Bes store for pc games?

I am getting my m11x delivered this friday and plan on messing around with it all weekend. I want to start gaming again on the pc, last time I bought and played onoine was back in the action quake 2 and counter strike days when there was like 13 servers. So it has been a while

Where can I get the best deals on buying multiple pc games?

 

Steam. Sometimes direct2drive.

 

steam probably.

 

steam and direct 2 drive are both good online based sources. steam is more of a if it goes bankrupt you lose everything sort of deal (although not likely anytime soon) and direct 2 drive is more similar to buying a retail version except its online so as long as you keep your data and cdkey youre good to go for life.

both have really good deals. sometimes direct 2 drive has 5 dollar deals etc.

 

i don't think you'd lose out on things you've purchased via steam if they go bankrupt. with steam, you get cd keys as well. steam just provides you their own version of the download. most games available on steam don't even require steam to be running to actually play them. steam just installs it in it's own filing system so it can easily manage installs and updates.

there is a large catalog on steam where you can find games for under $10 and games for under $5 as well.

alternatively, you can also purchase many games via amazon and select the online distribution so you don't have to have a physical copy to install the game.

 

How do you extract the installation media and cdkey from steam?

I think in any scenario whereby steam goes bankrupt, maybe they will have some setup that allows ppl to extract what they purchased? who knows. Maybe they will just close shop suddenly and be gone for good. Who knows.

 

the cd key is on your game's info. all of the keys are bound to your account. thus, you have a legal license to the game. you can use any installation media you find to install the game, but your ownership is made true by the key.

to get the game files perhaps in the worst case scenario that steam goes bankrupt and somehow deletes your steam application, the method to go about getting the game files would be to backup your games and restore them right now to ensure you have your game files somewhere.

usually steam downloads binaries for each game and then steam handles installing the game. though, it isn't as streamlined as say D2D in terms of just receiving a download link, you can take the GFC files and extract what's inside them.

but the issue is a moot point because if D2D were to go bankrupt, your physical download link wouldn't exist anymore. in the given scenario that, like most people, you deleted your install files because no one wants to load their hard drive with 5-10+gb installation files, you are in a similar situation in which you have no installation ability. or say for instance you don't have either the install file or the actual game on your computer. you'd be in the same boat as you would be via steam.

however, if you have the game already installed, most of the time the folder with the game files is good enough to run the game, and you most likely need to know just what additional software is needed to run the application (like dx 9, etc) and make sure you have that installed.

 

Best Buy usually has the biggest selection of PC games for sale in-store, more so than Gamestop.

 

The same can be said for steam with regards to the potential for download link to be missing once bankrupt.

Actually direct 2 drive does suggest you backup your media anyway even though it is always available online.

However steam doesnt seem to offer this option at all. I still am not sure you can get the game media from steam if you wanted, even though you may have access to your cdkeys.

 

Please don't spread false information. Gabe Newell has said that if somehow VALVe goes bankrupt, they will simply allow the users to download the games to their PCs (think of it as playing the games in steam offline mode except you will still get to play multiplayer and whatnot). Also if it happens, they will remove the Steam DRM that requires you to launch games through Steam.

Edit: There is a backup feature on Steam too. You can also backup the games to DVD if you like as I think you can back up the game files in iso format.

 

Hold on. Maybe you should look at the situation straight.

There is no 'false information' being spread because that is the reality of the current situation. With steam it requires their client to play the game. With D-2-D its like an e-purchase of the original media and you download the game installation files with CD key. For steam, there is no clause in the end-use agreement (which is always subject to change at their will without needing to notify the customer) or company policy that states what will happen should they go bankrupt or closes service. As such, with the current situation, it will be likely (in fact definately) that you can play your games if D-2-D goes bankrupt (as you have the media) and you cant play with steam (because it requires their steam client to download/install games or play online).

Therefore, there was no 'flase information' because that is what it is setup to be right now to the end user. It doesnt mean steam wont 'do the right thing' if that ever happens, it just that this promise they have is not at all a reality that is tangible at the moment until such unforseen circumstance of their closure then we will know whether they are good for it.

