big brother steam, how cheap

i like steam, because it makes downloading and keeping games easy.
there are also great discounts in games from time to time. but i've been feeling like steam is becoming a big brother, and controlling TOO much of our rights.

for example, i bought a game through steam and enjoyed playing it.
and few days ago it goes on sale as a bundle, along with another game. The bundle is a good deal, so I buy it, but I know that I won't be getting the extra copy of the game I already had.

This seems like it's just a simple rule made by Steam, but if I walked into a store and bought a bundle game, the store clerk won't tell me "since you already have the 1st game, I can't let you take that one home." WTH??

It's ridiculous how Steam is trying to prevent us from getting extra copies, because we are going to be gifting it to friends, which would mean a sale lost, but in reality, it's not a sale lost; It's actually US that are getting ripped off.

Is it a technical problem to get extra copies? NO, because they sometimes give you extra copies if they specify it so. What's the deal with not giving extra copies if I paid for BOTH games regardless of the fact that I already have one of the games?

I also hate the fact that I can't divide up the bundle games to send to different people. It's definitely not a technical problem to allow this, it's just that steam wants to get more sales in a really CHEAP way!

I wish I can boycott steam but it's too powerful...
I would definitely move on to a different program than steam if there was one..

 

I don't think it Steam's fault. For example if you buy the Orange box and you already have some games in the bundle, you can gift the extra copies. I think the problem you encountered is from the other publishers selling on Steam and not a rule instigated by Valve.

 

i say the same thing for any drm. if you don't agree with them, don't use it. protest with your wallet.

 

If you really wanted to Boycott them you could just use Direct2Drive.

 

I agree with the OP. At least knock a small % off the price if you already own a game or two in the package if you're not able to gift it. I've run across this on numerous occasions where I own several games already in the pack, so if you got all the games it would be a good deal, but if you only get two or three of them, it's not, so I don't buy at all.

I still think Valve should set up a used game market allowing users that want to sell unused games to other Steam users at a discount. Steam can set the price and take a % of that sale, even a hefty % like 50%. So at least you can make a few bucks, Valve would get money for a game they most likely would not have sold to someone else at full price.

 

Yeah...

Steam isn't an awesome application that improves your gaming experience...

It's just Vavle's DRM. I think gamers forget that, that's all Steam is. DRM. The more you learn about it, the more you read about, the more realize how bad Valve's DRM really is. It's among the worst DRM available, but Valve added some convenient fluff around it, making you forget they have you on their leash...

I don't really understand Valve fanboys. Widespread DRM, combined with a horrible engine called Source, I don't really get why anyone would like Valve.

 

$8 games is why I like Steam.

 

The Source engine isn't horrible. It's more CPU bound than most engines, but that makes it better on systems with less powerful GPU's. I think Source is great.

As far as Steam, yeah it has its caveats for sure, but their specials pricing is rock bottom ridiculous.

 

Who cares if Steam has DRM?

The system works well, thats all that matters. I dont like DRM either but i have no issues with using Steam.

Less reading, more gaming.

 

I use Steam and I enjoy their rock bottom deals, but thinking of looking at Impulse and supporting that instead.

 

DRM: there are different types

kind-publishers:
none

low-key: (small hassle, allows you to give away/sell your copy)
CD-keys... prevent illegitimate copies from going online(well, semi-ability to sell if the CD-key isn't tied to any personal account unlike Steam)
CD-checks ... prevent illegitmate copies from booting

medium-key: (more hassle, can't give away/sell copies)
Steam ... protection from piracy while balancing some good aspects(download your game anywhere without any problem[besides the install limits that a few games have])

hard-core: (a lot of hassle, but might be able to give away/sell copies)
Ubisoft ... single-player game requiring internet access at all times

extreme-core: (what is this s**t doing in my computer?)
Starforce/Sony Rootkit... might destroy your OS by installing low-level drivers

am I missing anything?

 

Did that really happened? You should contact steam and ask for you legitimate extra copy or for the refund of your money. Simply put that is fraud.

