Why Do People Still Buy Games From STEAM??

AWPC

AWPC

AWPC

Soldato
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8 Dec 2005
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Just curious really on new games only as they appear to be usually more than the discounted etailors prices (which are usually 15-20% cheaper than retail prices when you pre-order) so trying to understand why PC gamers are happy to give Steam more money for a digital download vs a physical product (aside from the no box/disc to keep track of or need to have the disc in the drive which is easily bypassed nowadays anyway).

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770231

This thread contains some interesting opinions on the subject and Valve have been busy with the ban hammer as well on users who spoke too honestly on the subject. I know a lot of people on here love Steam so perhaps you could convince us non-believers why :confused:
 
The reason I buy (sometimes) is when you can get software where you can pre-download before release date, and sometimes if you pre-order you get previous titles for free.

Take Empire At War - I got Rome for free (Granted the pre load was a **** up) but the idea was there :)
 
Another reason is some of the older games are a pain to install on Vista (if they will) where as Steam just downloads the content and installs them and so far so good, also a lot of the time (and you do have to check) Steam is cheaper than the retail versions.
 
Convenience
No need to have the disc in the drive, or to use a crack
Sometimes there are good deals on there
Some games are Steam exclusive anyway
 
convenience, i wish all my games were on steam

i wouldn't pay the silly prices that they ask for games like COD4, but i really didn't mind paying £34 for Left 4 Dead. console gamers pay more, and the games on consoles are worse and non-moddable
 
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It's not quite instant snowdog. :p But with todays broadband getting there.

I personally used steam if the deals were amazing, not just out of convience. If I see better deals on high street stores (I'm 5 minutes walk from princes street so convience isn't a concern between digital nor physical) I'll go get 'em. Even online competitors if they sell cheaper physical.

One benefit I see from steam is the data is always stored on there systems to what you've purchased (on each log in) so can download if you get a new system. Or if you lose a physical disk.
 
bledd. said:
convenience, i wish all my games were on steam
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same here.

If a publisher decides not to release it's games to UK Steam customers (I'm looking at you, EA), then chances are I won't buy it.

The only non-Steam game I've bought in recent years is Burnout Paradise - and I'd probably buy it again if Criterion released to Steam.
 
madman045 said:
Another reason is some of the older games are a pain to install on Vista (if they will) where as Steam just downloads the content and installs them and so far so good, also a lot of the time (and you do have to check) Steam is cheaper than the retail versions.
Click to expand...
Strange you say cheaper as I have been finding out the opposite that its a lot dearer.

HAWX £34.99 on Steam. £24.99 online.
DOW2 £34.99 on Steam. £24.99 online.
Fallout3 £26.99 on Steam. £17.99 online.
Bioshock £13.99 on Steam. £9.99 online.

As you can see Steam is pretty expensive for some games which is why I am confused about PC gamers liking their services as surely £10 more on some games is a lot to pay for a digital download:eek:
 
FEAR 2 was £24.99 on Steam, so I bought it from there. £5-10 cheaper than the shops. It's also a great place to buy older games - see the UT3 deal this weekend.
 
I dont buy anything off steam unless its price is competive, one exception is CoH which i paid an £1 just so i could have it that night and not wait a day or two
I've read through a few pages of the OP link and it's quite clear that steam are doing a number of europeans
 
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Empire total war = steam logged in required to play it whether you buy the actual disc or from steam.

Cant sell steam games.

I'd rather be able to sell my old games.

So I have no idea why people are paying more on steam for the game.

If you get from an etailer it will still be same as downloading it as it will be on your steam account with the same benefits ie be able to download it just buy logging on to steam.

Steam needs to sort itself out and allow you to sell steam games on to other accounts.
 
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Because sometimes it's much cheaper on Steam than buying online.

Half-Life for a quid last year was my highlight :p

Also, my download is faster than postman.
 
Steam's Convinient, and you can buy the game and guarantee next day delivery if you leave the computer downloading overnight. You also don't have to worry about losing the disks as you can redownload the game at any time. Also on some occasions the games are cheaper (Fear 2 being an example) than elsewhere.

EA do put games on Steam in America but the b*****s don't do it here!
 
AWPC said:
Strange you say cheaper as I have been finding out the opposite that its a lot dearer.

HAWX £34.99 on Steam. £24.99 online.
DOW2 £34.99 on Steam. £24.99 online.
Fallout3 £26.99 on Steam. £17.99 online.
Bioshock £13.99 on Steam. £9.99 online.
Click to expand...


i'm not disputing that steam is more expensive at times, it quite often is.

but they also have deals on steam, my Bioshock cost me £2.99

I use steam, but I'd never use something like iTunes for music, even if it was £1 per album if it's locked to that account.
 
Also, when I format/install a new hard drive/go somewhere there's a new PC, I don't have to find all my discs and install one by one and whatnot. Just install Steam, long in, and download whatever I want to play. Bosh, done.
 
I just find it easier to leave my pc over night downloading new releases rather than travelling to the shop and queing up for them.

No need to find a CD/DVD when you want to install it on another PC or after re-install.

Games automatically kept up to date.
 
also.

don't know how many of you realise this.

steam is portable. you can just drop it on an external hard drive, then run steam.exe from the new pc (it'll install a few basic steam things), then you can play instantly after logging in :)
 
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