...that is the question.

Just wondering how many Steam users we have on here at SimHQ so decided to make a poll.You can make multiple choices.

Feel free to add your comments but please keep it friendly,don't send it down below.

*edit* I could have worded the 1st option better,please tick even if you don't 'love' Steam but use it and follow up with your comments.

I have a lot of games on Steam and it is no problem using it and I cannot ever understand peoples hatred of it. They never seem to have any explanation why though, just seem to 'hate it' because others do I guess....

Simple fact is that if you don't want to use Steam you are automatically cutting yourself off from over 80% of the PC game market.

If you play nothing but old games and a few indie titles then I guess you're ok.

I assume that all of the anti-Steam gamers here are also anti-Origin and anti-UPlay?

None of the options fit for me, I use steam a lot but I don't 'love' it by any means. It's far better than Origin, Uplay and Games for windows live, which I found painful to use and quite annoying.

I think I got my user name from some crappy Ubisoft DRM

I really do not see what is wrong with Origin or Uplay either? Enlighten me as to what is the big problem?

I think some of it is still a carry over from the complaint at the beginning of the digital download only model of not having a game in your hands.

Yeah,I could have worded that a bit better.Or put another option 'I use Steam only because I want to play certain games' but you can't amend the poll options.

Hopefully people will still tick that option even if they don't 'love' Steam.

The only thing that annoys me about Origin games is the requirement to have a constant internet connection. On a couple of occassions while playing Mass Effect 3, I got booted from the game because my ISP went down.

I think that all those with actual problems with Steam (and DD in general) comes from the fact they either have spotty internet or a limit in MB (GB?) per month.

Now... I feel your pain, dudes. I really do- I've been for months without a stable ISP and just thinking about it makes me cringe.

But let's face it. It's a Digital Delivery service. It's a Service that relies on Internet Access.
It is, sadly, a (as I call it) Single Point of Failure. Which is just as bad as unavoidable.

You see- the speed limit on large portion of Germans Highways is absent. Still my 2002 YARIS only reach 120- and only downhill with wind blowing from the back and my hunching under the dashboard.

I can't blame Germany for me taking over 6 hours to go from Munich to Berlin, while the next guy with the latest Audi only takes half.

I mean- I do, but I admit I don't sound particularly smart...

The sad reality, and maybe what's to be hated REALLY, is that there's no LEGAL alternative to it for large portion of Mainstream Games.
Not Steam-

But then again, if everyone had free High speed internet I'm pretty sure complaining people will be drastically less...

(My Mileage is still better than the Audi guy- and so is my Insurance )

I also use Uplay and Origin.
And I still find Origin the most cumbersome of the three...

Uplay came into use jsut recently as I was donated a copy of WatchDogs.
It's a breeze. I launch the game- Uplay starts alongside it- it's nearly invisible (I have the windows to appear on my secondary monitor) and it's surprisingly light and stable.

Origin to me it's still the least likeable- Both Uplay and Steam update everything that's needed at the beginning and then I can play.
Origin has to first update the launcher-
launch it again-
install-
re-start-
it looks like you're ready-
launch BF3
-HALT!-
THis needs to get something updated too-
and so does the secondary webpage that HAS to open so you can launch the launched game...

Meh. At least they give away free games...


So for me is:
Steam
PLUS
1-greatest selection of software... (go to MINUS 1-)
2-nearly every genre covered... (go to MINUS 2-)
3-impressive sales
4-which are frequent too
5-Decent looking,well organized & tailorable interface..- (go to MINUS 3-)
6-Early access and greenlight, some good gems and in some cases it really helped little development studios
7-VERY fast servers for me
8-had very good feedback with customer support (still, better hold really dear Login details- specially if you invested lots into games)

MINUS
1-...quite some shovelware too (and it's increasing)
1b- if you have a LOT of games (i own more than 20o- nearly all installed) it can take a LOT to update them all...
2-...oldest title poorly supported (GOG.COM can teach a lesson or two here)
3-...it's still quite cumbersome
4- Early access and greenlight- some hits and many misses, really...

