on one disc, just an Ebay search away.
Do the Steam versions even have the redbook audio soundtracks? I highly doubt it.
Fine, bad example, but my point still stands. Just substitute that for "beyond good and evil" or "Freespace 2". You won't find a new copy anywhere.