Please reference your source about the 'agreement' by steam's CEO about the likihood of removing the DRM and making downloads available to owners of said games. I think you may be referring to some comment posted on the forums discussing the plausible _potential_ for some actions steam _may_ take. It is hardly legally binding, nor is there any company policy drafted and then implimented to my knowledge to this effect. SO this is all just talk and is not even real, other than a few words on an internet forum.

Again, the current reality is you need steam to play the games you purchase. You dont need D-2-D after you paid them, downloaded and copied down the cd key to your game. No false information is spread. Non-legally binding chatter let alone no tangible implementation from changes in company policy means nothing.

Also, I dont think you can back up installation ISOs. You can backup your installation so you can transfer back to steam again without using internet bandwidth. Its not the same as an installation file. Youd still need the steam client. I dont have steam on my comp right now but I will check on this later too to make sure.

 

as i said before, you don't need steam to play all of the games, you need steam to download the games. perhaps valve games you need steam running, but i've played fallout new vegas multiple times without steam ever running, and i purchased the game via steam.

what i'm saying is, regardless of who goes bankrupt, you're going to be in the same boat come time you never backed up your media...

with d2d, who keeps racks and racks of installation files? i don't. that's ludicrous. i don't think many do. on top of that, you'll need to backup all of the updates to the game as the original installation file won't bring you up to date.

also, a EULA isn't a legal binding document whatsoever. EULA's are signed all the time by minors who can't bind themselves to any legal contract. what they do provide are disclaimers for using the services.

you can back your media through steam. you can back your media via D2D's installation files. it works in similar ways. you get the same end result. same goes with amazon's online store, same with dell's store, and same with most online game stores.

 

Its not quite the same as the way you put it.

Lets face it, steam is nothing but a middle man for the licensing of software to the end user. Infact you are bound by more rules to use the software because the license is redistributed from the company via steam then to you, which is different to if you had gone to a shop and purchased a physical media then it would be company-->you.

Again I have to go check when I get back but the backups still need to be played online once in order for it to work I think. In otherwords, the backed up media still needs to be authenticated _online_via_steam_. So in the makebelief scenario that steam goes bankrupt and you took that extra step of backing up the media that noone else normally does, then you'd still hit a wall unless they release DRM restrictions. Heres the legally tacky part: steam doesnt own the rights to the software, so they are in full legal discretion of the software company, and they can choose not to allow steam to do this as it will be illegal. Basically its unknown territory about whether games work post steam bankrupcy.

Legalities depend on region and country so no point debating this much. But in most cases, the parents hold legal responsibility, so ineffect the parents were the ones that agreed to the agreement (and yes it is legally binding depending where you are though it can change because that legal document included a clause that allows them to change it at will also, gotta love the word play by lawyers huh) are still legally binding. So, it is as if the parents had agreed to the end user agreement.

 

no one can hold a contractual agreement to a EULA because there is no signature or proof binding the any person to the software. it's a gimmick make-belief legal document. most EULA's do not hold up in court well. they can serve their purpose, but are mostly rubbish.

aside from that, you're proving my point exactly that if valve does go out, the account who owns the product key owns a copy of the game from whoever put out the game. it's a cd key, just like what you'd get with other game downloads. in other words, valve doesn't own your game: you do.

my point in defending steam is to not shy away the OP in fear of the more than unlikely event that steam would ever go under. i would put money down to say IGN would go down before valve does. many, many, many independent publishers are posting their games through steam because it offers such a great return, mostly due to the 25+ million users.

 

And of course the discussion degenerates into a hard copy vs. digital copy war.

 

OMG so I just lost an entire response because of login timeout. So anyway in brief:

It depends on the region or country as to the legal specifics. But in general, a contract is an agreement between two or more parties that need not have a physical signature on a written contract in order for it to be binding and legally enforcible. In most places, even oral contracts are legally binding.

In the electronic world, the act of pressing a button is the gesture of an agreement. Also, the act of pressing the 'agree' button is no more arbitrary and philosophically enforcible than a signature on paper or a verbally spoken agreement all of which are enforcible in most places according to the legal definition. Think about it, a signature is an arbitary instrument compared to the days when fingerprints were used for contracts way back when people were mostly uneducated. The most important thing in the legal sense is forensic proof or enforcibility that someone actually agreed to a contract and that the agreement is not fraud. For the old days, fingerprints or palm prints was good enough, then nowadays for signatures there are experts analyzing writing patterns (still completely arbitrary mind you), and in the electronic age, there are purchase trails, electronic trails, computer information, etc that can tie a user down. Is it foolproof? No. Neither is a fingerprint or a signature that can both be forged or forced.