 

Well, it's not fraud because it tells you when you buy it that you won't get the extra copy if you already own it. It's a crappy policy but not fraud.

 

Was that written? I have never bought such bundles, that is extremely crappy indeed.

 

While the quantitative selection of titles isn't the same as on Steam, Impulse is still a much better service imo. I use both Steam & Impulse and if the option to download a game is available on both I opt for the latter.

 

bundles are bundles, that's just how it works. Often times you're saving money on a bundle anyway, don't want to rebuy a game - then look for the single product for purchase. There's always aspects of how things work that people don't like, steam is great IMO and there's a reason why so many people use it over any other digital distribution. There's also the in-game aspect of steam, and like OP mentioned, the download service. It beats the hell out of GFWL on demand and D2D.

The DRM I feel is very helpful b/c those that view it as a bad thing, I view it as helpful. Log into steam on any of my computers and bam, game library is ready for me to download and go. No cd/dvd or keys to whip out and find to enter and install. Backup feature is A+, have 75% of my games backed up on external HDD for reinstall on another PC or whatever.

I don't see Steam as a big brother since you choose to use it - unless of course you're playing any Valve games or certain steamworks games, but there are many other ways to get your games.

 

i know steam is easy and nice to use.
unfortunately, the fact that you stated "bundles are bundles, that's just how it works" already means you missed my point, and i don't want to explain what i've already explained.

so just because youre saving money on bundle anyway, you're okay with the store owner keeping that extra copy away from you?
nevermind this whole discussion.
i was simply tired of steam's obvious scheme, and wanted to get my thoughts out there. not trying to argue.

and relating to recent week long sale by rockstar on steam, i was pretty annoyed that they don't reveal their week long sale schedule like newegg usually does.
it's like, i bought max payne 1 for $2.50, and I'm waiting for max payne 2 to be on sale, but at this point, i don't know if it will be on sale or not!
so when the bundle comes out for 4 hours at $3.75, i buy it and I lose my extra copy of max payne 1. and later, max payne 2 goes on sale for $2.50..

if rockstar was trying to please a variety of customers by putting up sales of separate copies and bundles, they should've told the schedule of sale so customers would be happy.
it's obvious rockstar is trying to get people to buy things in the spur of the moment, and then waste $1.50 like I did.
I know $1.50 isn't much, and it's ROckstar's fault, not steam, but steam and rockstar are similar in that they are trying to get a few extra bucks out of their customers in ways that are simply called "cheap".

take a look at newegg, and how their customers are so satisfied with their way of doing things.
rockstar and steam, to me, are bunch of cheap *** who want to backstab their customers for extra penny.
It just comes down to whether the company is an honest company that cares about its customers, or if they see customers as purely a source of money without any respect at all.

 

^ the thing is, you're assuming retail and digital distribution are the same regarding the bundles argument of the store not letting you keep a game apart of a bundle. When I buy digital I don't expect the same exact services I expect at a B&M or retail store with physical goods. It's also why I personally do not pay full MSRP for digital games (well for most games for that matter). But just look at the steam sales that are available every week. They're at prices that we just don't see for games at retailers and this goes hand-in-hand with the no resale aspect. I would rather buy 75% off games and just keep them in my "digital library" than get 10%-20% sales just to have a physical copy. But with PC gaming, most things now physical purchase or not are being tied digital.

But I'm not in for arguing either, I figure you posted a discussion thread, for discussion or venting or whatever, and like everyone on the internet, I have an opinion on the matter for open discussion right?

 

^ Exactly this. By OP's logic, in-store buyers should fly out into a fit of rage at the store-owner if they are selling a game at normal price that Steam has discounted.

Each store has its own policies, sales, etc, even within the store. Considering Steam can't dictate how Publishers pitch their bundles and that unlike most even in-store owners they will often honour a discounted price if you miss it by a few hours/days, I think OP doesn't have much of a case for anything really other than to choose not to buy from Steam in the future if he feels so ungratified.