Uplay
PLUS
1-valid selection of software
2-little shovelware
3-nice support for older games
4-many genres covered
5-Sleek looking,well organized & pretty small interface- it really keeps a surprisingly low profile

MINUS
1-didn't notice any "proper" sales, but that could be me...
2-no real "really old school" titles- but for some this is a plus.
3-store is really- really!- simple. Not really bad either.

Origin
PLUS
1-Very good selection of software
2-little shovelware
3-supports old games nicely
4-it DOES cover lots of genres
5-free games (dubious quality though- but it's understandable)

MINUS
1-born out of hate for Steam (derivative design- poor choice for me)
2-SIM CITY!
3-typical EA behaviour all around
4-forgettable non-AAA+ titles
5-sim... flippin'... city- Childhood ruined.
6-cumbersome interface, draggy, uselessly redundant and not really necessary in many aspects.
7-(this is very personal) slow servers- from Italy. Steam here really shines for me...




Hope this helps...

I only have two games for Origin which are Mass Effect 3 and Dead Space 3. The latter I'll be uninstalling after I finish my second cooperative run-through and the former I plan on keeping until I play all of the DLC.

Updated my post from previous page... :P


@Panzer: I usually do the same with Origin- Install, play, remove.

My main problem is that, at least for me, they are slow to load and annoying to set up. Uplay frequently f's up on me and Origin is just clunky. Also I just hate EA.
I haven't had any issues with steam except for when it first came out in what 2004 or so? I've migrated my steam library through three PCs since then with less difficulty than it took me to play one Ubisoft game.
They also sent me spammy emails even though I asked them not to, something Steam has never done.

So it's really just personal preferences rather than any sort of technical argument.
Hope that made sense, I seem to have a hard time typing coherent sentences tonight...

I'll just say this. I've been usin' STEAM since the original release of Half-Life 2, and I've had 0.0% STEAM related problems. 99.9% of my currently installed games require STEAM. Any game that doesn't require STEAM still gets added to the STEAM library, with the exception of Origin related software. Any game that is known to have compatibility problems w/ updates and modded content doesn't get auto-updated.

I have a few non-Steam games like Rise of Flight, IL-2 1946 and DCS World but I've seen no need to import them into Steam. Why go through the hassle with no added benefit?

Been using Steam for almost a decade now.

Except for a handful of occasions where the Steam service was down (for a couple of minutes to a few hours) I had literally zero problems with Steam.

I currently have 80+ games in my Steam account.

My internet went from Broadband (FL) to Satellite (LA) but my opinions on software license ownership have remained the same, I'm never knowingly going to purchase software that requires permission outside of my home.

You all have seen plenty of pics of my software boxes and disks/discs (some costing thousands of dollars) so you should know my stand on piracy. But if that's how developers/publishers have to protect themselves then it's their right, I just won't be buying into it.

I'm waiting to see what MS does with XP. If they release a patch to remove the online activation requirement then I might upgrade my primary PC from 2000.

I'm a casual, mostly retro gamer so GOG is probably all I'll ever need.

I just do not like to have to ask steam for permission to play a game I paid for. (Cliffs of Dover)

It is no big deal to go into offline play though.

I only had a Steam issue once, and that was someone jacked my account. A call to Steam support got it back (since I have had the same few CC numbers for years and was able to match at least one game in my library to one of those numbers), but it was a hassle for a few hours. Now with Steamguard it hasn't happened again.

The problem with Origin and Uplay is usually not those services themselves but that they throw other DRM on top. The always-on requirement Panzer mentioned for a couple of those games, and the miserable Battlelog thing I had never seen until I got the free BF3 on Origin. Seriously, WTF is with that idea? Launching a game on my HD using a browser??

Most people who hate Steam all seem to point to some incident that was in 2007 or something were a screw up gave them fits. Ok, granted Steam still had a lot of issues during the George W Bush administration, but in this decade (2011 on) Steam has been about as good as you could expect.

The only thing better is no DRM period, and while that works for GOG it's because it has Old Games that the publisher no longer worries too much about piracy on because they were cracked and shared years ago.




The Jedi Master

Thankfully all things Falcon are DRM free and should live on forever! I was relieved back in the day when LP kept it that way.