I think the licensing scheme via steam is a little different. They are kinda the broker to the license and you agreed to the license via an agreement with steam and not direct to the company. They give you a license but they may not be subject to the same terms had you purchased the software somewhere else or direct through them.

Of course Im not saying steam isnt safe either. I myself have around $100 invested in steam thus far also, but its important to note the distinctions and understand the facts. Its like saying you dont actually own your copy of windows you paid 300 bucks on, but that it is merely leased to you by Microsoft. Its a hard pill to swallow but its a fact, but it doesnt mean they will just yank the ability to use the software from you anytime soon. However it is still important to know the distinction that you dont own it. Likewise it is important to question and know what may happen in case steam goes bankrupt.

 

Let's try to stay on topic here..

During holiday times, Steam usually has great sales. Additionally, Amazon usually has good pricing on video games and coupled with free shipping, can be a pretty good deal.

 

This.

10 char

 

Steam and Direct2Drive ....although I'm not to fond of Steam anymore. They sold me a Battlefield BC2 key and when it wouldn't work, customer service asked me to fork $ and buy another (took 5 days to get a reply). D2D support is excellent and they handle issues within 24hrs.

 

Considering Steam made a billion dollars in 2010 alone; I doubt they will be going belly-up anytime soon.

 

That's quite strange. All games I have on Steam NEED Steam to play, including my copy of Fallout 3, Batman AA and so on. Your case seems to be an exception....

 

Not to stray off topic again, but only to clarify some misinformation. Direct2Drive also requires online activation via their servers when installing a game. After that it's not required.

If you want to buy games online. Amazon.com and Bestbuy.com are great places to get physical box copies. Otherwise, everything else is going digitial distribution. Steam, Direct2Drive, and now even Microsoft is offering games for sale at their store, and are competitively priced.

 

I'm think he means that he can play his games even when offline (Steam has an offline mode).

 

Another benefit of D2D is they often have 15-20% off coupons during the weekends which usually makes it the cheapest place to pre-order or get games on release. I usually pre-order/buy games at release from there and fill out the rest of my library during Steam's sales.

 

Ok, that clarifies it.

 

I'm sad that nobody bothered to mention Impulse for DRM-free games. They also have weekend sales.

 

no, i mean that i don't have to have steam RUNNING when i play non-valve games or games without VAC.

 

Levenly, I'm totally confused. You mean that if you buy a game from Steam, you can run it without running Steam (like offline mode)? Did you do something special? I just ran World of Goo and I could not avoid getting Steam started.

 

I have cod 4 on steam and I can play the multi player without steam running but the single player will force steam to open.

 

Most of my offline capable steam games launch steam while offline to play it also. The games are intrinsically tied to steam.

I think he means games that are not produced by valve (developer of steam) do not need steam to play while completely offline. I have yet to check it.

However one thing is certain, offline backedup games need to be activated online in order to be able to play offline with (or debatably without) steam running.

 

In the 3+ years I've been using Steam I have never ever got to run a game from valve or bought in Steam without having to run it first (online or offline).

 

Me neither. Im not defending his case, Im rewording his perspective.

Thats why I sometimes prefer D-2-D as im not reliant on running steam all the time (even though it doesnt take noticible resources).

 

some games have their own built in launchers that are separate from steam. if you use the steam created launcher for the application, it will launch steam to operate the game.

the most recent game that i purchased via steam that uses internet connectivity to run the game is dc universe online, and that game does not require steam to be active in order to play the game online. my friend bought DCUO via amazon to save 2 dollars, and then added it to steam as a 3rd party game. steam recognizes the game as DC Universe Online Live, whereas mine recognizes it as DC Universe Online. both games are launchable and playable outside of steam. they do not require steam to operate. many games purchased through steam are like this. i have not done anything magical or configured the game in any such way - all that is happened is that the game does not require any particular source mods or VAC to operate the game, thus, it doesn't really need steam in order to run the game.

steam games using VAC and / or are released by valve usually force steam to open, but there are many games that don't. the point is, steam isn't some dreaded resource hog that 'needs' to be used in order to run your games, which is a common misconception that gives reason to neglect the usefullness of the software.