 

I guess I'm making it difficult to understand.
I'm saying, WHY do they CHOOSE not to give extra copies, when it only logically seems that they SHOULD??? and they should give extra copies because i PAID for it? as a part of a BUNDLE?

the reason is, because it profits.
You won't be able to GIFT it to your FRIENDS who would HAVE to buy it themselves, or separately, which means PROFIT again.
Also you'd end up buying it as bundle, even though you are wasting extra dollars on that game you already have!
Because it's cheaper than normal stores that only give less discount than steam.
Which seems to be the reason that BLINDS you all from the tyranny that steam is trying to enforce and make it seem like a simple "policy".
When in fact, is it NOT, it's just an obviously cheap method of making profit by stepping across into our rights.

basically, you're saying, "oh it's okay if i dont get my extra copy, because it's so cheap anyway!!"

 

i like my games in a box, but some deals Steam offers are just too good to pass up, i just bought Dirt 2 for 10 bucks yesterday.

 

If I'm not mistaken Steam exists as a service to generate revenue for Valve outside of their software development, I see nothing wrong with them reserving the right not to give a discount as per the OP's wishes. If it's such a grievance, some stores do provide software buyback for older used games.

 

Also the problem here is this is the nature of the digital age especially with the growth of it in the gaming industry. Let's talk about DLC and a Rockstar game. Let's say you bought the DLC for Xbox 360 GTA IV - The Lost and Damned off Live. Then later you passed up on the ballad of Gay tony. Then you get a great deal on buying the Episode pack 360 disc for even less than just buying the Ballad DLC by itself. Sure you buy the episode pack right? But the way many bundles work today is well, a bundle is just one single package. Whether it be a single download code for both games or a single packaged file - you can't split them up. in this case, both DLC are on a single disc. It's not like you can split the games on that disc, or send your DLC to someone else. So either way Steam or GFWL or Xbox live for that matter, you're going to have an extra copy that the retailer will let you take home, but you're not going to be able to do anything with that extra copy unless you decide to activate it on a different account, but steam you can do this too.

So when I say bundles are bundles.. that's what they are. Not very many gaming bundles now adays are all separate games for that matter. It's not like you buy a bundle of say 5 games and get a single disc for each game or 5 keys. Many now are "anthology" type keys and you get all the games at once. Another example is the Bioshock + Oblivion BUNDLE. It's all on one disc. The only thing you can do is sell your original bioshock or Oblivion game you had at home, but that's a different story about Steam/digital gaming not being able to resell. Steam is not the only company that follows this method. It's just how digital distribution works. Does it suck? sure but I kind of learned this is how it works. Kind of how a lot of things in the world works - it sucks but someone has to make a profit somewhere and we the consumer get ease of access and other benefits. Use it or don't.

 

yes, i was saying it wasn't wrong for them to do this, but it is cheap.
profits are made in cheap ways, but it's definitely a working strategy.

 

Steam is good - but when you broadband goes down and you cant play anything from them it sucks...(yeah I know you can do the off line thing....but if you are not expecting problems...)

 

There are no problems that I've found in "offline mode" for Steam. Everything runs just as if you're online, you only lose the auto updates.

 

I agree OP, you should get all your games and be able to gift any doubles you acquire. It's a stupid policy they have. But often the games in bundles them sleves go on sale at another time so I just wait for it then usually.

I do enjoy the great deals on Steam. As far as DRM goes I can handle Steam. It has much value that easily makes up for the DRM aspect of it. Look at Games for Windows Live, that's a similar DRM done horribly and almost completely neglected by it's creators. MS needs to let it die. It has not accomplished anything even close to what it was supposed to do for PC games.

Valve is constantly finding ways to bring better value to Steam users. And Valve is an awesome PC game company. Source is very robust and Source games hold up quite well against games made on UE3 or other engines imo. Ya it's not Crysis but who cares? Valve make excellent games to play, (that's what's important) and they look pretty good too.