 

Every game that I have purchased through Steam, when launched with a shortcut from desktop, will then launch steam immediately.

Maybe you have magic Steam?

 

I think he is just trying to defend steam a little too much.

Fact is steam also serves as kinda a long term DRM control. Steam always has background processes running, even if the user interface for steam is not launched or showing up on the taskbar tray. From my own experience, steam UI always has to run to have the games work but that could just be my game selection there.

I challenge he go into msconfig, shut down all steam processes and try running said games again without steam and see if it still works.

 

i was trying to prevent you from implying to the OP that steam is poor because valve has the possibility that it might go under (like any business) and you would lose all access to your game library. it spawned into a debate about how d2d is better because you receive installation files, which only helps you if you intend on keeping your game files for the purpose of reinstalling it because you perhaps might anticipate IGN to go under or losing the download link.

steam is most certainly a DRM, but ineffective just like the bulk of DRMs. steam has a large pirating problem, even though the products are installed through .msi files which adds the game to the registry and installs it via steam. however, i will go through my library and check to see which games run without any steam processes. i don't have many non-valve games in my library though. between orange box, counter-strike 1.6/source, gmod, l4d series, and hl2 dm, i perhaps have a couple of other games.

i will do that when i get home from work. i don't like having many start up processes, and i especially don't like steam starting up because in the event i don't have any connectivity to the internet, steam freaks out and takes a few minutes to determine that it will not be able to connect to the steam servers to launch the home page properly.

 

Since it is well established by now in this thread the best source for PC games online is likely steam and D-2-D, but without getting too sidetracked, I will say this:

No I was not exagerating the possibility of steam going out of business. How is that even possible right now seeing as steam is so popular? Nobody could have imagined absolute giants in their field like Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, and Enron going under either but thats just getting way too sidetracked.

Anyway I just made a light comment on what is actually a reality from the current perspective and setup to the end user (i.e. you need steam client to play steam games but you dont need D-2-D anymore if they go under) but you and others had to take the discussion to a tangent.

RE Your first paragraph, the same could be said for backing up steam games so that argument doesnt stand.

 

the whole point was to show that regardless if steam or IGN go out of business, and the unlikely event that your downloading capabilities are cut off from their servers, then it wouldn't matter which user bought X game from either distributor, because they would be in the same situation. so it's not an argument. it's just reality. if you lose, then you lose. you can't equate one retailer is much better because another retailer could fail when both have equal chances at failing since they're both billion dollar operations performing the same or similar services.

and no, i attempted to stay on topic in this thread by adding the alternatives and addressing your questions as to how to "extract the installation files" (it isn't really an installation file). i initially was simply stating that your scenario in which steam goes out of business puts buying games via d2d is better implying that the same wouldn't happen to you when purchasing game from d2d, was a bit untrue.

if you don't keep those large installation files from d2d, then you're in the same boat. my intentions were clear - i was merely pointing out that you were semi-misguiding the OP.

and for the games i have installed, cs 1.6 and black ops will not run without steam, but both use VAC servers. dc universe online runs without steam. after installing my vertex 2, i never really got around to installing any other games but two games, and SC2 since my primary hard drive has changed and i wiped all of my games to create a clean storage disk

 

Please. That is not the way you tried to spin this. You started the whole thing of trying to spin it like you'd be wasting all this HDD space by saving D-2-D games, meanwhile it was I who suggested it is no different in the case of Steam, so your arguments are not valid and typical fact spinning. Although in reality we actually shared the same opinion that there is no difference in terms of having to store the original media, which I too never argued against, yet you ahve consistently brought up as a point of argument. So please stop fact spinning and lying. I will point you to your very own quote in post #7 in this thread:

Come on thats just typical surface scratching statements.

There are technical differences too between the two companies on how DRM and game licensing is handled. Steam typically has most games clamped down with DRM which is tied heavily to your steam account and their services. D-2-D also has DRM locks on some of their games, but there are sometimes options for offline activation, or in many cases online activation is handled direct with the software company, so its no different to going to a store and buying a disk.

Take Fallout 3 for example. D-2-D activation is via Bethesda Studios themselves. On Steam? You need the steam client and steam servers for activation. So, in this case even if IGN goes bankrupt youre still good to go as long as the studio themselves are still there. On the other hand, if steam goes bankrupt, then you are out of luck as the official line is there are no contingency or guarentee on what happens so its completely a toss up.

 

are you kidding me? you're basing this entire debate on the very unlikely hypothetical scenario that steam goes bankrupt. i'm not spinning anything, i'm merely trying to keep you from convincing people who inquire where to purchase online games from avoiding using steam because of some nonsense. in fact, other users have pointed out that it is unlikely as well. i just don't understand why you would emphasize that this is a big deal breaker when it comes to purchasing games. you can have your opinion on the software, that's perfectly fine. i use both d2d, steam, and amazon download to buy games.

i haven't lied or spun anything to my knowledge. my reasoning for bringing up deleting the installation files is because i do not believe most people keep the myriad amount of installation files, thus, you're in the same situation if IGN were to go out of business. that is all. i don't recall you explaining that steam and D2D put the user in similar situations when it comes to keeping "installation files". if you did, i'm sorry for attempting to show that it would be a bit much to keep many gigabytes worth of storage reserved for installation files when you could simply just use the download link provided because there is an EXTREMELY low chance of either company doing out of business, thus, it isn't imperative you anticipate it happening... so you don't need to fill up your hard drive with useless data

i'm aware that steam has a DRM - if your initial argument was that steam's DRM is too resource intensive, than thats fine. that's more or less debatable, and though while i agree steam can be a nuance, it has really never shown me many problems. but the bankrupting issue is such a low possibility, that you need not worry about it. it would be like saying "don't drive because you could crash your car and kill yourself". yeah, it's true, that could happen, but you can die doing pretty much anything these days, especially with numerous hypothetical situations that are a bit ludicrous.

anyways, this is a bit ridiculous that this debate has gotten this far...

 

I suggest you go back and re-read this thread and realign your understanding of the situation to avoid further misunderstandings and raise pointless arguments.

My first post here, I said both are good sources. I personally buy games from both companies. Nowhere did I suggest steam purchases are dangerous from bankrupcy. I just raised a hypothetical.

In response to 2nd paragraph, go read your post (#7 in this thread). You proped up steam by justifying steam can backup media files too. Then you had to bring up a point about D-2-D missing the DL link in case of bankrupcy and requiring users to needlessly save huge media files in anticipation as a way to put down D-2-D. Yet you probably shouldnt be bringing this up in the first place because both companies are in similar situations (the part about needing to save big files). In fact you are the first to bring up the discussion point about HDD space, and you are the only one who continues to argue this. I didnt bring up HDD space limitation being an issue. You did. I didnt argue against the fact both steam and D-2-D will similarly require HDD space to store media. Yet you continually use this as argument against me. Meanwhile I have been scratching my head and insinuated all along they are both in the same boat, which is why I gently suggested in the post above that we actually share the same belief on the issue.

For the third paragraph, no I am talking about the difference between steam and D-2-D in how DRM is unlocked even for the same game. I gave an example: Fallout3 (via steam) is activated via steam server. Fallout3 (via D-2-D) is activated via Bethesda Studios themselves. So, should steam go out of service, you may have a problem. Should IGN go out of service, you may still be ok as you are dependent on the original software developer. Mind you, not all D-2-D purchased games need DRM unlocking. Some can even be done offline.

 

Too convoluted, but I get the point. And I would have tried to put it simpler: if you but a game not from steam, you can add it but it will not require to run steam all the times. On the contrary, if you but a game from steam you always have to run steam.

Personally I am not against Steam, but rather to the confussion of new users reading this thread and getting the idea that steam is just a downloader (like D2D system).

 

I REALLY like steam. i used to be purely retail copies, but after hitting a few steam sales, i much prefer steam now. its so much easier, so much safer (as in your less likely to destroy your disks), there is a nice community, everyone is on it, and you have instant access to all your games.

as long as you dont cheat in multiplayer games or get hacked (for gods sake put a decent password on your account) you will love steam.